So many questions flooded Richard’s mind as he headed back to the hospital, along with his brother. He massaged the temples as his head throbbed.

What am I going to tell Mindy? How can I explain it to her?

“Well, we’re making excellent progress.” Fawn chirped, floating by Richard’s side. “One down, one more to go. Now we just got to find his boss. That criminal is still out there, so if we take them down, then we’ll win. I can avenge myself and my family; I’ll be free.”

“Why are you so chipper?” Richard asked, his tone sounding cold. He stopped in his tracks and turned to face her. “Hold up. You didn’t have something to do with that murder, did you? Was it an actual suicide?”

“Huh? Now, why would I do something like that?” Fawn tilted her head, asking.

“Hey, are you coming?” Reginald called out to them from a distance.

Richard nodded. “We’ll talk about this later.” He muttered to Fawn before catching up with his brother.

.-.-.-.

Richard and Reginald met back at another hospital. Staff assigned Mindy and Lily a different room to rest in. While not as spacious as before, the room was at least comfortable. Reginald explained to Mindy what had happened in the interrogation room.

“Huh,” Mindy muttered, as her mouth went dry.

“Are you ok?” Richard asked.

“I’m not sure, to be honest. Even though Carlos used me for the most part, I don’t know how to feel about his death.” She lowered her head and bit her lip.

“Sorry,” Lily said, placing a hand on her sisters’ lap.

“It’s fine,” Mindy said as she shook her head.

“Oh, are you sure—?”

“Are you talking about Carlos?” A voice in the air asked

Everyone else in the room looked around. It sounded familiar, but where did it come from? The voice spoke again. Richard pulled the curtains next to Mindy’s bed away. They find a familiar face lying down in bed covered in bandages

Everyone else gasped. “Charlie?”

“I never thought I’d see you guys again,” Charlie murmured.

Richard grimaced at the last person he’d want to see again. “What do you want?”

“We thought you died,” Mindy added.

“Not quite, but barely.” Charlie pointed out. “Anyway, I overheard you mention Carlos, correct?”

“Hold up,” Reginald said. “Why do you ask?”

“You also need help on figuring out who the boss is, right? I can tell you.”

“How would we know if we can trust you?” Mindy questioned. “You could lie to us.”

“I have nothing more to lose if I lied,” Charlie replied. “Whatever, believe me, if you want, but there was one time Carlos blurted out their nickname on accident: Mimi.”

“Mimi?”

“I’m pretty certain their actual name has at least an ‘M’ and an ‘I’.”

“Again, how do you know about this?” Reginald inquired.

“I used to work for that group,” Charlie answered coolly.

“Wait, whose side are you on?”

“Does it matter?”

“Well, why are you telling us this?”

“To let you know I’m no longer a part of this. In fact, I can help you out.” Charlie turned to face Richard. “I’ll call Claudia to give you the ‘key’ to putting a stop to all of this. But in return, you need to do me a favor.”

“What do you need?” Richard inquired, crossing his arms

“I need you to sneak into the mayor’s HQ to grab a suitcase without getting caught. Also, make sure it’s the right one, got it?”

Can’t believe I have to take orders from this guy again. Richard squinted his eyes. “You’ll keep your word?”

Charlie raised his arms in the air to prove he was a man of his word. Mindy flinched as her body squirmed. She looked down at her hands. No matter how hard she tried, she could no longer transform into the Usukui Puru. Mindy buried her face in her hands and sighed. No clue if the needle she took prior helped the process or not.

Richard sighed. “Alright, I’ll be right back.”

“I’ll be waiting,” Charlie told him. “Don’t be late.”

.-.-.-.

As Richard headed downstairs and exited the building along with Fawn, Reginald watched them from the rearview window on the higher floor.

“Are you sure this is a good idea? We’re seriously going to do this?” Fawn asked.

“Don’t worry, I can handle this, you can go rest.” Richard turned back, lowering his head. “Besides, it’s personal for me, but I know who’s responsible for all of this.”

“You do? Do you have proof of this?”

“Of course. I know who’s hiding their identity from the world and giving me a hard time. And now, it’s time to pay him a visit.”

“If you figured it out, then I want to see this through until the end.”

Richard and Fawn came face to face with the crimson tower once again. They spotted men in suits standing guard and hid behind a wall.

“Are you ready?” Fawn asked.

“Ready when you are.”

Fawn went and turned Richard invisible. He trudged toward the entrance and walked inside through the automatic doors, much to the guards’ confusion.