Noah, who had just received her ID from the office, was guided by Hardin's personal secretary to the graphic design floor. The employees in the department turned their heads, surprised to see the CEO's personal secretary accompanying the newcomer.

“Everyone, this is Ms. Noah Carter, a new intern in the graphic design department,” he introduced. He then looked at Mrs. Hallie, whose attention was fixed on the newcomer's head.

Mrs. Hallie, the head of the game development, was a tough but talented woman with a special relationship with the CEO. The secretary wondered why his boss had assigned a newcomer to work under her, but it wasn't his concern. 

His job was to follow orders.

“Mrs. Hallie, she’s been assigned to work under you by Mr. Spencer,” he conveyed his boss' orders before leaving.

Noah stood there awkwardly, holding her belongings. She noticed Mrs. Hallie's unblinking gaze fixed on her head. The older woman, appearing to be in her late sixties, had a head full of short, white and gray hair with fringes framing her forehead. Her fair skin was wrinkled, and her lips were painted a deep pink.

She wore a simple chain around her neck and small, sparkling earrings. She donned a pale thistle-colored floral maxi dress that reached below her knees. Even at her age, she exuded an elegance that Noah found remarkable. 

How could someone look so stunning at this age?

Noah bowed and greeted her, “Greetings, Mrs. Hallie. I am Noah Carter. Please take care of me.”

Hallie turned her gaze to meet the girl in front of her and said, “I am not here to babysit you. I need results. How good are you at designing?” she questioned Noah in a firm tone.

Noah stood straight at her words and replied, “I am good at it.”

“Draw me a base character that fits the character of a street sweeper. Make her head look exactly like yours. Make it within two hours” she said and returned to her cabin.

Noah blinked her eyes in confusion and wondered, Is RedQueen going to release a game called 'Whose Sweeping is Better'? And how can she make it within two hours?.

Her slumped shoulders straightened when Mrs. Hallie stopped in her tracks, turned to look at her, and said, “More curls, don’t forget.” She pointed at Noah's head and then returned to her cabin.

Noah forced a smile and nodded at her back. She turned to take her allotted seat, arranged her belongings, and focused on her task.

She wondered if the people here were as weird as their CEO.

When Hallie took a seat inside her cabin, she picked up her phone and called a number. As soon as the call connected, she heard an enthusiastic voice on the other end.

“Hello Granny, did you miss your dear grandson?” Hardin's voice sounded cheerful.

“She looks good. I like her curls very much. When are you going to propose to her?” Hallie asked, her excitement evident.

Hardin laughed and replied, “Granny, she is just a little girl in college, and no, I am not going to propose to her.”

Hallie scoffed, “What age? Your grandfather and I were eleven years apart, and he could still perform better than many youngsters these days.”

Hardin rolled his eyes and said, “Come on, Granny, I am not interested in hearing any of your bedtime stories with Grandpa. And no, she is just someone I know and talented. You’ll like her work and...”

Hallie interjected, “I am not interested in getting any assistants, Hardin. I want a granddaughter-in-law or granddaughter before in-law. The choice is yours.” she said and disconnected the call.

She stood up from her chair and walked in silent steps to the door. She glanced at Noah, who was focused on her computer. The more Hallie looked at her, the more she liked her. 

Smiling in satisfaction, she returned to her seat. 

She knew her grandson well,he wouldn’t have assigned Noah to her if he wasn’t concerned about the young woman. After all, this was the biggest tech company in the industry, and internal politics were unavoidable.

This is enough, she thought. She would turn this little spark into a whole big bonfire. The thought of future great-grandchildren brought a gleam to her eyes, and she rubbed her hands together in excitement.

On the other side, Hardin looked at the black screen on his phone and shook his head. He set it aside and continued his tasks.

…………………………………….

In the alley where Tony, the second victim, died, a mysterious figure stood at the end of the street. Footsteps echoed in the alley, now abandoned after the incident. The man's figure was concealed under a black hoodie, his hands tucked into his pants pockets.

He strolled towards the alley, his hazel eyes scanning the area carefully. Shattered alcohol bottles and cigarette butts littered the corners, and garbage cans filled with rotting refuse emitted a foul smell.

He didn't even scrunch his nose at the smell as he walked past it. The alley ended with a high wall constructed between two buildings. He glanced up at its height, took a few steps back, and effortlessly climbed the wall using the wooden boxes stacked to the side.

He jumped to the other side of the wall, landing in a vacant backyard. Scanning the area, he found no useful clues. Just as he decided to leave, his eyes caught something at the corner of the wall.

His eyes narrowed as he squatted to examine the half boot prints on the wall. He took gloves from his pocket and put them on before swiping his fingers over the boot print. It felt greasy, like oil. The boots had left an imprint on the wall, and sand had adhered to the surface before drying and partially falling off, vaguely showing the large footprint of male boots.

A mysterious glint flickered in Ryder’s eyes as he murmured, “Who are you?”

He stood up from the ground and looked back at the wall, his mind playing out what might have happened that night like a projection.

It was the middle of the night, with no clear lights except for a dim yellow bulb under which Tony and his crew were drinking and playing cards. Ryder imagined the scene, turning to visualize the black figure sprinting toward the wall, climbing it, and sitting at the top where the man's figure would be drowned by the darkness.

The figure must have waited for the right moment to strike, perched atop the wall for some time. When Tony stood up, providing a clear view of his neck under the light, the figure threw a card with lethal precision, slashing Tony's neck. 

The others, engrossed in their game, only noticed their boss collapsing after hearing the thud. By then, the black figure had already jumped back over the wall and slipped away unnoticed.

Ryder slowly blinked, bringing himself back to the present. 

While the half boot prints weren't particularly useful, the oil beneath them was. He scraped some of the residue and collected it in a small ziplock bag before leaving the place.

The situation was not good with Daniel’s side too as he stood with a blank expression, staring at the corpse laid out before him. 

Axel and Johnny, uncertain and hesitant, kept their distance from him with their heads lowered. 

What could they possibly do?

When Daniel arrived at the lab and inquired about the body, Axel instructed their assistant to move it to the table. However, Axel was taken aback when he noticed the cards on both bodies. Not fully grasping the severity of the situation, he had instructed the staff not to remove the cards.

Now, the card marked with the number four rested on Carlos's chest, while the empty card lay on Douglas's neck.

“Boss, I think the murderer might have initially misplaced the cards and then swapped them to get the correct order,” Johnny proposed to Daniel with a thoughtful tone.

Axel’s lips twitched in response to Johnny's observation. Would anyone blame him if he didn’t speak up? He cast a wry glance at Daniel, whose expression darkened with each passing second.