"Wait a minute!" Michelle exclaimed. "We're going too!"

Maria roared in anger at the suggestion. Fabian quickly intervened, restraining her. He glanced at the Fikes and said coldly, "That's up to you." The Moores sped to the abandoned factory, Elijah close behind.

Even from a distance, they saw thick black smoke and heard sirens. The Moores arrived first, but the police cordon stopped them. After a brief exchange, they were allowed to proceed. Elijah’s car soon came to a halt. Michelle took his cold hands. "Do you think this is an act?" she asked calmly. Elijah pursed his lips. "I don't know," he admitted, unable to decipher the Moores' intentions. "Let's go have a look."

They found Maria standing nearby, pale and muttering to herself. Though the Fikes couldn't hear her words, her lips formed the phrase, "Impossible... Impossible." Fabian remained stoic, his gaze fixed on the factory.

Firefighters were battling the blaze, but flames still raged within. The smoke was thick and heavy; the heat and lack of oxygen were palpable even at a distance.

A policeman explained, "The cause is still under investigation. Our preliminary assessment is a chemical explosion. There may be flammables and explosives inside; otherwise, the fire wouldn't have spread so rapidly."

"How many people were inside?" he asked.

Fabian stammered, "I-I don't know… Rhea never said anything. She just mentioned experiments with a few colleagues. I… I don’t know much. This abandoned factory is mine; she asked to use it, so I let her. She… she’s not inside, is she?" A glimmer of hope remained; without a body, Rhea's death wasn't confirmed.

"I'm not sure," the policeman replied. "The firefighters are still working. I won't know the details until later."

Fabian waited anxiously, pacing and rubbing his hands. Maria twisted her fingers in distress. Then, she remembered something, approached Elijah and Michelle, and demanded, "Didn't you say your people saw Rhea going home? Who saw her? Is it true?"

Elijah remained silent.

"Is it true?!" Maria yelled, breaking down. "Weren't you certain she went home?!"

Fabian, galvanized, joined his wife. "That's right! Didn't you say Rhea went home? Who saw her? What time did she return?!" He desperately hoped Elijah's claim was true.

"Search the place! Send your men! Turn the house upside down! We must find Rhea!" Fabian pulled out his phone to call his subordinates.

A commotion erupted at the factory. Firefighters carried out a stretcher. Maria reacted instantly, sprinting towards them. Fabian followed, phone still in hand.