Meanwhile, Alexander removed his hidden earpiece and looked at Austin, who appeared anxious. "How was it?" Austin asked.

"He said it," Alexander replied simply.

Dr. Blanc's late-night visit had set Mike up. They'd wanted to see if he would question Rhea about Nick, and he had. From their conversation, Alexander deduced that Mike had yielded to Rhea for Nick's sake.

Alexander mused, "Why would he still trust Rhea? How can she possibly help him find Nick? Even if she could, how is she supposed to rescue him? What is Mike thinking?"

He felt a strong urge to confront Mike, but couldn't. They'd engineered a situation where Mike would unwittingly relay false information to the organization. Interrogating him now would ruin their efforts. Alexander sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Austin, noticing Alexander's distress, patted his shoulder. "Don't be sad. Humans are complex, aren't we?"

"I'm not sad," Alexander said, shaking his head. "I just don't understand. Why does he trust Rhea so much?"

"Who knows?" Austin offered, attempting levity. "Perhaps she bewitched him, or he fell for her?" Everyone was stressed, and things had become considerably stranger since learning about Mike's actions.

Austin chuckled at his own joke, but Alexander's expression only darkened. "Okay, that was terrible," Austin admitted. "Mike would never fall for that vile woman—"

"It's not impossible," Alexander interrupted.

Austin stared, dumbfounded. "Huh?"

He thought, Why would Mike fall for Rhea? No way. She's beautiful, yes, and has a great figure, not to mention her high IQ. Still, she's evil. Anastasia is way cuter and prettier than Rhea... Wait, why am I comparing her to Anastasia?

Austin tried to dismiss the thought, feeling unsettled. Alexander, however, remained lost in thought, causing Austin further concern.

"Hey," Austin said, his voice gentler now. "I was just trying to lighten the mood. Don't take it too seriously, okay? Maybe Mike wasn't thinking clearly. People get fooled all the time, right?"