"No, your reasoning does make sense," Alexander said hastily. Austin was baffled.

Alexander elaborated, "You said Rhea might have bewitched Mike."

Austin nodded, still not grasping his point.

"That could be it," Alexander continued, growing somewhat excited. "Rhea controlled Cameron with a drug last time. Although she failed then, it doesn't mean she won't succeed this time, nor that she's stopped developing such drugs."

Austin caught on, finding the idea plausible. He nodded repeatedly, becoming convinced. "You're right. That's much more likely than an invisibility potion. Besides, we've encountered a similar drug before. I've even read about it in ancient texts. Rhea likely controlled Mike with a drug; that's why he obeys her." He was pleased with himself, thinking he'd cracked the case. "Yeah, that's it," Alexander agreed. "Mike's only doing what Rhea says because he's under her control. The invisibility potion was a red herring."

"We have to tell Dr. Blanc!" Austin happily pulled out his phone.

This was a significant discovery. They had solved the mystery of Rhea's disappearance and uncovered why Mike was under her sway. However, helping Mike regain his senses would be challenging. Rhea had only failed last time due to Cameron's strong will and unforeseen circumstances. This time, however, she clearly succeeded. The question now was how to reverse it.

Alexander sighed, feeling guilty. "Mike delivered meals to her and spent extra time with her. Perhaps she drugged him then. I guess I'm to blame. I shouldn't have allowed so much contact. I should have been more careful." He mused, "Things might have been different if we'd taken turns delivering meals, or done it together."

"Don't blame yourself," Austin reassured him. "Who could have expected Rhea to be carrying something like that? She's incredibly sneaky. Who knows, you might have ended up like Mike if you'd gone with him!"

The probability of the drug affecting them both simultaneously was low. Based on Austin's speculation, such a drug wouldn't take effect that quickly; otherwise, Rhea could have used it on all of them. Its precise mechanism, efficacy, and duration remained unknown, though they surmised they could learn more by studying Mike.

Austin looked at Alexander. "I'm thinking about—"

"Taking Mike's pulse and seeing if you can devise a way to neutralize the drug?" Alexander finished his sentence.

Austin nodded, but before he could speak, a knock sounded at the door. Exchanging worried glances, they looked towards the door. "Who is it?" Few others were around, so they wondered who would be knocking at this hour.