"But you can't escape that terrible feeling, can you?" Alexander understood Mike's distress. He knew he couldn't bear such news about his own children. The anxiety of awaiting his twin's return was almost unbearable.

"Don't worry, I'm just upset," Mike said, looking up. "But I'll never give up on finding Nicky, alive or not."

"You shouldn't," Alexander replied. "She was probably trying to provoke you. They've had Nick for a while now. Why tell you he's dead now?" The timing seemed illogical.

The fact that Nick had been held captive in the Yudonian Royal Palace suggested they were using him to control Mike. Why would Rhea suddenly claim the boy was dead? Even if they had killed Nick, there had to be a reason. Especially considering they still wanted Mike's invisibility potion formula. Killing Nick now would be foolish.

Mike nodded. He knew he couldn't fully trust Rhea; she hadn't shown him his son's body. Yet, her words had deeply affected him.

"Yeah, man. Rhea's full of lies, and she's incredibly cunning," Austin agreed with Alexander. After a moment, he asked Mike, "Why would she bring that up now?"

"I asked her to rescue my son, and she told me to drop it because Nicky is already…" Mike trailed off.

"Then she used it as an excuse not to help you," Austin interjected. "She was trying to make you give up. Don't believe her. Even if she wasn't lying, it's not the truth unless you see the… you know." He couldn't bring himself to say the word "body."

"I shouldn't have let her get to me," Mike said. "Nicky is still waiting for me to rescue him. I'm not giving up because of what that woman said."

After consoling Mike, Alexander posed a more pressing question. "Did you notice anything unusual while you were there?"

"No," Mike replied carefully, shaking his head. "Everything in the office seemed normal, and Rhea acted normally. If I have to point something out…"

"Yeah?"

"I think the people working at the embassy were different from last time," he said hesitantly.

Alexander was perplexed. "What do you mean?"

"The embassy staff. Most of them weren't the same ones we saw before."

Austin offered, "That's normal, right? So many people work there, you wouldn't remember them all. Maybe the staff changed shifts. Or maybe you just aren't great with Yudonian faces."

"I thought so," Mike admitted, "but I'm pretty sure they weren't the same people." He'd interacted with many Yudonians during his years abroad and was confident in his ability to recognize faces.

"Then it must have been a shift change or something," Austin concluded.