Matthew raised his brows as he nced at ire. She was staring intently at her phone, and something about her expression made him curious. He walked over and leaned against her desk, giving her a questioning look. "What''s got you so engrossed?" he asked, trying to peek at her screen.


    ire looked up with a calm smile, barely concealing her amusement. "Oh, it''s just a scammer trying to scam me," she said, chuckling lightly. "You know, the usual."


    Matthew raised an eyebrow. "A scammer? Really?" He didn''t look convinced. "You sure that''s all it is?"


    ire just shrugged. "Yep, nothing to worry about. I''ll handle itter."


    Matthew wasn''t entirely convinced but decided not to press the issue. If it was important, ire would share it with him. He gave a nod and said, "Alright then, I''ll get back to investigating the burning venue. See youter." With that, Matthew left ire''s office and headed to his car. Once inside, he pulled out hisptop and got to work. He had managed to hack into the footage from across the street on the day of the fashion show. He started reviewing the video, looking for anything out of the ordinary.


    The footage showed the usual chaos of a fashion show-photographers shing their cameras, celebrities stepping out of cars, and a flurry of activity. Everything seemed pretty normal until he spotted ire arriving. As soon as she stepped out of her car, the camera shes shifted to her, a usual urrence given her high profile.


    But then, something caught his eye. In the corner of the frame, near the backdoor, there was a figure moving quickly and ncing around as they went. It was almost out of the camera''s view, so Matthew hadn''t noticed it at first. Curious, he reyed that segment of the video. The figure seemed to be deliberately avoiding the cameras, peeking around to make sure no one saw them. Matthew zoomed in and tried to smooth out the video to get a clearer view. After a few adjustments, he finally made out the person''s face. His frown deepened when he recognized her-it was Lisa.


    Matthew''s mind raced. Why was Lisa sneaking around? It wasn''t exactly normal behavior, especially for someone who was supposedly just a casual observer. But Matthew knew better than to jump to conclusions. Just because Lisa was there didn''t automatically mean she was involved in the fire.


    He sighed, feeling the weight of the mystery on his shoulders. He needed more evidence to prove whether Lisa was involved or if she was just snooping around for a different reason.


    ire sat at her desk, her mind still stuck on the weird text message she''d received earlier. She had grabbed her phone to read it again, but it was gone. Completely vanished. She frowned, confusion and annoyance mixing on her face.


    Was this some sort of game? She was really getting tired of this nonsense. Could it be Eligos behind this? It sure felt like something he would do, ying around like this. But even if she wanted to track down the message, she couldn''t. The text was just... gone, like it had never been there.


    As the sun dipped below the horizon, ire finally signed thest piece of paperwork for the day. She let out a tired sigh, her stomach rumbling loudly. She hadn''t eaten since the afternoon, and her mind had been too busy to even notice. Standing up, she grabbed her bag and headed out of the office. Maybe a nice, peaceful dinner would help clear her head.


    "Take me to the Piere," she instructed as she slipped into her car. The Piere was her favorite restaurant, a ce where she could unwind and enjoy a good meal without any interruptions. At least, that was the n.


    When she arrived, ire stepped out of the car and made her way inside, the familiar scent of delicious food already making her stomach growl in anticipation. She had made a reservation earlier, so she confidently told the waiter her name.


    "Right this way, ma''am," the waiter said, leading her through the restaurant. But as they approached the table, ire noticed something unexpected. Someone was already seated there. A man, his back turned to her, engrossed in something on his phone. The waiter looked just as surprised as ire. "Excuse me, sir," the waiter began politely, "this table has been reserved."


    The man didn''t even look up. "I''m already sitting here, aren''t I?" he replied, his tone dripping with annoyance.


    ire''s patience was already thin, and this guy wasn''t helping. "That''s my table," she said calmly, but firmly.


    The man finally stood up and turned around to face her, his eyes narrowing as he looked her up and down. "You''re the one who reserved this table?" he asked, disbelief evident in his voice.


    "Yes," ire answered, not backing down. "And I believe you''re in my seat."


    He raised an eyebrow and scoffed, looking at the waiter. "Find her another table. I was here first."


    ire turned to the waitress. "Did he book a table?"


    The waitress, looking a little nervous, pulled out a small tablet and checked. She shook her head. "No, sir, you don''t have a reservation."


    ire crossed her arms, giving the


    man a look that clearly said, See? The man''s face flushed slightly, clearly not happy about being


    caught "Look," he said, trying to


    sound more confident than he felt, "I got here first. Doesn''t matter if she booked it."


    ire didn''t have the energy to argue with him. She walked over to the table, picked up the small sign that said "Reserved," and held it up in front of his face. "Can you read?" she asked, her tone sharp.


    The man''s ears turned pink with embarrassment. He huffed, clearly flustered, and said, "Who do you think you are, walking in here like you own the ce?"Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.


    ire raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Doesn''t matter who I am," she replied coolly. "I just want to sit at the table I reserved." With that, she took a seat, not sparing the man another nce.


    The man clenched his jaw, anger shing in his eyes. "This isn''t over," he muttered, grabbing his phone from the table. "If we meet again, I won''t let it slide."


    ire barely looked up from the menu she''d picked up. "Why would I meet you again?" she said, her voice dripping with boredom. She was done with this conversation.


    Feeling humiliated, the man stormed off, leaving ire to finally enjoy her evening. She waved to the waiter, who rushed over, looking a little relieved.


    "I''m so sorry about that, ma''am," she said quickly. "Can I get you started with a drink?"


    ire nodded, smiling faintly. "A ss of red wine, please. Something good."


    The waiter nodded and hurried off, leaving ire alone with her thoughts. As she sat there, waiting for her wine, she couldn''t help but rey the strange encounter in. her head. Who did that guy think he was, acting like he owned the ce? If this was the kind of luck she was going to have tonight, she wasn''t sure how much more she could handle.


    A few momentster, the waiter returned with her wine, setting the ss down in front of her. ire took a sip, letting the rich, smooth vor wash over her.


    It was exactly what she needed.