"EHHH?!?!"
Pika jolted, eyes wide as he stared at his boss in the cybersecurity department. His mouth opened and closed until he finally found his voice.
"Me?" he pointed at himself. "I am... I am getting what?"
His boss laughed, looking at Pika across the desk. "Congratulations on your promotion, Pika," he said with an approving nod. "I’ve always known you’d go far with your skills. The higher-ups want you to pick your own team for the mission assessment department that was recently opened."
Although Atlas had only just returned home, he had already prepared some things while still in Ravah. He had long wanted a separate technical support team for missions, but since the security department could handle the work, it had been put on hold.
After Pika’s performance during the Ravah mission, it pushed Atlas to finally open this department specializing in mission support, now that their cybersecurity was stable. More importantly, he wanted Pika to be the team captain.
Pika’s mouth dropped open as he stared blankly at his boss.
The head of the cybersecurity department rose from his seat and walked over. He stopped in front of Pika and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I knew that once this mission was over, you’d be recognized by those arrogant bastards in the Inner Circle," he said proudly. Their department had never gotten along well with the others.
Just because their team didn’t always go into the field, they were looked down on. Even though everyone understood the importance of their department — maintaining cyber defenses and keeping information about the Zorken family unreachable — their work wasn’t flashy enough to earn recognition.
So when he heard Pika had signed up for the mission, he knew it was their chance to shine. There were many brilliant people like Pika in this department; they just hadn’t been given the opportunity.
"Hopefully, with this new department... our people will finally get the recognition they deserve," he said.
"Boss..."
"I’m not your boss anymore, Pika. As of today, we’re both department heads."
"But a department under me..."
The man raised his brows. "Are you saying the big boss made a bad decision?" he asked, making Pika freeze. Then he laughed. "If you think you can’t do it, go tell him that. This is his order. But Pika, I think this is a good promotion — and you should accept it."
"Not just for you," he added sincerely. "But for the Order. After Ravah, we all feel things are getting worse. The Order has to keep restructuring and improving. Otherwise, we’ll end up like the Bellemonte family — having to beg others for help."
What Henrik Bellemonte had done left an impact on many.
Founding families were proud — not just the heads, but everyone who carried the name. Alliances were usually built on mutual benefit. Never had a founding family head personally gone to another to ask for help.
But Henrik had broken that, even visiting the Order to meet Atlas and ask for support.
Silence fell between them until the older man nodded.
Pika wasn’t the only one receiving shocking news. Almost everyone involved in the Ravah mission had been called in by their direct superiors for rewards and promotions. Not all received the same level of promotion as Pika, but their rewards still stunned them.
But the biggest shock of all — unrelated to promotions — was in Atlas’s office.
*****
"Aunt Jessa’s going to kill us... if she finds out her daughter got abducted."
Silence filled the room as Hugo repeated those words for the second time. Lola, Slater, and Atlas simply stared at him.
In the back of their minds, they were waiting for him to say "kidding!" or "got you!" But he didn’t.
"Yuri... got abducted?" Slater stuttered, then gasped, clamping a hand over his mouth. "Oh, no."
Atlas furrowed his brows, looking down, while Lola pressed a hand to her head. Neither of them had seen this coming.
No wonder Hugo wanted them to rest first.
If he had told them last night, Lola doubted she would’ve slept at all. She slowly looked at Atlas, worried about his reaction.
Atlas’s expression was grim, clearly deep in thought.
Since the very beginning — the very beginning of this novel — Yuri had been missing, and that was months ago. A lot had happened since then. Considering everything, she must have gone through a lot.
It was only when they left for Ravah that Atlas ordered Allen to find Yuri and bring her back. Yuri — Jessa’s daughter — going missing wasn’t unusual. She had done it many times before, claiming she needed alone time. That was why no one suspected anything had happened.
But since she had been gone longer this time, the worry started to rise at the back of Atlas’s head. Not just him, but also for Allen and Sybil. Hence, they also thought they should start looking for her.
"My god," Lola breathed, shifting her gaze to Hugo and then Allen. "How did that happen? Did someone call for ransom? How sure are we that she was abducted?"
All eyes turned to Hugo, waiting for an answer or any clarification.
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. Hugo drew a deep breath, studying everyone’s faces first.
"Well," he cleared his throat. "She told me."
"Huh?" the trio frowned.
Then Slater blurted, "Who?"
"Yuri told me she was abducted," Hugo clarified, throwing them into even deeper confusion. "Actually, she called Kiara while we were on our way here and was looking for me. Good thing I was with Kiara — we had time to talk."
The question marks in everyone’s heads multiplied.
"Wait, wait!" Lola waved her hands. "I don’t get it. Yuri was abducted... and she’s the one who confirmed it?"
Hugo nodded.
Lola huffed in disbelief. "How is that possible?!"
"Sir," Allen stepped forward, knowing this was a long discussion. "I think it will be more understandable if I explain from the beginning."
Everyone shifted their eyes to him and then nodded in agreement. Nodding back, Allen drew a deep breath before giving Hugo a brief look. When the latter nodded, Allen stared at everyone, and his lips parted, explaining to everyone from the beginning until the point of their discovery of Yuri’s abduction.