Astraea

"Who is Ryuu?" Briony inquired as soon as their car stopped somewhere in the small village that is not frequently seen with passers-by.

Brylee gave her a side-eye. She is really pissed off. She didn't expect Bell to hold such information that she could be used against her.

"He is a nobody." She snapped at Briony.

"Oookay," Briony replied, raising both her hands in the air.

"So, do you think this is a good place?" Briony said looking around the place. They didn't get out of the car yet.

They were parked under a huge tree on the side of the street. There were no houses or establishments around. Though there were some a few meters away from them.

"Can you move the car a little bit forward, I cannot see you. The tree is hiding you." They heard Brina speak.

"Okay," Brylee replied.

After they make sure that Brina has a vision of their car. Brylee and Briony changed seats without getting out of the car.

"Okay, I'm ready," Brina said.

"I'll be just in here. Inform me if anything." Briony replied.

Brylee nodded her head and in a blink of an eye, she's gone.

After a couple of seconds, they heard Brylee say, "I'm in." In a low voice.

"Okay, where are you?" Brina asked while looking at the screen of another laptop.

There were three monitors in front of her. On the first, she is watching as Bell and Bianca are walking away from the house that they found to be Torin Wald's former house.

The second one is where she is watching over Briony's location.

And on the third one, which she is looking at now is the layout of the convent.

"Uhm... this is a small room with nothing but a black huge pot at the center," Brylee said while walking around silently.

"That's probably the warming room. Try the door to the north and you'll find the cloister and the garden. The first door on the left will be the dining room followed by the kitchen. See if you can find anyone there." Brina gave Brylee the instructions.

"Okay," Brylee replied.

"And Brylee, do not speak unless necessary. We don't want anyone hearing you." Brina added.

Brylee didn't reply and just nodded her head as if they could see her. She started walking cautiously towards the north door. She looked around first before she stepped out of the warming room and found the cloister that Brina is talking about.

It is a rectangular covered walkway built around a garden. And she found the cloister and garden empty.

She turned to her left side and found the door leading to the dining room. Standing against the wall, she peeked inside the dining room and found it empty as well.

She walked towards the next door which is the kitchen when she heard footsteps. She narrowed her eyes and sensed that the footsteps were coming from the kitchen. She immediately turned around and hid in the dining room.

She saw a long table at the center with rows of chairs. It was covered in white cloth. On the table were plates and utensils. It looks like they were preparing for lunch. She decided to hide under the table.

If they were preparing lunch, it would not take long before the whole place would be filled with people. She could stay there and eavesdrop.

Meanwhile, Bell and Bianca stayed inside their car and waited for any development. Brina is still monitoring Torin's house.

"I saw a woman step out of the house." They heard Brina say.

"A woman?" Bell asked.

"Yes, I think she is going in the direction of the boardwalk."

"Send me the image," Bell said coldly then she looked at Bianca.

"Okay, I already sent it to you."

Bell and Bianca looked at the image of the woman through their sunglasses.

"She looks like Torin Wald," Bianca said in a soft voice.

"I think so too," Brina said.

"We have to make sure," Bell said in a grave tone.

"I'll do it," Bianca volunteered.

Bell looked at Bianca with a frown. "Do you understand what I am talking about?" She asked.

Bianca just nodded her head. "Someone has to get near her and make sure that she is Meredith Wald."

Bell just stared at Bianca blankly. Then after a while, she asked, "Brina, are you sure that the name of Torin's sister is Meredith?"

"Yes, I am sure of it. Though there were no photos of her, her name is really Meredith Wald. It appears in her birth certificate and school records as well as in the record of the convent."

There was silence. Bell is looking out at the harbor. Their car is parked not far away from the boardwalk. In front of them is the harbor while on their left is the road going to the boardwalk.

"Bell, I believe Bianca could do it." Brina tried to convince Bell. She knows that Bell is worried about Bianca since she hasn't done it before. But Bell can be intimidating most of the time. While Bianca is still innocent and can be more convincing if she tried to be friendly to a stranger.

Bianca smiled triumphantly. "Thank you,"

Then she stepped out of the car and started walking towards the boardwalk.

"She stopped in front of the fish vendor where we saw that man earlier." They heard Brina say.

"Okay, I can see her," Bianca replied then she started to walk towards the woman while looking around sightseeing.

Bell stepped out of the car and followed Bianca but she didn't get close, she stopped in a place far from Bianca but enough to see her accidentally bumping into the woman's back.

She saw her turn around and bow her head at the woman.

"I'm so sorry," They heard Bianca said timidly. The woman smiled then Bell and Brina watched as the two started to converse.

They heard Bianca said that she is looking out for some goods to buy and to take home but she doesn't know how to choose a fresh one. So the woman politely helped her.

Bianca and the woman strolled around the street vendors who were selling different kinds of fishes while some are selling vegetables.

In the end, Bianca thanked the woman and introduced her name. "Thank you for your help. By the way, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Gianna Marie Harlow." Bianca reached out her hand.

The woman smiled back at her. "I'm Meredith," The woman paused to shake Bianca's hand. "Meredith Wald, it's nice to meet you, Gianna."

Bianca said goodbye to the woman then she started to walk away. Bell watched her at the corner of her eyes, the corner of her lips slightly curved upwards.

"Brylee, Briony, we already confirmed that the woman you met in the convent is not Meredith Wald. The real Meredith Wald is at the harbor. Now we have to find out who is the woman you met at the convent and what is her relationship with Torin Wald." Brina said though she was sure that Briony and Brylee already heard their conversation.

"Got it! I think Brylee is still under the table." Briony was the one to reply.

"I could hear footsteps."

Brylee is still under the table when she hears the footsteps starting to fill the dining room. Then she watched as the tables were pulled one by one.

She could see pairs of shoes, she counted them and there were about ten pairs of them.

She frowned when she noticed something. They were all men's shoes. And they were wearing pants, not a habit.

She heard them start to talk. They were complaining about the food. And she finally confirmed that they were all men, except for one voice that she is very familiar with.

"That's all I could prepare for now because the supplies from the harbor haven't arrived yet so stop complaining." It was the voice of the woman who pretended to be Meredith Wald, but this time, her tone is a bit harsh.

"Has the boss arrived yet?" One of the men asked.

"No, my husband hasn't arrived yet." The woman replied, making Brylee's eyes widened in shock.

"But someone came a couple of days ago. Two girls were looking for Torin. Fortunately, no one is around except for me." The woman continued.

"So, that's why we didn't see anyone at that time. I wonder where the nuns are." Brylee heard Briony's comment.

"It seems to me that Bedelia Gang is using the convent as their hideout." It was Brina.

"Girls, you say? If I was here they wouldn't be able to leave this place untouched. I would fuck them in front of the altar!" Another man said and it was followed but roars of laughter.

"Shut the fuck up!" The woman shouted at the men. "They are not just simple girls." She said. "Though they don't look like it, it seems like they were sent by Iris." The woman continued.

"Bounty hunters," A man said with a low guttural sound.

"But don't worry, I hinted to them that Torin could be at the harbor. The boys were already waiting for them." The woman said.

Bell, who is in the car driving back home smirked.

"I haven't met female bounty hunters, I should've volunteered to be at the harbor so that I could have a taste of them." One man commented in a lecherous way.

"Torin is coming back tomorrow so you all needed to be here. Now eat everything and clean them up after you are done!" The woman said while starting to walk away mumbling. "I can't believe Torin left me here to feed ten pigs who don't even know how to clean their shit!"

"Brylee, get out of there, now," Brina instructed in a soft voice.

In just a matter of seconds, she appeared inside the car beside Briony who was grinning at her.

"I'm back in the car," Brylee said.

"Let's meet at Uncle Lorcan's pad," Bell said in a cold tone. After all the information they gathered today, they needed to prepare for a surprise party.