The living room fell silent once again.
The four girls continued staring at the open envelopes on the table.
Twenty thousand dollars.
Each.
None of them had expected to receive that much money.
Madeleine was the first to break the silence.
"I don't think I've processed this yet."
Ana let out a small laugh.
"Neither have I."
Brittany carefully placed the money back into the envelope.
"It's too much."
Vivian nodded slowly.
"Yeah..."
"But after everything we've been through these past few days..."
"I guess it makes sense."
Madeleine raised an eyebrow.
"It makes sense?"
Vivian smiled with a hint of irony.
"Well..."
"We were hired to investigate two guys who are probably hiding something."
"We communicate through magical balloons."
"We were given enchanted coins."
"And our boss is a mysterious clown."
She paused briefly.
"I think we stopped being in a normal situation quite a while ago."
The four of them laughed.
It was brief.
But genuine.
For a few seconds, the tension they had been carrying finally eased.
Ana picked up the letter again.
She read it one more time.
"Just one more date..."
Brittany rested her arms on the table.
"Honestly..."
"I think that's for the best."
Madeleine looked at her.
"Why?"
"Because I feel like Justin and Jack are already suspicious of us."
Vivian nodded immediately.
"I had the same feeling."
She remembered their walk through the park.
The questions.
The perfectly measured answers.
The way Jack had looked at her.
As if he were trying to read every one of her thoughts.
Just remembering it sent a slight chill down her spine.
Ana crossed her arms.
"So the Clown came to the same conclusion."
"It seems so," Vivian replied.
Madeleine sighed.
"Honestly..."
"I'm glad he decided to stop this."
The other three looked at her.
"Don't get me wrong."
"I'm not saying Justin and Jack are bad people."
"But..."
"There's something strange about them."
"I just can't explain it."
Brittany lowered her gaze.
"They're too perfect."
"They never make mistakes."
"They never reveal too much."
"They never seem uncomfortable."
Vivian added quietly,
"It's like they're playing a role."
The four of them remained silent for several seconds.
Finally, Ana spoke.
"So what are we supposed to do during the last date?"
Vivian took a deep breath before answering.
"The same as always."
"Talk."
"Observe."
"Listen."
"But this time..."
"Without trying to force any answers."
Brittany nodded.
"If they really are suspicious of us..."
"The worst thing we could do is push harder."
Madeleine smiled faintly.
"For once, I'm glad our boss thinks before acting."
Ana chuckled.
"Yeah."
"You can tell he learns from his own mistakes."
Vivian looked back at the letter.
There was still something about it that caught her attention.
The Clown always seemed to be several steps ahead.
But whenever he made a mistake...
He admitted it without making excuses.
He never tried to pretend he was perfect.
He simply...
Fixed it.
He wasn't the kind of person she had imagined when she received that first letter.
He was still mysterious.
He was still a little frightening.
But little by little...
He was also beginning to seem like someone they could trust.
Vivian carefully folded both letters and put them away with the black coin.
Then she looked at the others.
"So..."
"See you tomorrow to get ready?"
The other three nodded almost simultaneously.
"Of course."
"We'll be there."
"It'll be the last one."
The four exchanged one final glance.
None of them said it out loud.
But they were all thinking the exact same thing.
They hoped that this final date would also mark the end of this strange mission.
---
The next day...
Vivian took a deep breath as she finished fixing her hair in front of the mirror.
She looked at her reflection for several seconds.
"Just one more date..."
she whispered to herself.
She was trying to convince herself that everything would go smoothly.
A few minutes later, she left her house.
Brittany was already waiting outside.
The two began walking together.
For the first few minutes, neither of them said a word.
Finally...
Vivian broke the silence.
"Are you nervous?"
Brittany didn't answer immediately.
She simply looked at her.
Then she gave a faint smile.
It wasn't a smile of happiness.
It was a nervous smile.
Vivian understood exactly what it meant.
She felt the same way.
The two continued walking.
A short while later, they arrived at the agreed meeting place.
Justin and Jack were already waiting for them.
As always...
They smiled with complete ease.
"Hey," Justin greeted, raising a hand.
"I thought you'd be a little late," Jack commented.
"We didn't want to keep you waiting," Vivian replied with a polite smile.
"It's good to see you again," Justin said.
Brittany returned the greeting.
"Likewise."
On the surface...
Everything looked perfectly normal.
But Vivian and Brittany were thinking exactly the same thing.
This would be the last date.
After today...
It would all be over.
---
Several hundred meters away...
I watched the scene in silence.
I had learned my lesson.
This time, I wouldn't get too close.
No sitting in the same restaurant.
No listening to every word from just a few meters away.
Last time, my mark had reacted.
And I had come dangerously close to making a mistake.
I wasn't going to repeat it.
I kept my distance while using a perception spell to monitor their movements without attracting attention.
My eyes remained fixed on the two brothers.
Ever since this morning, I hadn't stopped thinking about the best way to eliminate them.
The first idea had been simple.
Kidnap them.
Take them somewhere isolated.
Interrogate them.
Extract every piece of information they had.
Then kill them.
It was a simple plan.
Too simple.
I slowly shook my head.
Something told me those two wouldn't be easy prey.
If they were truly connected to the Purple Entity...
Or to some other supernatural force...
Trying to capture them head-on could easily turn into a trap.
I needed more information.
Just a little more.
I looked at Vivian and Brittany again.
They were still acting naturally.
They had improved considerably since the first date.
They no longer looked like two students improvising.
Now they knew how to observe.
How to listen.
How to hide what they were thinking.
That was enough.
For now.
I shifted my gaze back to Justin and Jack.
My eyes turned cold.
Very cold.
"Enjoy this final date..."
"Because after today..."
"I'll be the one making the next move on the board."