บท 52: Sweet Torment

David cleared his throat, attempting to appear nonchalant as he fabricated a story. "Actually, Carissa came by earlier, dropped off the schedule, and then left. She mentioned she had somewhere else to be," he said, his tone casual but his mind racing to come up with a plausible explanation.

Nikki narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Why would she have somewhere else to be?"

David shrugged, trying to maintain his composure. "Well, she didn't specify. But she left my office, so she must have had something to attend to."

Nikki's doubt lingered, but she relented for the moment. As she glanced away, David's eyes involuntarily darted towards the bookshelf, his thoughts lingering on the secret room hidden behind it.

George interjected, "I can go look for her, Sir. It won't take long."