"I'm saying no and that's final," Ezekiel said with a finality in his tone, leaving no room for arguments.
"Look, we won't get anywhere if you don't take us to this secret place," Genevieve said, her patience running thin, "My grandmother isn't a fool to suggest something like that."
"She literally told you to 'extract information' from us!" Ezekiel narrowed his eyes at her, poking the inside of his cheek with his tongue, "You were lucky enough to get us on with your plans or you would have literally forced the things out of my mouth. I don't see how any of these situations are working in my favour."
Genevieve let out a frustrated sigh, leaning back on the plush sofas in the living room of the Jiang family mansion.
"Ezekiel Jiang, I don't seem to understand why you are so against this," Irene spoke up, causing Ezekiel to turn to look at her dead in the eyes, "Both you and I have the same goal. Finding the crown."
"Do we?" Ezekiel let out a scoff, "What guarantee do I have that you will not betray us if I tell you the location of the crown?"
Irene tilted her head to the side, "Didn't you agree to work with us?"
"Those are only words, Ms Pierce," Ezekiel said, "I'm a businessman. You have nothing to convince me to help you."
A hushed silence fell in the room and Ezekiel knew he was right. He let out a sigh, not liking his situation either. He had always been able to turn situations in his favour but not this time. The balance had almost tipped to his side but his brilliant plan to turn his current circumstance advantageous went down the drain the moment Irene's grandmother and her ridiculous secret messages trampled all over it.
"Why don't you read the next letter already?" Archer piped in to fill the uncomfortable silence, "Won't that help in giving us another clue?"
Irene shook her head. "My grandmother always told me to firmly believe in the old saying, curiosity killed the cat. Too much knowledge will jeopardize any situation and this matter is sensitive as it is."
"She's right," Genevieve said, "It is clear that someone else also knows about the crown's disappearance besides us. We don't want to alert anyone just yet when we have no solid leads."
"Can you ask your grandmother for permission?" Irene asked Ezekiel who shook his head.
"If I tell her what we're up to right now, she'll make sure to get us off the case. She is extremely protective of the family's secrets, she'll be tight-lipped about them even if you torture her. She's scary like that."
"Then don't ask her." A male voice spoke from somewhere, causing all four heads to whip in the direction of it.
A man in his early thirties walked over to them, hands showed in his pockets and a casual smile on his face.
"Keith? Why are you here?" Ezekiel narrowed his eyes, not liking the fact that he was here.
"Well, I couldn't help but listen in to your conversation. I don't think it would be so bad to take these lovely ladies for a visit to the secret place, would it?" He said, looking over at Genevieve and Irene, before bending towards the latter and taking her hand.
"Keith Jiang, Ezekiel's older brother." He kissed her hand. Irene's mouth twitched in a scowl before her expression turned blank. For some reason, Ezekiel was satisfied to see her dislike for his brother. At least someone shared the same emotions as him.
Archer cleared his throat in an attempt to cut through the obvious tension in the room and the annoyance rolling off Ezekiel at Keith's presence.
"Why do you think we shouldn't tell Grandmother anything?" He asked and Keith turned towards him casually.
"Well, for starters, let's not forget that the immediate problem at hand is the destruction of the world. Second," He said, stepping closer to Ezekiel and slinging an arm over his shoulder, "these two beautiful ladies are offering you a way ahead that is at least better than staying clueless, right brother?"
Ezekiel shrugged off Keith's arm, scowling at his brother. He didn't want to admit it but somewhere he knew Keith was right. He'd have been clueless if not for the information Irene and Genevieve had provided him.
"Huh, you're speaking as if you'll take responsibility if we get caught by grandmother." He said.
Keith laughed. "My dear brother, you're old enough to make your decisions. Why are you so scared of her?"
He stepped closer, his back to the others so they couldn't see the challenging expression on his face. He lowered his voice and said, "Had I been in your position, brother, I wouldn't have missed it."
Ezekiel did not miss the threatening tone in his words. He clenched his fists, wanting to land a good punch on Keith's face and break his jaw.
His usual smile replaced his smirk as he faced the others as if nothing happened. "Think about it well, yeah?"
He winked at Irene who now openly scowled at him before walking away, without a care in the world.
As soon as he was out of earshot, Genevieve spoke up. "No offence but I really don't like that guy."
"You're not alone," Archer sighed, "when it comes to power and money, even your loved ones can turn against you."
"Wow, is that some juicy gossip?" Genevieve said, "I wonder how much I'd make if I accidentally let this slip--"
"Not now, Genevieve." The three of them said at once, effectively shutting her up.
-------------
Ezekiel took an entire day to make his mind up. He knew he had to give in but he still wanted to consider all the possibilities. He felt annoyed when nothing else came up.
The four of them stopped in front of an old abandoned church. It was almost in ruins, the cracks in the walls covered by the long vines that encircled the structure almost entirely. The church was pale white in colour, its roof rising upwards in a triangular shape, though Ezekiel could easily spot a few missing bricks. It was located in a secluded region with hardly any people around. It was definitely an odd hiding place for something as secretive and dangerous as the Crown of Fire. He had always wondered what made his grandmother choose this location out of all other good ones.
"Don't break your promise," Ezekiel murmured as they went inside, "not a single word about this to anyone."
They hummed in response, easing Ezekiel's worries to a small extent. There were benches arranged in an orderly fashion though they were covered with dust and cobwebs. Same with the walls, all the pictures and paintings seemed to be yellowing with time.
"Why do I feel this sense of familiarity," Genevieve muttered, running her fingers along a wall, "that I have been here before?"
"Me too," Irene said, "I keep having these brief flashes that I was here but this church isn't what it looks like in my memory."
"It could be an illusion," Ezekiel said, dismissing their remark. "It isn't possible that you know about this place which for years has served the purpose of keeping the crown safe."
They stopped in the middle of the room where a single rose was engraved on the ground. It wasn't easy to spot, the floor itself was strangely covered in patterns that were fading with time, including the rose.
"Step back," Ezekiel said. He felt around before latching his fingers on a raised tile around the rose and pulling it. In no time, sounds of levers clicking resonated in the room and to their surprise, a wall slid open to reveal a secret passageway.
"Something's not right," Irene muttered, suddenly cautioned. "Why is no one guarding the crown?"
"It could attract unnecessary attention, I suppose?" Archer replied, flicking his flashlight on as they walked inside the dark room. "Besides, the crown is stolen so I don't see a point why it should be guarded anymore."
Ezekiel considered what Archer said though Irene's question made him think. She was right, shouldn't the guardians be punished for letting the crown get stolen? If they were, why didn't he hear anything about it?
They stopped in a dimly lit room, the only light spilling in from the small window on the wall in front of them. Below it lay an empty glass box where Ezekiel imagined the crown to be, in all its elegance and power.
Archer felt around on one of the walls and switched on a light and Genevieve gasped.
"Irene," She croaked out. She stumbled towards the glass box which lay on a huge slab of marble, engraved with elegant patterns.
"Don't tell me," Irene crouched in front of the marble, feeling the engraving beneath her fingers, "this is the same structure from Grandmother's brown book?"
"What?" Ezekiel asked, confused. How was this connected to their grandmother, again?
The sisters shared a look and Ezekiel immediately knew they were hiding something. He tensed up, realizing it was a bad idea to bring them here.
"My grandmother told me about the legend of the crown when I was young," Irene said finally, her eyes darting around the room, "she showed me a drawing of it in a very old book where the crown was resting on the same marble as this."
"This doesn't make sense." Archer huffed in annoyance, running his fingers through his hair, "just how is your grandmother connected to all this?"
Irene bit her lip. "All I know is that things aren't as simple as it looks. The disappearance of the crown has to do something with my grandmother and your family in a way."
They looked around the room for more clues but they couldn't find any. It was clean as if nothing had ever happened. As they walked out of the church dejectedly, Ezekiel couldn't help but wonder about what Irene had said earlier. It was indeed strange that Irene's grandmother would give them clues to solve the quest and then they could also recognize the marble structure. It all seemed to line up too perfectly like levels in a game, where the story unfolds and the difficulty increases as they clear each of it.
As he stared at the sisters walking in front of him, a bigger question troubled him. Just who were Irene and Genevieve Pierce and what secret were they hiding?