"And so do I" Theodore said, suddenly making them conscious of his presence. "But I don't think they'd be able to share anything useful with us. In as much we'd like to have them here, i doubt it's necessary"
"As an ex-member of the powerhouse, what do you think we should focus on?" Raymond asked
"Ex-member of the powerhouse?" Ciara asked looking perplexedly at Theodore and eventually turned to look at Cindy. "Did you know about that?"
Cindy simply nodded and looked away.
"Huh!" Ciara scoffed angrily and scanned the faces of all the people in the room. "It seems i was the only person oblivious to that fact since everyone here seems to know"
"Ciara, we don't have time for that" Vanessa stated factually.
Ciara only nodded and everyone remained silent as Theodore made himself comfortable next to his wife.
"We're waiting for you, Theodore" Samuel finally broke the silence.
"Well, if you'd ask me, I'd say their target is likely to be Raymond" Theodore said as he looked at Raymond, who stared blankly at him in return. "You don't think so?"
"Why would you say that?" Raymond asked.
"How did you get the information that the powerhouse would be attacking your family?" Theodore asked.
"We have a mole in there" Raymond replied seriously
"And the mole couldn't tell you why your mum, wife and daughter were targeted?" Theodore asked.
"Wife?" it was time for the whole house, except Arnold and Kelly, to be surprised this time.
"Oh! my bad. Didn't mean to spill it. Now how many, are you keeping from them?" Theodore asked blankly.
"Vanessa, when did you two get married?" Cindy asked, looking so confused.
"It's a long story" Vanessa replied anxiously.
"Well, keep it short!" Ciara said angrily. She couldn't believe Vanessa kept such an information from them.
"We were 'forced' to get married after dad found out I was with a baby. His parents and mine, were present when we signed the marriage certificate" Vanessa replied truthfully.
"Oh, I see. I don't know why you kept that from us but that explains the ring on your ring finger. Just thought it was your way of warding off men who pestered you" Ciara said awkwardly and laughed bitterly. "How many secrets are going to be unfolded today? My day just began"
"Ciara" Cindy called out softly and shook her head when her twin faced her.
"Do you realize, they started to attack the moment Vanessa arrived here?" Theodore asked. "Raymond, there must be something you know or have in possession, which must be related to Vanessa, that the powerhouse wants"
Raymond sighed heavily and looked at Arnold.
"I don't think there's anything like that. If there's something like that then i am yet to find out myself" Raymond replied honestly.
"I think the first attempt was to make you choose your Achilles heels and you chose Vanessa. That makes Vanessa, your weakness. So without a doubt their next target is going to be Vanessa. If your mole could find out why you're being targeted, it would be great. Let your mole work harder to find the truth as soon as possible. Once we know why they're after you, we'd know how to handle them" Theodore said.
"I agree" Edith nodded
"As we wait for the mole, i think we need to heighten the security in and around this house. We don't know when they'll attack again" Samuel said and they all nodded in unison, as if they practiced it.
"Well, I'll take care of the security issues" Caleb replied.
"Make sure to thoroughly check anything that enters this house, be it food, animal, everything including people" Theodore cautioned.
"Restrict movement of people in, out and around the house. Select a few people who would be in charge of restocking, paying bills and other errands to keep the house moving" Arnold said, and Caleb and Vanessa nodded.
"Let's not forget we can't use the military for our personal gains. We'd have to hire people to take care of that" Raymond chimed in.
"I'd take care of that. My men should be arriving soon. I'll have them do that" Theodore assured
"How many men are you expecting?" Arnold asked
"Three" Theodore answered.
"Three?"