A swift and decisive victory in the early stages, a post-apocalyptic survival story in America!

Inside the room, Lola patted Adele on the shoulder: "The department sent me here. There's something else I need your help with. I need to take a look at Nick's study to see if there are any relevant clues..."

Adele suddenly looked up, her eyes bloodshot, at Lola. After a moment of silence, she shook her head frantically, "No! Nick is dead. If he's watching from heaven, he won't allow you to touch his things!"

"Adele—"

Lola tried to say a few more words of persuasion, but Adele's attitude was unusually firm as she shouted, "Leave my house immediately!"

Laura looked dejected and could only tell the truth: "Nick may be involved in multiple crimes, including abuse of power and detaining illegal immigrants. His death is likely due to a dispute over the division of spoils. We need—"

"Get out! This has nothing to do with me! Go get a search warrant! I won't give you anything until then!" Adele pointed to the door and began to scream hysterically.

Laura's expression shifted, and she threatened, "Think carefully! If Nick is proven guilty, his honors for dying in the line of duty will be revoked! Can your children accept their father being disgraced? I hope you think it through before making a decision—"

"Get out! Get out! Leave my house!" Adele seemed to have gone mad, her gaze fixed on the ground in front of her, avoiding Lola's eyes and refusing to make eye contact.

The situation took a sharp turn for the worse. Lola was puzzled as to why Adele was suddenly acting so recklessly. Unable to confront her directly, she had no choice but to back down.

"Okay! I'll leave now!" Before things got out of control, Lola left the Grant's house.

Back in the car, Kent hesitated, unsure what to say, while Lola slammed her fist on the steering wheel, filled with frustration.

"Alright, that's enough for today. I'll take you home now!" Lola drove her old Mitsubishi Pajero out of the parking space.

Through the car window, it was clear that Nick Grant's widow, Adele Grant, was standing in the shadows behind the door, watching the two men.

After dropping Kent off at his office, Lola turned the car around and drove back to the residential area where Grant lived.

After parking her car a hundred meters away, Lola changed out of her high-ranking agent badge and jacket and into civilian clothes, then walked to the vicinity of Grant's house.

As evening approached, the number of vehicles on the road gradually increased, and occasional pedestrians crossed the road. People returning to school and work were coming back, and the community began to bustle again.

Laura, wearing headphones and pretending to exercise, observed the Grant house in the distance.

A young man appeared on the porch, and inside the door was Adele, her face filled with sorrow.

The young man only took his leave after he had returned and been gone for so long; what the two did afterward is self-evident.

It's hard to believe that Adele is such a promiscuous woman. Her husband is dead, her children are coming home soon, and she still has the mood to continue her affair.

Laura felt a pang of injustice that Nick had died at her hands.

What exactly does marriage bring to men?

Shortly after the young man left, a bicycle came from a distance and stopped on the walkway in Grant's front yard.

The young girl, brimming with youthful energy, skipped and hopped off the bus and headed home.

The lingering schadenfreude in Lola's heart completely dissipated. Perhaps the children were the ones most hurt by Nick's death.

Nick's eldest daughter, Susan, is in middle school, and his two sons are in elementary school. Without their father, how will the family of four survive?

As a housewife, can Adele support this level of lifestyle?

When all of this is put together, Adele's earlier outburst can be reasonably explained.

That's probably why that skinny bastard was in this neighborhood, right?

Nick left behind a considerable sum of money, enough for the mother and her three daughters to live a comfortable life.

Then Adele can find another husband to provide for her, along with Nick's pension...

The truth is probably this: Lola isn't particularly proud of being able to read Adele's mind.

What's complicated is never the truth, but the human heart.

Nick's study must hold a lot of money.

Lola wasn't particularly interested in the money; she was in the prime of her career and more interested in any potential leads.

If Maeve's calculations are correct, Nick is likely a key link in a black market supply chain. Finding out the buyers and sellers upstream and downstream, and uncovering corruption and moles within the bureau, would be the most crucial stepping stone for her to get promoted and receive a raise.

Since that's the case, then tonight we'll have to explore Grant's study.

This wasn't the first time Lola had done something like this, and she was quite composed.

After walking around a few times, as night fell and the number of pedestrians and vehicles on the road decreased, Lola quietly climbed over the wall and entered the backyard, following the planned route. She then cautiously hid under the study window and peered inside.

Inside the house, the family of four had already eaten dinner. Adele forced a smile, helped her daughter and two sons eat, cleaned up the kitchen, and then went to the study, carefully locking the door.

Whether it was because she had spent a lot of time with her husband Nick and had become more vigilant, or because she had honed her skills through years of infidelity, Adele was very careful. She went to the study window and lowered the blinds.

Outside the window, Lola cursed inwardly as she hid to the side. When she returned to the window, she could no longer see what was happening inside through the blinds.

The study window had only a thin pane of glass and was not soundproof; the sound of Adele opening the safe could be clearly heard.

A beep sounded, followed by Adele's cheering voice: "Thank God..."

Laura roughly guessed that Adele must have opened the safe and discovered the cash inside.

"Mom! Why can't I connect to the WiFi!" Nick's teenage daughter Susan Grant's voice called out faintly. Adele responded and hurriedly closed the safe door and left the study.

After waiting for a long time and confirming that all the lights on the first floor were off and no one was there, Lola carefully opened the unlocked back door and sneaked into the house.

Upon entering the study, Lola found herself at a loss when confronted with the locked safe door, and could only search for other clues.

There was only one bookshelf in the study, filled with various books that had probably never been read. Besides that, there was only a desk in the middle of the study and a safe in the corner.

There was also a single bed with pillows and a blanket, clearly where Nick Grant would have spent the night when he was alive.

Lola had heard Nick complain more than once that when he came home late at night, his wife wouldn't let him go upstairs to disturb her and the children's rest, so he had to sleep in the study...

Shaking her head, Lola controlled her thoughts, trying not to think about poor Nick, and focused all her efforts on finding clues.

Unfortunately, Nick Grant was a shrewd and cautious man. The entire room was covered in dust, the bookshelves were dusty, the computer had a password, the desk drawers were locked, and the safe was out of the question—it was impossible to open it.

Lola looked annoyed; it seemed she had underestimated the situation.

I think I should apply for a search warrant tomorrow, or just report it to the department and let Maeve worry about how to get Adele to talk, or how to break these safes and locks.

Quietly leaving through the back door, Lola carefully retraced her steps, and once she was far enough away from the Grant house, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Lacking experience in covert infiltration and investigation, and with no daily work requiring lock picking or door breaking, it seems the ERO agents overestimated their abilities.

Lola was a little frustrated. She got into the car, started the engine, and swerved to drive out of the parking space.

I hadn't gone far when I inadvertently spotted a Dodge pickup truck parked in the shadows of an inconspicuous corner by the roadside, and it seemed somewhat familiar.

Driving over, Lola saw the license plate and cursed, "Shit! That son of a bitch, that skinny, drug addict!"