This time, despite our "lack" of sleep, Sophie and I arrive at the conference room first. I point at the large buffet of food standing against one wall and make my way over to it. I then sit down at the conference table and quickly finish my breakfast of French toast and apple juice. Wiping my mouth with a napkin and cleaning my area, I sit down again and flip through my file.

    Sophie, who also finished her breakfast, glances up from Michelle' file and asks, "Is there any information on Jacob Grahams?"

    I frown as I stare at the list of David's family members. "Not too much. I read in a website that Jacob was five years older than David, at the age of 43," I add. I glance up at Sophie. Today she braided her blond hair, which somehow brought some more color to her brown eyes. Realizing that I was staring at her, I stare down at the folder and add, "Other than that, it says that Jacob was a part of the army."

    I don't realize that I'm scowling until Sophie asks, "Is there something else?"

    I nod. "It says here that Jacob was dismissed from the army earlier due to an injury what resulted in an amputated arm." I shake my head. "After that, there's no more information about him."

    I glance up to see Sophie frowning down at my file. "Then why..?" She points to her file, then at my folder. "Why are there two murder victims, who somehow were found dead near the same times of death!?" Sophie exhales sharply as she stares at me. "It's too much of a coincidence, don't you think..?"

    I press my lips together, interpreting her argument.

    But before I can say anything, a voice behind us says, "When it comes to murder, when has there ever been a serious coincidence?"

    Sophie and I turn around just in time to see Audrey and Donovan sitting down at the table, their plates of breakfast piled high with all sorts of food. Donovan digs into his food as Audrey says, "What Donovan's trying to say is that in crime dramas, all 'coincidences' lead to some sort of connection. At least, that's what I remember."

    As she hungrily digs into her food Sophie and I exchange glances. I then gaze at the two ravenous Sovereigns. "So in other words, you think that the two murder victims have a connection?" I ask, pursing my lips together in thought. I furrow my eyebrows and run a hand through my hair. "Like they knew each other before they were killed?"

    They both stop eating and confirm my questions with a muffled "Yes." Then they go back to butchering their food and continue stuffing it in their face like it's a race.

I laugh when Sophie's expression scrunches up in disgust at the scene in front of her.

"Wait- so they knew each other?" Laurel asks as she and Benen enter the room.

I shrug my shoulders. "That's what we're assuming. Sophie and I think that it's too much of a coincidence for two murder victims to die near the same location and near the same times. It would make sense- the 'before; photos we saw yesterday of the two seemed very similar."

Sophie nods in agreement. "The murders seem too similar to be completely different. So the only possibility is that they knew each other."

Laurel and Benen sit across the Sovereigns with their plate of breakfast. As Benen begins to eat, Laurel asks, "So they were brother and sister?"

I shake my head politely. "If they were siblings," I say, glancing up from the file again. "Then they would have the same surname, don't you think?"

At this, Audrey scoffs and mumbles, "Idiot." Laurel pouts as she shrinks slightly into her chair.

Sophie glares at Audrey for a moment before turning to Laurel again. "Don't listen to her," she assures the female Altruistic, emphasizing her words with a gentle smile and earns a smile in return.

I walk behind Sophie with the file open to the picture of David. I reach over Sophie's shoulder to flip the file back to the first page. When I notice her tensing at my close presence, I apologize, "Sorry- I'm just comparing the photos."

Sophie nods hesitantly as I compare the two photos. Michelle has pale skin while the other had more color to his skin. Her round face seems rather plump compared to David's square face. His hazel eyes seem almost transparent compared to Michelle's brown ones. Their blond hair seem to be similar, though.

Suddenly, I find Sophie staring at me. "What if they didn't know each other through family, but they knew each other on a romantic basis?" she asks, shrugging. "It sounds logical- not too far-fetched."

I frown as I think about the new possibility. "Wait, they could've been romantic partners?" I ask, sitting down at my spot again. "If so, wouldn't there be any information about their relationship status?"

Before Sophie can reply, Audrey's eyes widen as she spits out, "Wait- so we're just going along with the theory of them dating?" When I nod, she and Donovan gag repeatedly, earning an eye roll from Sophie and me.

After glaring at the gagging Sovereigns, Sophie clears her throat. "That information should be somewhere in the files, don't you think?" She then takes the time to skim both of our files. "That's weird," she suddenly murmurs, not realizing that she said it out loud.

I frown at that. "What's weird?"

Sophie looks up from the folders. "You heard me?" She then shakes her head and scans the files again, as if making sure of something. "In that case, have you noticed that there isn't anything about their relationship status?" She then points at the background information of David. "It doesn't even say whether he's single or in a relationship. Doesn't that sound weird?"

"Yeah, it does," Donovan agrees, reminding the two of us that the Sovereigns were still here. He shakes his head. "It sounds too suspicious-"

The rest of his statement is interrupted by Benen clapping his hands together. When we all turn to stare at him, he shrugs his shoulders. "Why don't we search it up?" he blatantly asks as if that option was under our noses the entire time. "Don't we have computers or any electronics?"

I frown. "I don't think so. I didn't check," I add. "Did either of you guys check?"

Both shake their heads in response.

I sigh in irritation. Standing up, I close my folder and push in my chair. "Alright- here's the plan," I declare. I point at the two boys. "You two will come up to my room in about fifteen minutes. It's on the eighth level, by the way. We'll do some more research then."

I turn to walk away, but Sophie grabs my arm. I glance around my shoulder as Sophie whispers, "How do you know that you'll be able to do some research?"

I smirk and lean closer. "I have the feeling that someone was listening to our conversation," I whisper, raising an eyebrow when Sophie's expression becomes more panicked. "Most likely that officer of some sort. If anything, I'm half-expecting some laptops to 'miraculously' appear in our dormitories."

At the mention of the officer, I find myself frowning. An idea suddenly dawns on me, and I whisper in a softer voice, "Also, try to look into this officer." I pause for a moment to stare at the Sovereigns and Altruistics.

Almost reading my gaze, Sophie says, "I'll keep this between the two of us. I won't blame you- he seems too suspicious for me to trust him, and I can tell he's hiding something."

I nod in silence. Shrugging my arm free from Sophie's grasp, I make my way towards my room. And the other two pair of feet tell me that the other boys are close behind me.