The next day, on their way to Arya's cell, Lilah gave Gerard a tour of the dungeon. Gerard pointed out the weaknesses of the cells made of wood and steel, and suggested installing high-tech electronic locks to prevent jailbreaks.

Lilah gladly accepted his suggestions. Soon, they came to the cell Arya was imprisoned in. Rather, at first glance, the woman appeared to be Arya.

As she stared at the chained woman, Lilah couldn't help but think something was off. The woman was chained up in the middle of a watery pit, but she hung her head, deliberately obscuring her face with her tangled hair. The whole thing was suspicious.

Lilah nodded at a guard, who pressed a button to raise the iron bridge in the water.

As soon as the bridge was in place, Lilah waked over and lifted the woman's head to get a good look at her face.

What she found was a lifeless face that bore a striking resemblance to Arya.

Unconvinced by what she was seeing, Lilah lightly slapped the woman's cheek. “Arya, are you okay?"

The woman's eyes slowly opened. But the second she saw Lilah, her eyes filled with fury and hatred.

"You witch! It's all your fault! You're the reason I'm in this mess..."

“Cut it out," Lilah snapped irritably. She pushed the woman's head down and groped behind her ear.

The woman's eyes widened in fear and she hissed, “If you want to kill me, go ahead, I don't care! But don't you dare humiliate me!"

Lilah ignored her and continued searching her face.

ALL of a sudden, Lilah's fingers caught on the edge of a human-skin mask.

She tried to peel it off gently, but it wouldn't budge.

"Fuck off! Fuck off!" The woman's body thrashed about, her Limbs flailing wildly, but Lilah's grip held firm, her determination to uncover the truth unwavering.

Despite the woman's valiant efforts, Lilah managed to rip the mask free after a forceful yank. It came off with a bit of skin and the woman howled. The face beneath the mask was similar to Arya's. The small differences had been covered by the mask so that the woman would look exactly like Arya.

"Who are you?" Lilah asked, her brow furrowed.

The resemblance between this woman and Arya made Lilah think of Miranda, someone who looked very much like Lilah.

Ever since she woke up, she hadn't seen Miranda. Most days, Lilah wondered where she was and if she was safe.

The chained woman gritted her teeth and spat angrily, “What do you want? I am Arya, just kill me!"

Lilah was surprised by the woman's fierce loyalty to Arya, and her determination to protect her even in the face of death. This unexpected display of devotion softened Lilah's approach, and she chose to set aside her usual interrogation tactics, instead opting for a more empathetic and gentle approach to uncover the truth.

She told Xavier to go and get Cyrus.

Cyrus was a real gem. A multifaceted man who was not only a master of martial arts, but also skilled in embroidery and cooking. But his talents didn't stop there. He was even an expert in hypnosis.

Of course, Lilah had dabbled in hypnosis, but she had barely scratched the surface and didn't possess Cyrus's level of expertise.