"He was even thoughtful enough to water my plants! "And after he was done cleaning, the whole villa was spotless. Isn't that bizarre?" Addison continued speculating, "Do you think this thief has some kind of strange habit? "Like, maybe he sneaks into people's houses just to clean them for free? "And he enjoys watering their plants too," she added. Ryan, who had just regained some color in his face, suddenly turned red again. "What's wrong? "Ryan, why is your face so red?" Ryan stammered, "Dr. Daves, the thief you're talking about ... " "What about him?" "It's probably me," he swallowed hard. "You?" Addison blinked. "Wait, you're saying you're the thief?"Ryan nodded stiffly. "Yeah." "Hold on—how did you even get in? Where did you get the key?" "You gave it to me back at the lab," Ryan explained hesitantly. "You asked me to come to the villa to pick up some medicinal ingredients." "When I brought them back, I tried to return the key, but you told me to keep it since I might need to come again in the future. You said if you weren't around or if you were away, I should take care of the villa—keep it clean and water the plants." Ryan stumbled through his explanation. During the days Addison was gone, he had been either at the lab or Pendomium Heights. He missed her so much it was driving him crazy. Somehow, cleaning the villa made it feel like she was still there like he could hold onto some trace of her presence. Otherwise, he might've truly believed she was never coming back. At first, he had only planned to tidy up the floors—just a quick wipe-down. But as time passed, it spiraled out of control. He cleaned every inch of the villa, inside and out.Now, the place was so pristine that the floors practically sparkled. Addison stood frozen, struggling to process everything. After a long pause, the memory finally resurfaced. "So, it was him?" Gordon straightened up from where he was leaning against the wall, casting Ryan a sidelong glance before turning to Addison for confirmation. She caught the look in his eyes and nodded. "Yeah ... I think I did say that." She had been so busy that she completely forgot. "Well, that explains everything. So, there was never a thief to begin with ... " "Gordon, my bad. This is on me." But Gordon just shook his head, shooting Ryan a sharp look. "It's his fault. No matter what, if he's coming to the boss's house, he should've given a heads-up." Ryan suddenly got the feeling that this bodyguard didn't like him. Instinctively, Addison defended him. "No, it's still on me. I told Ryan he could come anytime—I never said he had to let me know first." She turned to Gordon decisively. "Sorry for making you work overtime. I'll double your paycheck this month." But the moment she said that Gordon's expression darkened even more. It was clear he had something to say. But since he had no money, he swallowed his words.