After walking back to the box, Elara lowered her head to look into it.

Inside it was a...

A short laugh escaped her throat, her lips curving up in amusement.

The others had also moved over. Ziva’s eyes widened completely as she stared into the box.

Inside it was a matte black grand piano covered with a layer of transparent silk fabric. But it wasn’t just because it was a piano. As Elara pulled the fabric aside, the glittering caught her eyes instantly.

"You’ve got to be kidding me," Tonio muttered, his face falling as he moved around the object, both hands tucked into his pockets. Then his expression shifted into annoyance. "But seriously. Who the hell sends congratulatory gifts worth more than a private island?"

Carris stood beside it quietly, his expression unreadable. Then he reached into the box and brought out a smaller glossy case placed at the side.

"There’s an ear monitor too," he muttered, staring at the surface before passing it to Elara.

Elara took it from him and opened the box. Her lips pressed into a tight line as she stared at it.

Two in-ear monitors rested inside, and they were definitely her size. She knew that at a glance. The moment she touched it, the cold surface hit her fingers instantly. She brought one out and raised it for everyone to see.

They didn’t look like the plastic and metal ones she was used to. This one had its entire surface paved with flawless white diamonds.

"Those are custom monitors," Carris spoke up again. "Someone had to get your ear impressions to make those fit... or they’re just insanely good at guessing."

Tonio’s expression soured as he looked from the diamond monitor in Elara’s hand back to her face.

"I hope you aren’t actually going to put those in your ears," he scoffed. "You don’t know where they’ve been. Look at how ugly everything is. And moreover, the diamonds may be fake and the wiring might be bugged. Let’s just dispose it off. Honestly, I could order three of these tomorrow if you wanted."

Then he paused.

"But actually... I wouldn’t. Because I’m mentally stable."

Ziva looked up with a sigh, her expression showing she was already fed up with his blabbering. "Just keep quiet, okay?" she muttered, rolling her eyes tiredly. "How can we just dispose off something like this?"

"Oh really, it’s so impressive," Tonio said, a jealous laugh escaping his lips. "The person spent a few hundred thousand aurels just to write one word. He’s clearly trying too hard. Probably some old ugly man with a dusty bank account. He’s surely hiding behind a box because he knows he can’t compete with..."

He paused when he noticed Ziva still glaring daggers at him.

"Well..." he continued quickly changing his tone. "I was just saying we should send it back to the sender. It’s crowding this narrow corridor."

Carris finally straightened up and took a long breath. "We are not sending it back," he said, turning to look at Tonio. "Because we don’t even know where ’back’ is. There’s no return address Mr Adrelo. It was hand delivered by a private courier who came here not long after I arrived."

Then he turned to Elara, ignoring Tonio’s frustrated huff.

"But seriously, this person has your ear measurements. That means someone has been close to you or had access to your medical records without us knowing."

Elara’s fingers tightened around the box, her expression unreadable as she stared at it. Her eyes dropped to the word written on the small piece of paper again.

Impressive.

Her lips pursed.

Carris stepped closer to her, his shadow falling over her figure.

"Keep them in the box for now. I’ll have my tech guys sweep the piano and the monitors for trackers or microphones. Until then, nobody touches the keys."

He said in a firm tone.

–

After they went back inside, Tonio immediately walked to the bags placed on the center table in the living room and brought out a chocolate bar. He unwrapped it, leaned back on the cushion, and stuffed an aggressively large bite into his mouth, chewing loudly.

Carris stood there with one eyebrow raised so high it looked like it might disappear into his aqua hairline. "You realize I brought that for the people who actually live here right" he asked in a mocking tone. "You’re eating the food I bought like a starving raccoon. Or did the football club stop feeding you."

Tonio snorted and rolled his eyes. "Who cares? Consider it a tax for having to look at your face all evening." Then he turned toward Ziva who had gone into the kitchen to take her medicine. "Ziva, what are you preparing? I’m so hungry. This chocolate can’t get me anywhere."

"You’re wrong," she muttered from the kitchen as she popped a pill into her mouth and swallowed it with a grimace. "That chocolate will get you very far away from the ’Flu-Flavored Pasta’ I’m currently not making. My forehead is hot enough to fry an egg right now, so unless you want your dinner seasoned with germs, keep eating the candy."

Tonio immediately pursed his lips and turned back to the bags on the table. He leaned forward again and rummaged through them for a long moment before finally pulling out a sausage.

"This isn’t fair, Miss Korr. Is this how you treat a guest who helped you survive a bomb?" 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"You didn’t help," Ziva called out instantly. "You used Elara as a human shield. And there wasn’t even any bomb."

Not long after Carris made a call, a few men arrived. They carefully brought the box inside and started examining the piano and the monitors thoroughly.

"I heard you’re from Valmont," Tonio suddenly spoke up, staring at Carris. "So this means you actually travel around with piano detectives."

His voice was dripping with mockery but Carris ignored him completely. He only glanced at his watch before looking up at Elara. "Anyway, we’re still going out tonight."

"Do we really have to go?" Elara asked looking up from where she stood leaning against the window.

"Yes," Ziva replied immediately as she walked out of the kitchen. The drama from earlier seemed to have brought half her soul back into her body.

"Absolutely," Tonio also chimed in looking between Ziva and Elara.

Carris sighed and rested a hand beneath his chin. "Why are you answering too?"

"I support celebrations."

"You weren’t invited," Carris protested.

"That has never stopped me before."