Brendan smiled and pulled Deirdre into his arms. He leaned his head on her shoulder, but a shadow shrouded his mien. “Do you remember when I told you that Southedge lags behind Eastgene?”

“Yes?”

“Looks like things have changed.”

Deirdre froze and shot him an aside glance. “What do you mean?”

“Southedge is an island, so its development echoes that of a small country. It’s completely different from metropolises like Neve, especially when its geography and resources could not compare to that of a large country. Southedge was, at most, a second-class city… until now. According to the information Sam gave me back in the car, Southedge is developing at a pace that could possibly eclipse Neve.”

Deirdre was bewildered. Neve was the nation’s most prioritized first-class metropolis. Southedge, in comparison, was just a remote island. How could the latter somehow match the first?

“But how?”

Brendan’s expression darkened. “This is what puzzled me. Maybe local authorities have been working t