Not long after, Alfred steadily drove the car back to the theater's rear exit.
Inside the car, Brucey leaned against the seat, covered in dirt, her eyelids drooping, utterly exhausted after the ordeal.
Gwen pushed open the car door, turned to Alfred, and said seriously, "Alfred, I'll leave my sister in your care."
Alfred's gaze was gentle, and he nodded slightly: "Miss Gwen, rest assured, I will safely escort Miss Brucey back."
Just as Alfred was about to restart the car to leave, he seemed to remember something, suddenly got out of the car, and leaned close to Gwen's ear, who looked confused, whispering in a very low voice, "You were found by me and Master Thomas in the yard, Miss Gwen."
Hearing this, Gwen's body stiffened slightly, and a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes.
But soon, her lips curved into a slight smile: "Thank you, Alfred. I almost overlooked it."
Although Gwen had been on the phone with Alfred since the second call, she couldn't rule out the possibility that Alfred had been replaced.
Alfred proactively revealing this secret, known only to the three of them, was undoubtedly a reminder to her of this fact, urging her not to let her guard down.
Alfred smiled, started the car, and it slowly drove away, its taillights flickering in the night.
Gwen glanced back, took a deep breath, and, with a still somewhat bewildered Zatanna, turned and walked back into the theater.
Pushing open the door to the lounge, Giovanni was already waiting.
He was about to ask something, but seeing Gwen covered in dirt, his usually calm brow instantly furrowed.
"New-one Cleanse." Giovanni muttered, and as soon as he finished, a cloud of gray smoke swiftly enveloped Gwen.
The smoke came and went quickly; as it dispersed, the dirt on Gwen's body vanished without a trace, as if it had never been there.
Gwen looked at her refreshed self and couldn't help but inwardly grumble: "Cleanse anew, huh? Do I need to pay J.K. Rowling royalties?"
Oh, it's all Warner's, so no worries then.
"Thank you, Teacher." Although she was grumbling internally, Gwen still politely thanked Giovanni.
Giovanni nodded slightly, then asked with a serious expression, "Gwen, what exactly happened? Looking at you, you must have been through a lot."
Gwen breathed a sigh of relief, finally having the chance to recount Brucey's disappearance, her discovery that the Brucey who returned was a fake, and finding the real Brucey in the park.
Of course, she didn't mention anything about the small broken watch and the bracelet's tracking function.
Giovanni listened attentively, nodded thoughtfully, then asked, "Gwen, what do you plan to do next?"
Gwen's gaze was firm, and she motioned for Giovanni to lean closer.
Giovanni bent down to listen, and Gwen lowered her voice, revealing her plan completely... Gwen, like a cheerful fawn, lightly returned to the audience seats along the narrow passage backstage of the theater.
It was clear she was in a good mood now.
Martha sat in her original seat, her expression somewhat anxious.
She scanned around and finally saw her eldest daughter.
Her eyes instantly reddened, and after greeting the people around her, she stood up and rushed to meet Gwen, pulling her into a hug, her voice tearful, her eyes full of worry: "Gwen, where did you go? You worried me sick!"
Gwen's lips curved high, and she reached out to affectionately rub Martha's cheek: "Mom, don't worry, I went backstage to find Teacher Giovanni!"
Thomas remained in his seat, his hands clasped, appearing extremely calm.
He and Martha had watched Gwen grow up, and they knew this child was not simple.
Especially the bulletproof bracelet on her wrist was her creation.
So, when the child suddenly disappeared, Thomas wasn't particularly worried.
Otherwise, given Thomas's status in Gotham City, he could genuinely say, "If my daughter isn't found, I'll make all of you pay with your lives for my daughter!"
Of course, he could only say it; Thomas himself was thin-skinned and wouldn't actually speak that way.
So, in his opinion, Martha was purely worrying unnecessarily.
By the time Martha led Gwen back to their seats, Fake Brucey was also looking at her with a worried expression.
Her appearance and movements were identical to the real Brucey, even the bracelet on her wrist was almost exactly the same as the real one.
Fake Brucey looked up with her small face, blinking her big eyes, and asked with concern, "Sister, are you alright?"
Gwen looked at Fake Brucey, a hint of slyness flashing in her eyes, a meaningful smile playing on her face, and her tone sincere: "Thank you for your concern, Brucey, I'm fine."
As Gwen conversed with her family, the stage curtain slowly opened, and Giovanni, in a magnificent black tuxedo, appeared once again.
He held a magic wand in his hand, and under the spotlight, his appearance immediately captured the attention of the entire audience.
"Dear audience!" Giovanni's voice was loud, echoing through the theater, "For the next magic trick, I need a lucky audience member as a guest to perform with me!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the theater instantly erupted; audience members eagerly raised their hands, all hoping for a chance to go on stage and experience the charm of magic up close.
Maybe if they were sharp-eyed enough, they could expose the magician's ingenious trick.
Then they could brag to their friends for a long time, "I once saw through a famous magician's trick" or something similar.
Giovanni's lips curved slightly, and a glint flashed in his eyes.
He raised his hand and pointed to the spotlight above the theater: "Then, let this spotlight decide who the lucky one is!"
As if to cooperate with him, the moment Giovanni's finger pointed at the spotlight, the spotlight suddenly lit up with a "swish."
That crisp sound perfectly matched the stage atmosphere.
"The spotlight will sweep back and forth across the audience, and the moment I shout 'Stop!', the spotlight will land on our lucky audience member!" Giovanni waved his short wand and announced loudly.
As soon as he finished speaking, the spotlight began to quickly sweep across the audience.
The light rapidly passed over faces filled with anticipation, and the atmosphere in the entire theater grew increasingly tense; almost everyone held their breath, awaiting the arrival of luck.
Except for Gwen and the Fake Brucey.
And as the saying goes, what you fear will come to pass, or perhaps there was an intentional arrangement by a villain.
When the spotlight swept to Brucey's position, Giovanni on stage revealed a smug smile and shouted, "Stop!"
The intense light shone directly on Fake Brucey, enveloping her.
Fake Brucey, who hadn't really wanted to be chosen, her smile instantly froze, and her heart couldn't help but skip a beat.
She had a bad feeling.