Ch. 951..960

Chapter 951 Jamie Gets Duped

Jamie’s eyes lit up as he grabbed the sandwich and then took a big bite. He chewed his food in satisfaction while complimenting the little one. “My godson treats me best. He is the only one who would lend me a helping hand. No wonder I love you so much.”

“You’re welcome, Godfather.” Irvin squinted his eyes into slits as he giggled. “That’s one million by the way. You can transfer it into my bank account.”

Pfft— The food Jamie just ate was spat right out. “One million! Why don’t you go and rob a bank?”

While he spoke, he put away the sandwich. “I’m returning this!” His saliva was all over it, so Irvin would definitely not take it back. It would still be his in the end.

“You’ve taken a bite. It’s non-returnable,” Irvin replied. “That’s not my problem then. I won’t give you the money anyway. If you don’t want the sandwich anymore, I can take care of it for you.” Jamie began acting like a shameless thug.

Irvin unhurriedly changed his expression and started reenacting Jamie’s drunken state. “Narissa, where are you? Narissa, I miss you so much. Na—”

“Irvin, you went back on your words!” Jamie was so pissed that his face turned red. “I’ve already bought that video. How could you use that to threaten me?!”

“It was you who shamelessly tried to trick a child,” Irvin argued.

“I—” Jamie was at a loss for words, so he could only admit defeat. “Fine. I’ll give you the money, alright? I must have owed you a lot during my previous life!”

After transferring the money, he angrily took a bite out of the same sandwich.

He then complained while eating, “One million of one sandwich. What a profiteer. You’re a deceitful businessman!”

“You should be grateful.” Alexander explained flatly, “He could have stolen the money from you, but he gave you a sandwich in exchange for the money.”

“What are you talking about?” Jamie asked with a mouthful of food.

“Irvin has started some kind of research that requires a lot of money. He just asked me and his dad to sponsor him, but we told him to rely on himself to find funds and then you appeared.” Not bearing to see Jamie getting duped, Elise explained the situation out of kindness.

It was then that Jamie realized he had been tricked and turned around to find that Irvin had already disappeared. He slapped his thigh in frustration. “Me and my bad luck!”

Irvin was Alexander’s son, yet Irvin was using his money for research. Where on earth was the logic in this?

He felt like his middle name was Dupe. Jamie Dupe Keller.

…

Camren knew Rebecca had arrived in Wegas and immediately booked a table at Hotel Wegas to hold a welcoming meal for her.

He put on a new custom-made suit and specially tied a bowtie in advance before finally heading to Hotel Wegas. In addition, he was now holding a sparkling walking stick, which he had ordered someone to polish.

When the door to the private room was opened, he immediately rose to his feet and greeted, “Becky, you came.”

Camren had been calling Rebecca “Becky” for many years.

“Stop calling me that. Don’t you feel embarrassed when calling me that? Because I do.” Rebecca’s expression was dark as storm clouds.

With several waiters and waitresses looking at them, Camren felt embarrassed, and the atmosphere inside the private room turned awkward.

“Let’s sit down,” Ariel spoke up to ease the mood.

The family of three sat down at the table, with Rebecca sitting in the middle.

The dishes were soon served. Camren had specially ordered Cittadelian dishes for them, and every dish looked scrumptious.

“Becky, this is the honey-glazed carrots you used to love. I even hired a chef of Cittadel nationality to make it. Here, try some.” Camren then served Rebecca some of the honey-glazed carrots.

“Don’t you know that my taste in food has changed? Also, eating too much sugar is not good for my skin. Are you trying to harm me?” Every word Rebecca said was like sharp needles piercing Camren’s heart.

Camren parted his lips, wanting to explain himself but then chose not to say anything and sat back down. After that, he stopped doing anything.

But even if he didn’t do anything, Rebecca still wouldn’t let him go.

“Well, are you tired of talking to me? You can just tell me if you don’t want to see me. If it wasn’t for Ariel’s sake, do you think I would come and meet you?”

“You rebuke every word I say, so what do you expect me to say?” Camren felt defeated. “Can you at least try to be nicer to me before our child?”

Many years had passed, yet she was still so unforgiving and terrifyingly domineering.

“You did this to yourself. What right do you have to ask me to be kind to you when you’re the one who abandoned us? Stop the crap. Didn’t you invite us here to give Ariel her share of the inheritance? Make it quick because I don’t want to stay another minute with you.” The more Rebecca spoke, the angrier she felt.

“I have my own career and don’t lack any money, so don’t drag me into your fight.” Ariel didn’t want to get implicated in her parents’ argument.

In fact, she could see that her mother still had feelings for Camren.

After so many years, she had never seen her mother speak so much at once.

“Excuse me while I take this call. You guys continue eating.”

Ariel found an excuse and went out, giving her parents some privacy.

Once she went out, the room atmosphere relaxed a lot.

Camren hesitated for a bit but then decided to fight for himself. “Becky, how have you been?”

“Thanks to you, I had the privilege of raising my daughter alone while getting cold shoulders from others. All my life, people gossip about me and point their fingers at me,” Rebecca said in a gloomy voice.

“I’m sorry.” Camren felt remorseful.

“Cut the act. If apologies worked, why do we need the police?” Rebecca didn’t even look him in the eye and stubbornly sat sideways.

“I will do all I can to make it up to you and our daughter,” Camren promised sincerely.

“Put your money where your mouth is. As far as I know, you have another daughter who is not easy to deal with.”

Parents who loved their children would help their children plan for the future. Though Rebecca always had a cold expression, she had frequently planned many things for Ariel behind her back.

“You don’t have to worry about that. I’m not whom I used to be. From now on, I will never break the promises I make to you.” With a wave of his hand, Camren confidently announced as he looked at Rebecca with more eagerness.

Meanwhile, Rebecca had noticed his intentions and quickly dodged.

However, Camren became bolder and expressed his feelings. “To tell you the truth, after all these years, I’ve never forgotten about you, Becky.”

“That’s enough!” Rebecca didn’t give him a chance to finish his speech and stood up. “What are you expecting me to do after listening to your sentimental words? Do you want me to forgive you? That will never happen! You want to erase all my sufferings with just the movement of your lips, but the things you’ve brought on to me aren’t just betrayal and abandonment. You made me lose my trust in love and people. If you want me to forgive you, I’d suggest you die first!”

After saying that, she grabbed her purse and left in anger.

Ariel had been standing by the door and watched as her mother stormed past her and straight out the door. She was powerless to stop her mother.

Soon, Camren came out of the room as well and looked in the direction that Rebecca left with a complicated expression and sighed.

“Didn’t you say you would go with what Mom says? Why did you guys get in a fight again?” Ariel was worried.

Camren let out another sigh. “I hurt her too deeply. Life must have been hard for you all these years.”

Chapter 952 Change to Another Target

Rebecca had always had a strong character, and since she suffered a traumatic love life, she treated others even colder. Therefore, Ariel must have had it hard while growing up under her mom’s care.

All the grievances she suffered were because of Camren. “That’s not true. Mom has taken good care of me, and we take care of each other. I didn’t feel life was hard.”

Ariel didn’t resent her mother. Instead, she could understand her mother better because they had the same personalities. “That’s good to hear…” Camren felt more relieved after hearing that, but then he thought of something and asked, “Why didn’t that Danny kid come with you guys?”

“Our company is looking to establish a subsidiary company here, so he’s quite busy lately and can’t leave.” Ariel didn’t hesitate to help Danny find an excuse.

The reality was that even though she didn’t exactly lose contact with Danny as he would reply to her messages, she had not seen him for a while now.

When she went to Elise’s house that day, she could sense something was wrong but couldn’t guess what it was. Therefore, she didn’t dare to act rashly and could only wait and see what would happen.

“It’s a good sign. Men should be eager to fight for their careers while still young.” Camren nodded before sharing his words of wisdom. “You should be more understanding of him and have more trust in him. Don’t take after your mom and me and let your relationship end in remorse.”

“I know, but I’m very curious. How did you guys split up back then?” That was something Ariel had been trying to find out.

“It’s a long story. I’ll explain it to you next time.”

“Fine then. I’ll go check up on Mom.”

“Sure, you go check up on her.”

Since she couldn’t find out any gossip, Ariel didn’t stay any longer. When she came out of the building, she discovered that her mother had left without her. It should mean that her mother wanted to be alone.

To avoid disturbing her mother, Ariel decided to head over to their new company.

As the business had just started, Danny wouldn’t always be at the office, so as the co-owner, she had to watch over the company.

Ariel was busy with work until 6.00PM when she decided to leave and check up on her mother.

Just as she came out of the building, she bumped into Maverick.

His car was parked by the road with its door wide open, obviously indicating that he had specially come over to pick her up.

“Come on. Accompany me somewhere.” Maverick came forward and invited her.

“I’m busy. You’d better not waste your efforts.” Walking around him, Ariel made her way to her car.

Then, Maverick raised his voice and said something that successfully made her stop in her tracks. “I just wanted to bring you to meet a few business partners. It’s business matters. Don’t tell me you aren’t interested in earning money?”

After pondering for a moment, Ariel turned around and walked toward his car. “I’m not that petty.”

A satisfied smile appeared on Maverick’s face. He knew her very well, so how could he let her walk away?

Arie, you can’t escape from me.

Maverick and Ariel worked together to please their business partner, making him agree to sponsor the projects they wanted.

After the business dinner ended, Maverick drove Ariel home.

Since Ariel wanted to avoid talking with Maverick, she kept looking down at her phone to avoid having any contact with him, but she didn’t expect her actions would give him a chance for him to drive the car onto an overpass.

Before Ariel could realize what had happened, Maverick opened the door and got out of the car, leaving her with no choice but to follow him in getting out of the car.

Walking toward the railing, Maverick looked affectionately at the sea while Ariel stood very far behind him.

“Why did you bring me here?”

Maverick slanted his head to glance at her before turning around and pointing at the busiest commercial area on the other side of the sea. He said, “Look there. That’s the project I took on when we broke up.”

Ariel followed his finger and saw the brightly lit buildings standing tall in the distance. The scene reminded her of Maverick’s life—bright and brilliant.

“Looks amazing.” She thought he was boasting, so she openly admitted his success. “You made the right choice. It’s getting late. Send me home.”

At that moment, Ariel regretted her decision not to drive her own car.

“Wait a while longer.”

“What for?”

Maverick didn’t answer her but instead turned around to look at her affectionately. His gaze was sincere and passionate, just like a young man who fell in love for the first time.

About a minute later, he approached her and stood side by side with her to look at the sea. “It’s almost time. Don’t blink.”

The moment he finished his words, a sharp “fizz” sounded, and numerous fireworks were displayed on the walls of the several dozen buildings on the other side of the sea.

Boom! Boom!

Animated fireworks exploded on the screen at the top of the building. From far away, it looked like real fireworks in the sky.

The fireworks illuminated the entire seaside. As one of them died down, another would produce a striking display, blooming even brighter.

Even from so far away, the light that signified happiness managed to illuminate Ariel’s face. She smiled.

Now’s the time, Maverick thought.

“I was so desperate to get this project because I wanted you to see this fireworks animation after it was all finished, but you were so disappointed back then that you wouldn’t give me any chance. Arie, you have been in my mind all these years, so please give me another chance. I will love you dearly. Can we start over?”

While looking at Ariel affectionately, Maverick had tears in his eyes, seemingly very sad.

As he spoke, a tear dropped from the corner of his eye and fell to the ground.

Drip.

A man’s tear was precious, and that tear didn’t feel like it dropped on the floor but on a person’s heart, making them feel heartbroken for him.

“You’re crying.” Ariel had a shocked expression.

“That’s right. I didn’t know I loved you so much.” Maverick’s dense eyebrows were scrunched together, and his gaze was filled with restrain and reluctance.

That gaze seemed to imply that he couldn’t hide his love for her although he had been trying hard to keep his feelings to himself and that it was real love.

“Is this what they call a drunk mind speaks of a sober heart?” Ariel suddenly began to laugh.

When Maverick heard that, his expression froze, and the affection and gentleness from before disappeared entirely.

“Your lines were amazing, and your expression seemed realistic, but I’ve already seen through your act back then. Only by being sincere would another treat you sincerely, so no matter how sweet your sentimental words are, they can’t affect me because everything you do is to help you reach your goal.”

If Maverick had loved her, he wouldn’t have used her in exchange for a project.

Feeling frustrated, Ariel got straight to the point. “Camren doesn’t only have one daughter. I know you very well, so I won’t fall for your tricks. If you insist on clinging onto the Abbott Family, I suggest that you change to another target.”

After saying that, she turned around to hail a taxi and left without hesitation.

Her departure made Maverick stunned for a moment. He wiped away his tears as his face turned gloomy.

…

News about Paul’s disappearance spread like wildfire. When Old Master Heidelberg received the news, he was so worried that he fell ill and was hospitalized.

BJ Biotech’s stocks were heavily affected and plummeted. Then, Gale was appointed to take over the responsibility of managing the company.

Meanwhile, Alicia was sitting dazedly in the hospital corridor while waiting for Jamie to pick up her call.

“Can you come over and keep me company?”

Chapter 953 A Treasure in His Arms

After receiving the call, Jamie rushed to the hospital. When he got there, he could see Alicia sitting on a chair with her face buried in her hands from afar. She seemed to be in a broken down and helpless state.

When he approached her, he discovered that the originally charming and fair woman had lost a lot of weight overnight. “Are you alright?” Jamie asked softly.

Hearing his voice, Alicia raised her head to look at him before springing to her feet and throwing herself into his arms, hugging him tightly.

Jamie was stunned for a second and instinctively leaned back while reaching out to hold her shoulders, intending to push her away.

“Let me hug you for a while.” Alicia suddenly spoke up and pleaded with a sob. “Please, I need some strength to face all of this.”

She was like an injured kitten showing Jamie her injuries and asking him for help. The hands that were in midair froze as Jamie gave in and withdrew his hand, silently letting her lean against him.

No matter how strong-willed a person was, no one could stand having something happen to two close relatives one after another on the same day. Even if such a thing happened to a stranger, Jamie wouldn’t stand by and do nothing, either.

“Actually, Paul is just missing, so he might come back. You have to think more positively.” He couldn’t reveal any news about Paul because only this way would Gale continue his plan.

As long as Gale started tampering with the Heidelbergs’ business, Jamie could seize the chance and find evidence to reveal Gale’s ambitions.

However, Alicia was too innocent and pure, and she wasn’t good at scheming and pretending, so it was best that he hid the truth from her.

In the meantime, Alicia didn’t speak a word and buried her face into Jamie’s chest while silently sobbing. She was so strong-willed that it was heartbreaking.

While listening to her sobs, Jamie felt guilty and couldn’t help but gently pat her back to comfort her.

When Gale brought Narissa over to check up on Alicia, they were met with the scene of Jamie and Alicia hugging each other after exiting the elevator.

Jamie’s actions were so gentle and careful, and it was as though he was holding a precious piece of treasure in his arms, and Alicia was that treasure.

Hearing footsteps approaching, Jamie immediately stepped back and moved away from Alicia.

At the same time, Alicia turned to the side and secretly wiped away the tears on her face.

“Alicia, how’s Uncle Dominic?” Gale asked about Dominic Heidelberg’s condition.

“He’s still in a coma. The doctors can’t tell when he will be able to wake up.” When Alicia spoke, her eyes were filled with tears again.

To her, Gale was the only relative she could rely on now.

“Uncle Dominic will live a long life, so he will make it. I’ll watch over the company, so you don’t have to worry about it,” Gale comforted her.

Narissa nodded her head at them, which counted as a greeting.

“It seems like our family needs to trouble you again.” Alicia bowed her upper body to show her gratitude.

“We’re a family, so there’s no need for such formalities. As for you, you haven’t slept all night, right? You need to take a rest when you have the time. Don’t let yourself fall sick before Paul comes back,” Gale reminded her while patting her shoulder.

“I understand.” Since Alicia was afraid that she would burst into tears, she didn’t dare to say too much. Instead, she looked at Gale gratefully to show her feelings.

On the other hand, Jamie grew angrier as he watched the scene. He gnashed his teeth so hard that he almost broke his teeth.

This scumbag. He’s the one who caused the Heidelberg Family’s sufferings, but not only does he not feel any remorse, but he’s also acting like he is not involved and came here to pretend to be the hero. How shameless of him! Jamie reprimanded internally.

“Mr. Myres, you’re such a hero, enthusiastically helping the Heidelberg Family with so many matters. Those who don’t know the situation might think that you’re trying to take over the Heidelberg Family in the absence of the head of the family!” Jamie made a snarky comment.

Although Gale and the Heidelbergs were relatives, it would cause quite a stir if he came forward and shouldered the responsibilities alone.

However, he was the one who made the calls at the company, so no one dared to say anything aloud.

When Jamie openly joked about this, Gale still felt quite awkward despite his tough mentality.

“Jamie, don’t say that. Gale won’t do that.” Alicia spoke up to make peace between the two. “Jamie is just worried about me and means no harm. Please don’t take his words to heart, Gale.”

Gale quickly squeezed out a smile. “It’s fine. He’ll get to know me better after interacting with me for some time. Also, time will tell whether I’m such a person.”

“You’re right. Time will tell.” Unwilling to let this matter go, Jamie continued to make snarky remarks. “I’m sure we’ll soon know what kind of person you are.”

The atmosphere became tense as the two pairs of eyes met each other.

On the other hand, Narissa watched them and didn’t speak a word since she arrived.

There had been women who were infatuated with Jamie appearing around him, and Charissa was a great example, but those women were different from Alicia.

Jamie was using so much effort to protect Alicia, which showed how much she weighed in his heart.

Before, Narissa could persuade herself by saying that Jamie and Alicia’s feelings were one-sided, but now, she realized the truth.

Both of them had feelings for each other, and she was the one with one-sided feelings.

When Jamie noticed Narissa’s expression, his demeanor immediately weakened.

I’ve only rebuked Gale a few times, and she’s already feeling heartbroken for him. It seems like she has indeed fallen for Gale. You stupid woman. Why won’t you listen to me? You can go against me in whatever matters you want, but you can’t joke about your marriage. It’s all Gale’s fault. That hypocritical sc*mbag. Not only has he tricked the Heidelbergs but also Narissa’s feelings. He’s such a greedy person. I will not let Gale succeed!

While Jamie thought of that, his gaze returned to being strong again. He vowed to defeat Gale.

However, Gale only confronted Jamie for a moment before his expression changed, and he changed the topic with a smile. “I know you’re trying to liven up the atmosphere and trying other ways to comfort us, Mr. Keller. You’re very considerate, but all you have to do is take care of Alicia, and I will deal with the company matters, so you don’t have to worry about that.”

“Alicia, there are still matters I need to attend to at the company, so I must head back there. Do call me if anything happens.”

“Okay.”

Following that, Gale brought Narissa with him and left.

When they arrived at the hospital’s entrance, Gale began to act pitiful again.

“It seems like Jamie doesn’t like me very much, and I can understand him. His relationship with Alicia is developing smoothly, so if Paul doesn’t return, there’s a high chance that Jamie will become the ideal son-in-law for the Heidelbergs. By then, the entire Heidelberg Family would be his, and my existence will be a stumbling block to his plan.”

“Those who do nothing wrong have a clear conscience. What’s there to be bothered about if you don’t have any ill thoughts about BJ Biotech?” Narissa was clear-minded.

During this period, she had heard a lot of excuses from Gale. She was polite to him at first, but anyone would have boundaries and limited patience. Once those had been depleted, there was no need to maintain superficial courtesies any longer.

She was a straightforward person and had been suppressing her emotions all this while, so her sudden retort was quite hurtful.

Gale’s original plan was to evoke Narissa’s sympathy, but he didn’t expect to get such a disdainful reply from her. His face fell, showing a gloomy expression.

Chapter 954 Trash Should Stay Where It Belongs

It looks like this lady is starting to show me her backbone. This is bad. “Well, you have a point there, but you should know how highly your uncle thinks of me. I can’t say no to him if he wants me to take over the company and run it, can’t I?”

Gale tried to regain Narissa’s trust and talk his way out. He was trying to create an illusion in which the situation was so desperate that he was forced to accept the offer because there wasn’t any other choice.

“As long as it’s fair and square, I have no objection to it,” Narissa expressed her opinion. “I knew you would stand by my side.” Gale sounded satisfied with the lady’s answer.

“You and I go way back, and I’d hate having to doubt your intention behind every move you make, so please don’t let me down.” Narissa chose to believe their years of friendship. Though she had not forgotten about Jamie’s warning, she knew how ambitious Gale was.

However, she justified Gale’s ambitiousness by deeming it a common quality every businessman possessed. After all, even her wealthy father was smart enough to count on her marriage to consolidate his power and status. Therefore, she didn’t think there’d be anything wrong as long as Gale played his game fairly.

“Of course. When have I ever let you down?” Gale promised Narissa to behave himself with a smile. Then, he changed the subject and asked, “By the way, are you coming with me to the office? Or would you like me to take you home first?”

“There’s no need for that.” Narissa wanted to be left alone. “Please attend to whatever business you need to take care of. I’ll just stroll around this place by myself.”

“Alright then, stay safe.”

…

Meanwhile, Elise was busying herself in the kitchen at Griffith Manor. When she heard the doorbell, she went straight to answer the door with her apron on before she was greeted by a flower bouquet right in front of her.

“Greetings, ma’am. Here are the flowers that you ordered. Please sign your name right here.” As soon as she made sense of what was going on, she signed her name with the delivery man’s help and took the flowers inside just when Alexander came downstairs.

Thinking the flowers were from Alexander, Elise took a sniff and reacted with a satisfied look on her face. “Oh, come on, dear. You didn’t have to spend your money on all this fancy stuff. We’ve been married for so long that you and I are way past that, after all.” Despite her words, Elise couldn’t hide the smile on her face; no matter what age, any woman’s heart would melt at the sight of such beautiful flowers.

On the other hand, Alexander was seen with his mouth wide agape, but just when he was about to explain, a silhouette walked past him. “I ordered the flowers. I’m sorry, Elise.” Danny seemed helpless as he took the flowers from Elise’s hands.

“No worries.” Elise pursed her lips. “It seems like a beautiful mistake.”

“Daddy, ever since I was born, I don’t think I’ve seen you give Mommy flowers before.” Irvin stood upstairs and pulled his parents’ leg. “But I guess there is no harm done if I don’t compare you guys to anyone.”

Elise laughed it off and stood up for Alexander. “Your daddy used to give me flowers pretty often, so don’t judge his love for me.”

“I see. It seems like Daddy just decided he could leave you aside after he won your heart over.”

“Damn it, you brat! Can’t you just shut your mouth up?!” Alexander gritted his teeth angrily.

“You don’t care much about your wife, and now you’re trying to stop me from exposing you? Where is your sense of honor?”

Haha! Every word from this boy stings. No wonder he is Alexander’s son. “It looks like you’ve gotten yourself a challenge.” Elise smiled at Alexander.

“This can’t be. I know this isn’t real.” Alexander denied his son’s accusation, thinking Elise was the matriarch of the family, which made him the patriarch who ran the house. Suddenly, he heard his phone ringing in the study and headed over there to answer it, successfully getting himself out of trouble at that moment. When he walked past the corridor, he lectured Irvin, whereupon the silence upstairs was filled with screams and cries.

Although Elise was amused by the hilarious interaction between the father and son, she turned her attention to Danny when she saw him still holding the flowers. “I bet they’re for Miss Whitney, right?”

“Yeah.” Danny, who still seemed preoccupied, let out a sigh and added, “I even prepared her favorite garage kit and snacks. Besides, I also told Brendan to design a few sets of clothes for her, but he has yet to come up with a draft. Anyway, do you think she is going to be happy with it?”

While Elise didn’t feel anything after hearing Irvin’s sarcastic remark about Alexander earlier, for some reason, Danny’s words made her feel a stab of pain on the inside. I guess I’m getting old. Indeed, flowers and romance belong to young people.

“I’m touched just by hearing your plan, so I think Miss Whitney is going to feel the same way, but…” Elise swallowed her words.

“But what?” Danny opened his eyes and stared at Elise.

“Well, both of you just separated not long ago, but now that you’re treating her differently, it’s pretty hard not to think that something went wrong. Have you ever thought about what you should say if Miss Whitney asks you why you’re doing all of this for her?”

Elise wasn’t trying to discourage Danny. Instead, her experience told her that when a man treated a woman differently all of a sudden, it was usually because the man had done something wrong, and that was a common phenomenon in modern society.

Therefore, Elise believed it wouldn’t be hard for a smart lady like Ariel to figure that out. After hearing her words, Danny reacted with a stern look on his face as he kept his head down and contemplated for a while. Then, he carried the flowers in his arms and walked out the door right away.

“Where are you going?” When Elise’s response was not met with a reply, she returned to the kitchen and continued her work there.

As soon as Danny arrived at the main entrance, he ran into Clara, who was about to knock on the door. “How did you know I was coming to see you, Dan Dan? Maybe that’s because you and I can sense each other’s presence even from a distance.” Clara leaned against the doorframe seductively, trying to charm Danny with her alluring eyes.

Seeing the flowers in the man’s hands, Clara smiled even brighter. “Are these flowers for me? Oh, they look gorgeous! I love them so much…” She opened her arms, ready to receive the flowers, but Danny immediately got out of the way and circled her to the opposite side of the road, ignoring the woman.

“What are you doing, Dan Dan?” Clara pouted and repeatedly stomped on the ground with her feet.

“Trash should stay where it belongs—in the trash can.” Danny put his words in an ambiguously sarcastic manner.

“That’s interesting.” She chose to ignore the meaning behind Danny’s words and flashed a set of keys that she took out of her purse. “I just bought a yacht, so why don’t the two of us take it out for a spin? I’m sure it’s going to be fun to make love on the sea.”

“The fact that you were knocked out the last time was a warning, so stop pestering me like an annoying bug, or I can’t guarantee your safety!” he responded with a cold grunt.

Clara, who was pissed off by the man’s words, immediately walked closer and refuted him, saying, “Hmph! In that case, I dare you to kill me! Just do it! What are you waiting for?! Just do it! If you ever lay a finger on me, I’ll make sure the whole world hears about the story between the two of us. By then, I’ll see how your fiancée deals with you.”

“You!” Danny was so furious that he couldn’t think of a word to reply. “You’re a goddamn shrew!” he bellowed at the lady angrily, thinking there was no other better word to describe her.

Why won’t this lady quit?! She is just like an annoying roach! Had I known I’d run into her back then, I would have signed up for the debate club to learn how to argue better. Unfortunately, the reality was not like what Danny imagined as he struggled to handle Clara’s witty argument and talk his way out.

Nevertheless, when Clara noticed Danny’s speechlessness, she went soft on him and said, “Well, even a shrew like me is still a woman, and a woman needs to be loved by a man just like a pot of flowers, otherwise it’s going to wither and perish. Therefore, you’d better treat me nicely; I don’t know what I’ll do if you break my heart.” Clara implied her intention of threatening Danny to expose his affair should he not listen to her.

Suddenly, a voice came from seemingly nowhere. “I’ve seen b*tches, but never as despicable as you. Can’t you see how that poor man is trying to avoid you? Yet, you swallow your pride and act like a dog begging for love from its owner.”

Chapter 955 Men Can’t Be Trusted

“Who’s talking?! Who’s there?!” Clara looked around her nervously, thinking she must have misheard something.

The next second, a silhouette that turned out to be Narissa landed right in front of the duo. In fact, she initially decided to stay on the tree and observe Elise’s life after marrying Alexander, wanting to know what true love and marriage all were about, but instead, what she saw was Clara’s annoying behavior.

“I’ve seen you before. You’re Danny’s fiancée, so what are you doing here?!” Clara expressed her dissatisfaction with Narissa’s interruption.

“Well, to protect Mother Earth is everyone’s responsibility, and I just can’t stand seeing some trash lying around here. What’s your problem with that?” Narissa jutted her chin haughtily.

“Who are you calling trash here?!” Clara angrily snapped at Narissa, assuming the latter was referring to her.

“You seem to like what’s inside the trash can. Thus, what are you if you aren’t trash? You know, there is something I don’t understand—why should you ignore it when someone calls you fat? That’s because you’re bigger than that. Haha.” Narissa chuckled after her streak of witty remarks.

Danny, who was impressed by Narissa’s quick wit and eloquence, secretly clapped for her talent. Oh, lady! You just said everything I wish I’d said myself earlier. Keep it going! Make Clara feel bad with your words—she deserves it!

“Are you calling me fat?! Oh, come on. I’m buxom! On the other hand, you’re so flat-chested that I almost forgot you’re a lady. Anyway, I don’t expect you to understand it either.” Clara rolled her eyes upward.

“Ah, I see where you’re coming from. You see, considering the lack of my assets, I don’t need large-sized clothes, which saves me money and the country a lot of fabric. You, on the other hand, look nothing different from a hippo, and guess what? We don’t have to go to the zoo anymore since we have one little hippo right here.”

Narissa felt as if she had learned something new after humiliating Gale with her insulting jokes. Thus, she couldn’t help but feel bad for Clara, whom she thought was unlucky to have engaged with her in a quarrel. Well, I guess she is meant to meet her defeat at the hands of someone on her level.

“You! You b*tch! Gosh! My blood is boiling! Ugh!” Clara was so mad that she couldn’t utter a single word. She then wrapped her head with her arms and ran off so fast that she didn’t even notice one of her high heels being accidentally left behind, seemingly desperate to get away from her humiliation.

“Good one, Narrie!” Danny smiled for the first time in the past few days, sticking out his thumb and showing it to Narissa.

“You don’t look like the kind of person with a clean record either!” Narissa heard every single word between the duo earlier. Although their conversation didn’t suggest anything explicit, she could tell that the two of them had a shady relationship with each other. Therefore, she ignored the man and walked straight into the mansion after glaring at him.

Since she was cooking in the open kitchen, Elise was able to receive Narissa while preparing the meal. “Here you are. Please have a seat. Lunch will be ready soon.”

Nevertheless, Narissa only glimpsed Elise without saying a single word. At the same time, Alexander, who happened to walk down the stairs, ran into Narissa and asked, “Johnny gave me a call a few minutes ago and told me that he found some self-defense gear. Would you like to have a set for yourself? I can have them delivered to your place.” However, Narissa responded by rolling her eyes upward and pretending as if she didn’t hear the man, heading straight into the kitchen where Elise was.

“What have I done to piss her off?” Alexander was puzzled by the lady’s reaction.

In the meantime, Elise, who sensed Narissa’s strange behavior, nudged her with her elbow and asked, “What’s wrong with you? You didn’t answer Alexander when he was talking to you.”

“Men can’t be trusted!” Narissa grabbed the knife and chopped the cucumber in half.

“What’s wrong? Why did you say so?” Elise paused what she was doing and wiped her hands with her apron after sensing Narissa’s intimidating aura.

Narissa let out a sigh and replied, “I’ve been watching you since this morning. Alexander didn’t even bother coming into the kitchen and helping out even though you’d been busy all this time. Instead, he just sits there and waits until lunch is ready. Are you his wife or his babysitter?”

Narissa’s father, Napoleon, was the type of man who left all the house chores for his wife to handle. Although there were maids in the house, Narissa’s mother never seemed to stop worrying about the house chores. Because of that, Narissa would rather stay unmarried her whole life than marry a man who wouldn’t care about sharing her burden at all. Well, I guess it’s not a bad thing to grow old and die alone either. After all, I won’t have to worry about working to death.

“That’s what ruined your mood?” Elise was amused. “By the way, when did you arrive?”

“Around 9.00AM or 10.00AM, I guess.” Narissa wasn’t sure about her time of arrival either.

“No wonder…” Elise smiled as if she understood why Narissa was so gloomy.

“No wonder what?” Narissa was confused.

“You only saw the part where I did everything for Alexander, but you have no idea that he’s the one who makes me breakfast every morning. It’s no wonder you’ve been mistaken.”

Elise then patiently explained how a husband and a wife should make peace with each other in life. “A husband and a wife should take care of each other unconditionally. I’ve been busy the whole morning because I enjoy the process. I’m doing what I love, knowing that it’s going to bring me and my family happiness. If I don’t do anything at all besides eating and sleeping, I’d be no different from a lazy pig.”

Narissa still appeared confused. “Wait, are you saying that working is fun?” After all, she would rather let the maids take care of the house chores.

“Let me ask you something, then—you modified a car and gave it to Jamie earlier. Were you happy when you were working on it?” Elise tried to make her point in another way to make Narissa understand her.

“Yes, I was.” Narissa blurted out, but shortly after that, she quickly denied it. “But it was also painful.” She left Cittadel after giving Jamie the car, and the two of them had never been in touch since. Because of that, the happiness she experienced when doing something for Jamie became insignificant compared to the overwhelming pain she was subsequently forced to bear.

Elise was speechless at that instant. “Well, my point is that you’ll never know something until you go through it, but all you need to know is that Alexander treats me pretty well.” Seeing Narissa’s skeptical look on her face, Elise peeked at the living room and leaned closer to her ear. “Let me tell you something—Alexander even washes my lingerie for me.”

Wait, what? Wouldn’t that be a little too… awkward? Narissa blushed after hearing Elise’s words, finding it hard to imagine herself doing the same thing in Elise’s place.

Having seen the expression on Narissa’s face, Elise knew what she was thinking and explained with a smile, “Well, you can think of it as a way of spicing things up between us. You’ll understand better once you’re married.”

“No! No! No, I can’t imagine this! This just sounds too awkward!” Narissa shook her head repeatedly. When everyone sat down at the table for lunch, Narissa couldn’t help but look at Alexander with a strange gaze, having remembered the story that Elise told her earlier.

Initially, Alexander put up with Narissa’s strange gaze, thinking she was in a bad mood, but eventually, he lost his patience and decided to open up. He put down his fork and knife. “Do you have a problem with me?”

“No.” Narissa instantly lost her courage to look Alexander in the eye, blocking her face with a plate. “You just seem different from how I imagined you to be.”

“What’s so different?” Alexander insisted on finding out the reason behind Narissa’s odd response.

“Ahem…” Fearing that Narissa would give her away, Elise immediately put a big shrimp on Alexander’s plate. “Eat up, Darling.” However, Alexander turned around after that, wanting to press on with his approach, only to be interrupted by Irvin.

“Obviously, the way you treat your wife is pissing off everyone in this house, Daddy. You ought to reflect on your mistake.”

Alexander knitted his eyebrows and questioned his son, “Who is the father? And who is the son here?”

“Father? Are you guys talking about priests?” Alexia joined the conversation and asked an innocent question.

“That’s right.” Narissa put a small chunk of meat on the girl’s plate. “Catholic priests. How smart you are, Lexi.”

On the other hand, Alexander covered his forehead, feeling helpless with the children who seemingly interrupted him anytime they wanted. Oh, dear. Where is all the respect I deserve as a father?

Chapter 956 I Can Take Care of This Myself

Little did Narissa know that her reply was going to get her in trouble. “Godmother, aren’t you married to Godfather?” Alexia turned her attention to Narissa, trying to find out more about her personal life.

In that instant, Narissa’s smile stiffened on her face. While she was supported by Elise and her family to confess to Jamie a few months ago, things were no longer the same as they were now because Jamie found his soulmate just as she did so.

However, Narissa blamed her fate for toying with her, feeling helpless and frustrated with the fact that she was with someone whom she didn’t love. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the man she was with even forced her to fall for him, which was something she found hard to comprehend.

Noticing Narissa’s disappointment, Elise immediately stepped in to alleviate the tension. “Oh, come on, silly girl. Your godmother’s husband is your godfather.”

“That’s not the same. Godfather is the man he always is, and if Godmother doesn’t marry him, her husband will only ever be her husband. Nothing more.” Alexia gave a witty and sophisticated reply despite her young age.

“Alright, maybe you have a point, but your godmother has the right to make her own choices. All we have to do is respect her wishes, okay? You shouldn’t criticize her decision. Do you know that?” Elise lectured her child.

“Oh…” Alexia was unhappy, but even so, she continued to stare at the adults with her eyes wide open. “If Godmother marries someone else, will I get a little sister?”

Ever since Elise reunited with Alexander, the two children had been going on and on about wanting a little sister, but much to their dismay, Elise didn’t manage to get pregnant again. Therefore, Alexia reckoned she was better off counting on Narissa, thinking she shouldn’t put all eggs in one basket by depending solely on her mother.

Nevertheless, little did the girl know that Narissa had never thought about giving birth to a child as she put a drumstick on Alexia’s plate. “Tell your mom and dad to work harder. Soon enough, you’ll get your little sister.”

It looks like I’m destined to have one more daughter. Elise blushed at the thought of that.

…

Two days later, Dominic finally came to his senses, but even so, he still needed to remain hospitalized for further observation. While sitting on the bed, he pulled himself together and ordered his men to hire a rescue team to search for Paul. Then, he put Gale in charge of running the company before he sent his men away and continued to rest.

Meanwhile, Alicia, who had been staying in the hospital for two nights, was relieved by the old man’s improved condition, feeling grateful that she could finally have some good sleep. After waking up, she went to the kitchen and spent the whole morning preparing a few elaborate dishes. Then, she packed them into a lunchbox and changed her outfit before leaving home.

Half an hour later, Jamie heard the doorbell while he was busy working on his computer. Ding dong! He closed the lid of his laptop and went to answer the door. As soon as he opened it, he was greeted by Alicia as she flashed the lunchbox right in front of him. “Ta-da! Your lovely lunch has arrived. Please accept your delivery.”

“How do you know my address?” Jamie was puzzled by Alicia’s presence, for he had just rented the place not long ago. In fact, he had not even managed to tell Elise about it.

“There was a set of keys in the pocket of the jacket that you gave me two days ago. The address was written on it.” Alicia stepped into the house and made her way to the dining table. Then, she proceeded to lay out all the dishes. “Come and try them. It’s my first time cooking, so ease up on me if they don’t taste good.”

As soon as Jamie caught a whiff of those appetizing dishes, he rubbed his belly and said, “Hmm. I’m starting to feel hungry now.” Upon hearing that, Alicia gave the man a fork and a knife, to which the latter replied, “Alright, I’m going to help myself now.” Jamie sat down and began to dig in.

Upon tasting every single dish, Jamie nodded and jokingly said, “Pretty good. It looks like you have what it takes to be a good cook.” Although the dishes that Alicia prepared were nothing more than ordinary home-cooked food, they tasted delicious, especially the appetizing casserole that happened to be up Jamie’s alley.

“If you like them, I could make them for you every day.” Alicia blurted out those words but immediately regretted it, biting her lips with her head kept down. On the other hand, Jamie was stunned to hear what Alicia just said, but fortunately, he was quick on his feet to pretend as if he didn’t hear anything and continued to eat.

For the next few minutes, Alicia propped her face with her hands and looked around her, noticing the messy surrounding in the house. There was barely enough space for her to walk around other than the dining area.

Oh, gosh! This is disastrous!

“Oh, dear! How are you able to survive in a place like this?” Alicia walked toward the mess and proceeded to tidy up the couch and the dirty clothes on the chair before taking out the trash.

“Hey, just sit down and relax. I’ll take care of them later.” Jamie was too busy enjoying his meal to attend to the house chores.

“It’s okay. I don’t have anything to do either anyway, so let’s just consider this a repayment for your kindness. After all, you’ve been helping me out in the hospital the past two days.” Alicia was happy and thankful that she could do something for Jamie.

After hearing the word ‘repayment’ from Alicia, Jamie decided to give in and go along with the lady as he concentrated on his meal. In less than two minutes, he wolfed down all the food, leaving barely half of the four dishes prepared.

While he rubbed his belly in satisfaction, he caught a glimpse of Alicia pulling his underwear out of a cushion. The next second, he immediately sprinted toward the lady and snatched the underwear. He quickly hid it behind his back. “I can take care of this myself…” he awkwardly said.

In the meantime, Alicia, who thought what she found was a pair of loose shorts, immediately knew she was mistaken when she saw the look on Jamie’s face. In that instant, her cheeks blushed as she hugged the clothes in her arms and ran into the washroom. At the same time, Jamie went on to search for the remaining underwear around the chair in the corner and took them to his bedroom right away.

After calming herself down, Alicia pulled herself together and exited the bathroom, whereupon she continued to clean the rest of the house. In less than ten minutes, the place looked completely different as the atmosphere was filled with fresh air from every corner. “Now, this is what I call home.” Alicia was satisfied with her hard work, imagining the happy days she’d live with Jamie in the future.

When Jamie returned, he realized the place looked so clean that it almost seemed as good as new. “Is this even my home?” He couldn’t believe his eyes.

“There is one thing I’m curious about—don’t you ever clean your house?” Alicia asked.

“Well, there are maids who take care of house chores back home, but when I rent a place, I’ll just hire a cleaner to handle everything.” Jamie shrugged his shoulders without bothering to hide his poor organizing skills from Alicia.

“I see. In that case, I’m the person you should hire, then.” Alicia grabbed her purse and was ready to make a move. “With this job, I get to learn an extra skill while earning some pocket money for myself. I’m going to earn big bucks from this!”

Jamie knew Alicia was joking, which was why he only responded with a silent smile.

“Anyway, I guess I should get going now. See you.”

“See you.”

Being wise and sensible, Alicia knew it’d be wiser to leave Jamie alone when she should. Although the two of them were a couple, she reckoned both of them had spent long enough with each other that day.

No matter how close they might appear to be, Jamie still needed his privacy. Moreover, she could tell that Jamie was still not used to having anyone else enter his personal space. Thus, she decided to respect his wish instead of pressing on with her advances as she believed she could touch his soul and enter his world with time.

Meanwhile, as soon as Alicia was gone, Jamie sat back in his seat and flipped his laptop open before he began to type on the keyboard rapidly. In fact, he was trying to hack into BJ Biotech’s intranet, thinking he must do something before Gale made his next move.

After all, he reckoned Gale’s presence would threaten the Heidelberg Family’s prospects and business despite the restored peace in the family. The Heidelbergs can only find peace with Gale gone. By then, Narissa will be safe.

Chapter 957 The Fugitive

Having learned his hacking skills from Elise, Jamie managed to easily surpass any ordinary firewall, but he still could not match a world-class hacker. After a few tries, he successfully hacked into the company’s intranet and started going through all their abnormal transactions.

While everything went smoothly, Jamie’s intuition told him that the surprising ease was somewhat strange and unusual. Alert as he always was, he immediately sensed something wrong and walked toward the window. Following that, he hid behind the wall and peeked outside through the gap between the curtains. It was then he noticed a gray sedan parked right across the road with all its windows shut.

That car seems to have been there for quite a while. He then let go of the curtains and looked around the place warily with a preoccupied look on his face.

Jamie had chosen the unit he was currently staying in because he thought the area would be quiet and peaceful due to the uninhabited houses around the place. I’m sure whoever drove here with that car didn’t come here to visit, which means I’m being watched.

Just when Jamie was distracted by his thoughts, he was suddenly interrupted by a loud honk outside the building. Within seconds, he could tell from the noise that there was more than one car out there, believing they were all congregated in the same area. As soon as he understood what was going on, he quickly returned to his laptop and activated the self-destruction protocol before jumping out of the window in the bedroom.

The next second, several Mesdran police officers barged into the place and secured the perimeter around the unit. Then, Gale showed up and walked through the door with a senior officer. “Sir, the target has escaped.” One of the officers reported the situation.

Not long after that, Gale found the laptop and said, “This is our proof. Every laptop has a specific IP address that belongs to it, so I believe we can take it back for our experts to find out whether the target used this laptop to hack into our company’s intranet, right?”

The senior inspector tilted his head at two of his subordinates, telling them to start gathering the evidence they needed. However, before they could even get their hands on the laptop, a loud boom echoed throughout the place. The laptop blew up into pieces just as the explosion sent the two officers flying across the room. Besides the laptop, the server was also reduced to ashes due to the explosion, leaving nothing but dust in the air.

Needless to say, Gale was furious, yet there was nothing he could do other than watch the evidence he needed blowing up into pieces. After all the trouble he’d gone through to make Jamie fall for his trap, he couldn’t believe that the evidence he was so close to getting was now nothing but dust.

No! I will not stop until I take Jamie down! “Inspector, I believe you just witnessed what happened. There is only one reason that the target destroyed the evidence—he is guilty! For that, you must arrest Jamie Keller for illegal hacking and bring him to justice!”

Having received a huge sum of bribes from Gale, the inspector assured the former that the situation was under control. “Collect all the scrapes and bring them back. I want all the computer retailers in this city to find out the IP address of this used laptop. At the same time, Jamie Keller will become a wanted criminal who shall be nabbed!” As soon as the announcement was made, Jamie became a fugitive whom the law enforcement unit was after. Because of that, the entire unit was locked down and secured by the police.

In the meantime, Alicia, who had left Jamie’s residence, suddenly realized she left her cell phone behind and decided to double back to retrieve it. However, when she arrived at the door, she saw Gale coming out of the place with several police officers behind him. Then, she noticed the man’s unhappy look, which reminded her of the intense stalemate between him and Jamie in the hospital earlier. At the thought of that, she had a bad feeling that something was wrong and quickly walked up to Gale, asking, “What’s going on, Gale? Why are there so many cops here?”

“What are you doing here?” Gale knitted his eyebrows. “Jamie’s greed for power has driven him too far. He just hacked into our company’s intranet and transferred all the assets away, which is why we’re here to arrest him. Unfortunately, he got away.”

Upon learning that Jamie was safe, Alicia heaved a sigh of relief and started to defend Jamie. “I’m sure there must be some kind of misunderstanding in between. You know my relationship with Jamie. He won’t do such a thing.”

“What kind of misunderstanding could it be?!” Gale raised his voice, unknowingly intimidating Alicia. “Do you think we would have come all the way here if we didn’t have any evidence? You’re too gullible to see through this man. He’s been using you all this while. Trust me, he is more complicated than he seems, and you don’t know him at all.”

“No, Gale. I know he is a good man, and I trust him…”

“I’d hate to admit that, but the truth is as you can see. What do you want me to do about it?” Gale slowly began to lose his patience. “Go back now. Once I have this man arrested, you’ll understand everything.”

“But…”

“Alicia!” Before Alicia could finish her sentence, Gale rudely cut her short and acted like he was disappointed in her. “What’s wrong with you? I’m your cousin, so don’t you think you should trust me now when it matters the most? That man doesn’t deserve your trust. He is an ambitious hacker who just tried to steal our company’s assets worth billions. Do you know how much pressure I’m under right now? Stop making things more difficult than they already are, alright?!”

As soon as Gale finished his words, he shook off Alicia’s hand and walked away with the police officers, leaving his helpless cousin behind. When Alicia wanted to enter the house to find out what happened, she was stopped by the officers on duty and forced to stand outside with a panicky mind. After a brief contemplation, she decided to visit the Cuber Residence to meet Narissa. Upon arrival, she was led to the living room by the maids before she waited for ten minutes until Narissa showed up.

“Narissa.” Alicia stood up anxiously.

“As I’ve said before, just call me Narrie,” Narissa responded calmly.

“My apologies. I must have been so nervous that it slipped my mind,” Alicia immediately apologized. “Miss Cuber, can you do me a favor and talk to Gale? I’m sure he’ll listen to you.”

“What’s wrong?” Narissa asked.

Alicia went on to tell Narissa the whole story. “Gale seems to be biased toward Jamie, and he won’t listen to me, so please help me.”

After hearing the story, Narissa appeared rather calm, knowing Jamie must have made sure he left nothing behind since he was able to escape. Therefore, she was not worried about him at all, but instead, she got curious about Alicia’s reaction. “Do you trust Jamie? We’re talking about assets that are worth billions—the Heidelberg Family’s fortune in its entirety.” For some reason, Narissa wanted to sound Alicia out to see how she would react.

“Of course.” Alicia sounded firm. “I will do anything as long as I can help Jamie.”

“It seems that you love him a lot.” Narissa let out a sigh deep down. Well, Jamie is pretty lucky to have met a lady like her. Despite the thought of that, she still turned Alicia down and acted as if she didn’t care. “All I can say is that he must face the consequences of his actions. Furthermore, why should I help him? We’re not that close, so I’m sorry that I can’t be of help. Please leave.”

“Not close? Come on, he is my boyfriend, and it’s only a matter of time before we become a family. Nari—Miss Cuber, I just need you to tip the scale with a few words. Please! It’s not going to ruin your relationship with Gale. I’ll be sure to return the favor in the future if you agree to help! I promise I will never say no!” Alicia refused to give up.

“I don’t, and I won’t need your help. I believe I’ve made myself clear enough, so if you insist on staying, be my guest.” Narissa walked away heartlessly as soon as she finished her words.

After accepting the fact that Narissa wouldn’t help her, Alicia went back home with a heavy heart and was forced to think of another way to help Jamie. However, little did she know that the first thing Narissa did after returning to her room was to give Elise a call and tell her about Jamie’s situation. Deep down, Narissa reckoned she was better off staying away from Jamie and Alicia since she was not the one who would be with Jamie until the end.

It might be better if they treat me as a heartless woman.

Chapter 958 Where Is Your Search Warrant?

On the other hand, Elise was busy cleaning the front yard with her two children just when they were interrupted by Gale, who barged into the place with several police officers. After they walked right through the door, they immediately made themselves clear that they were after Jamie without even bothering to greet Elise. “Where is Jamie Keller?” The senior inspector right beside Gale asked arrogantly.

“Who is Jamie Keller? We don’t know this guy at all.” Alexia opened her eyes and looked at her brother while trying to play dumb. Jamie had dropped by a few minutes earlier, but Elise, having learned what happened from Narissa, quickly told him to hide in the basement while the children stood aside and watched. Therefore, they had an idea of what was going on and knew what must be done.

“A child who lies has to be punished, little girl.” Gale bent over and stared at Alexia with a sinister smile. Irvin immediately stood in front of her and threatened the man, warning, “Don’t you dare lay a finger on my sister!”

Gale chuckled coldly and shifted his gaze to Elise. “Mrs. Griffith, you’re a smart woman, so I’m just going to cut the crap and tell you what’s going on. Jamie is an important suspect that the police are after. We’re here because we discovered that he’s always seen around this area. Thus, we’d appreciate it if you could hand him over to us.”

Elise plunged the shove into the soil and dusted her hands. “Didn’t you hear what my daughter just said? We don’t know anyone whose name is Jamie Keller, so leave now.” She reacted with an irritated look on her face, knowing the Mesdran police were notorious for taking advantage of those who didn’t dare to stand up to them.

Furthermore, Cittadelians suffered from a severe deprivation of their rights in Mesdra as a result of the police’s particular discrimination toward them. For that, Elise reckoned she mustn’t show weakness in front of them as she was determined to let them know that she was no pushover.

“Stop kidding me, Mrs. Griffith. Do you think we’re just going to take your word for it? The police have evidence, so cooperate with us. Otherwise, we will search the house by ourselves.” Gale pushed the glasses on his nasal bridge with an ambiguous smile on his face, acting like a villain who looked smart but was cunning on the inside.

“What are you guys going to do if I don’t agree to it? Are you going to barge in?” Elise walked to the stairs and stood in the middle in an attempt to assert her dominance.

Gale smiled and winked at the senior inspector right next to him. The next second, the inspector immediately understood his signal and proceeded to threaten Elise, believing there was no one else in the house besides her and the children. “Listen, lady. We have the right to search any place where we think a suspect could be possibly hiding, so you must cooperate, or we’ll have to take you back with us!” He then raised his hand and beckoned his subordinates over. “Search the house now!”

Soon, more than a dozen police officers rushed into the residence’s compound from the outside, charging at Elise and the children as they were ready to barge into the mansion. However, just when they got to the stairs, they saw a silhouette appearing right behind Elise and the kids. In that instant, everyone was overawed and stunned by the intimidating aura the figure gave off and stopped in their tracks.

Despite only wearing his pajamas, Alexander radiated a menacing aura with his emotionless expression and chilly gaze. He then sluggishly walked closer to Elise and shifted his gaze from one police officer to another, but even though he was just one man, no one seemed brave enough to mess with him.

Having intimidated the officers with his presence, Alexander looked up and stared at Gale and the senior inspector standing from a distance away. “I see that you want to search my house. Do you have a warrant from the embassy?” Alexander’s terse reply was brief yet powerful, for those words clearly showed that Gale and the cops would have to go through the embassy to get to him. You guys are wrong to think that you can just bully every Cittadelian.

When Gale and the senior inspector heard Alexander’s response, their faces changed, but ironically, that was precisely what gave their fear away. While they would have been lucky to get away with it if they had dealt with someone who didn’t know the law, it seemed that Alexander was about to make them regret their insensible decision.

As Alexander expected, they set out in a rush without applying for a warrant from the embassy. Therefore, they would be considered trespassing should they insist on barging into the mansion. Furthermore, with Alexander’s influence and power, he could easily make everyone involved lose their job with just a word.

Meanwhile, Gale quickly changed his tune and smiled apologetically at Alexander. “We’re friends, Mr. Griffith. I’m sure you would hate to see my company suffering from a huge loss, wouldn’t you? Just let us in so that we can search for the person we want. Regardless of any charges pressed against Jamie Keller, I promise that you and your family will not get dragged down.”

“Who are you calling a friend here?” Alexander put his hands in his pocket, refusing to play along with Gale.

Gale’s smile stiffened on his face. He felt so embarrassed that he wished he could just dig a hole in the ground and bury himself in it.

How heartless! You’re only nice to people you think are useful to you, Alexander. However, don’t you know that making one more friend is going to be helpful for your business empire? What good is it going to do you to oppose me? Hand Jamie over to me, and I’ll be indebted to you. Then, when I become BJ Biotech’s president, I’ll be sure to repay you. Isn’t that worth considering? It’s not something hard to understand, or perhaps Cittadelians are simply just not smart businessmen.

While Gale and the senior inspector were still discussing what they should do, Alexander immediately threatened them to leave. “I’m going to give you two minutes. When the time is up, I want all of you to disappear from my place, or I will call your captain and have him handle this matter.” Alexander flashed the phone in front of him, his eyes filled with a chilly aura and determination.

Gale and the senior inspector exchanged eye contact before they mutually agreed that they should avoid the conflict with Alexander. “Fall back!” The senior inspector ordered his subordinates to retreat.

In the meantime, Gale turned around and walked away, only to double back shortly after. “Mr. Griffith, we may no longer be friends now, but I’d still like to warn you something. Harboring a criminal is a serious felony in Mesdra. The police will monitor every move the Griffith Family makes based on the sources they receive. Stay optimistic; I bet you’re going to need it.” Gale finished his sentence and walked out the door with the police. Nevertheless, he left a few of them outside the Griffith Manor before he took one last glimpse of the house and left.

Meanwhile, Jamie was sitting in a chair in the basement, his sweat dripping down his forehead like rainfall. “How long have you been running?” Paul curiously asked.

“For about an hour,” Jamie answered while catching his breath. His escape was met with difficult challenges and setbacks when he saw roadblocks on almost every street. To create less commotion, he had no choice but to travel on foot. When he saw a chance, he sprinted as fast as he could and made his way to the Griffith Manor, or he might have needed to spend the night on a random tree he could find along the way.

Upon noticing Paul’s improved health, Jamie added, “Well, guess what? I tried digging for evidence that might testify against Gale, but look where I got myself—I have to go into hiding just like you.”

Curious about Jamie’s story, Paul asked, “You might have saved me when I fell out of ‘convenience’, but why are you risking yourself to stand against Gale? Don’t patronize me with your cock-and-bull story, though—I don’t believe anyone would ever risk his future for no good reason.”

When Gale plunged the blade through Paul’s body, he had also broken the man’s heart. Paul no longer believed that anyone was trustworthy after being betrayed by Gale, whom he once considered someone close to him. Therefore, he couldn’t help but doubt Jamie’s motive even though he had saved his life in the past.

Coolest Girl in Town Chapter 959--Although Jamie was doing what he was doing for Narissa, there was no telling that Paul could even end up being her fiancé in the future, but of course, Jamie didn't speak his mind about that.

"Your sister and I are friends. She helped me in the past, so I'm returning the favor to her now." Jamie used Alicia as an excuse to talk his way out.

"So, you're into Alicia?" Paul instantly became wary. "Don't tell me you're just like Gale, who wants to use us to get rich and powerful."

Paul might have been an ignoramus, but he was still aware that the Heidelberg Family's medical research team was a group of highly sought-after world-class experts.

In fact, the patent for the newly developed medicine alone was enough to keep bringing a fortune to the Heidelberg Family for as long as they existed. Therefore, Paul wasn't surprised that many men out there wanted to marry his sister, whom they thought was their ticket to possessing the Heidelberg Family's fortune and living a comfortable life.

"Seriously? Is that how you treat someone who saved your life?" Jamie replied, speechless.

“That's another story. You might have saved my life, but I will still stand in the way between you and my sister. Thus, you can forget about wooing her!" Paul was not going to let a man whom he barely knew to be his brother-In-law.

"Great." Jamie was happy to hear that. "You'd better make sure you stop that from happening."

Upon finishing his sentence, he headed into the room where there was a small bed before he lay down to sleep.

"Hey, that's my bed! Mind you, I'm still a patient!" Paul expressed his dissatisfaction.

He wants to woo Alicia despite knowing I'm against it, yet he is messing with me like that?

"I'm just as weak as you are." Jamie lay down in stillness. "I'm sure you won't die now, but I will if I don't get any more sleep, so have a heart, would you? Good night."

Jamie went out like a light after a long yawn.

Paul was left with his mouth agape after hearing Jamie's response.

Just as he was about to say something, he swallowed his words and kept his eyes on Jamie, who was sleeping like a log. At the same time, he began to speculate about Jamie's actual identity, wondering who he really was.

If Jamie was just being himself the other day, that would mean he's pretty good at playing computer games. For that, he may be an IT expert or something. However, if he is an IT expert, the most he makes in a year is probably just a few million, he'll make more if he is a hacker, but that won't be a job people should be proud of, so he is never going to be a perfect match for Alicia. The only good thing about this man is that he is as good-looking as my sister. Hmm, I should repay him with a sum of money for saving me when I get my company back rather than let him woo Alicia. My sister is out of his league.

At the thought of that, Paul let out a sigh, helplessly asking himself when he would be able to retrieve everything that was rightfully his, for even Jamie failed to topple Gale.

On the other hand, Elise was in the study, analyzing Jamie's intel as she believed Gale must have hired a skilled hacker to work in BJ Biotech. Feeling the itch to test her skills, she took Irvin's laptop and tried to hack the company's intranet.

Before that, she took extra precautions by installing anti-tracking software that would alert her once someone started tracing her trails.

Just like what Jamie told her earlier, everything went smoothly until the warning popped up in less than two minutes. The next second, Elise immediately stopped hacking and took advantage of the invader's tracking virus to retaliate.

On the other hand, Gale was summoned to the IT manager's office at BJ Biotech.

When he got there, he was greeted by a biracial-looking man with a buzz cut. "Is it Jamie Keller? Is he back?"

Gale was sure that Jamie would strike again.

The man, who was known as KO, shook his head in response. "Whoever is behind this came prepared. As such, I have yet to find out who is behind the monitor screen."

"Is there anything wrong with the encrypted data?" Gale asked worriedly.

"Don't worry about it. Those who can beat me are already dead, and I doubt they'll rise from their graves to fight me again." KO sounded rather confident.

Over the years as an experienced hacker, he had met countless rivals, only to realize that most of them didn't live up to their reputation.

The only person who had truly impressed him was Elise, for the program she wrote took him an immense amount of time and trouble before he was able to crack it.

However, he didn't get carried away after successfully cracking Elise's code. After all, computer hacking was like playing chess to him, no matter the odds, anything could happen in the process and tip the scales either way. Therefore, he believed one must be technically capable and quick on their foot to become the best hacker there was.

Although KO had always wanted to compete with Elise to see who the better hacker between them was, his wish soon became his regret when he heard about Elise's death seven years ago.

"Good job!" Gale patted his shoulder. "When this is over, I'll reward you handsomely."

KO turned his head around and set his cold gaze on Gale's hand that was on his shoulder. Besides being a hacker, it turned out that the man was also a gambler who believed that a pat on the shoulder would bring him bad luck when he gambled.

Sensing something wrong, Gale quickly let go of KO's shoulder and took his hand off him. It was then that KO slowly looked away and kept his eyes on the monitor.

He wasn't working for Gale because of the money, but rather, he was just making some extra cash for his retirement plan. Therefore, he had no reason to fear Gale.

"Well, I'm confident in your ability to take care of whatever troubles might arise. Keep your eyes open, okay? I have some other business to attend to." Gale finished his words and walked away.

As soon as Gale was gone, KO's computer was completely taken over by Elise's hacking. Then, a few lines of green words popped up on the screen.

It read, 'Let's find out who's the better hacker. Are you game?'

Intrigued by the challenge, KO couldn't help but feel a rush of excitement.

"Wow, it looks like I've underestimated you. I didn't think you were able to trace it back to me." Surprised that someone from a small-medium enterprise was able to break through his firewall, KO became tempted to accept the challenge.

In that instant, he sat up straight and was ready for a battle of hacking.

'Bring it on!' he replied, rubbing his hands while excitedly waiting for what was going to unfold.

'Let's schedule a time,' Elise responded calmly, thinking she should whet the hacker's appetite instead of accepting his challenge too soon.

Good stuff doesn't come easy, which is why they can sell for a good price.

'Let's make it at 7.00AM tomorrow.' KO kept his eyes on the screen, looking forward to a satisfying answer.

Fine, one more night! That's all the time you're going to get!

Nevertheless, the response that came up three seconds later immediately took the man aback.

'It's too early. I don't think I can wake up by then.'

KO was so stunned to see the message from Elise that he nearly fell off the chair.

What kind of lazy hacker are you? Time is money, don't you understand that?

However, Elise wished she was able to wake up earlier, but why would she do so when her husband and son would handle everything for her?

Furthermore, Alexander usually made breakfast around 9.00AM, which meant she would have to wait until then with an empty stomach.

Eager to accept Elise's challenge, KO reluctantly agreed to her suggestion. 'Fine, 11.00AM then!'

'Okay', Elise replied and went offline the next second.

She then turned around and shouted at the door. "Irvin! Irvin! Come here."

With Irvin and Alexander around, Elise was hoping that her son and husband would take care of all the house chores for her. Thus, she started acting more and more like a princess, summoning Alexander and Irvin whenever she needed them.

In less than a minute, Irvin glacially entered the room with his hands in his pockets, looking as if he was Alexander's soul trapped in a child's body.

Thinking her son could have arrived a lot sooner, Elise reckoned Irvin was doing it intentionally just to make himself look cool. Nevertheless, she still went on and praised her son, saying, "Here you are, my handsome boy!"

Coolest Girl in Town Chapter 960--Irvin lifted his chin proudly. Although he was happy, he didn't let it show. "Just tell me what you want me to do, Mommy."

"Good boy. I have a computer virus that even your Godfather can't deal with. I was thinking of letting you break the code. Are you interested?" Elise turned the computer to let Irvin have a look.

Immediately, Irvin came closer to inspect the code.

After some time, he frowned and said, "Mommy, you are asking me to break a code that is Godfather's level. Don't you think it is..."

"It is kind of hard, but I will help you," Elise replied.

"No." Irvin straightened his back. "What I meant is that this is too easy for me. With Godfather's brain, I can simply write a code to perplex him."

Hearing his words, she couldn't smile but laughed.

Fortunately, Jamie isn't here. Otherwise, he would be mad.

"Irvin, think of it as a task. How long will it take for you to complete it?"

After pondering for a moment, he replied, "I'll get it done by tomorrow morning."

Hearing his words, Elise recalled the match's time and nodded. "Okay, just in time."

"What?" Irvin asked with a confused look.

Since she didn't want to expose herself now, she quickly changed the subject and said, "It's nothing. Irvin, let me make you something to eat. Any cravings?"

Breaking a code was similar to writing one, it would drain a person physically and mentally. Hence, she would be the supporter since she had asked Irvin to do the work.

"I don't want to eat anything." Irvin closed the laptop and hugged it as he returned to his room.

While walking back to his room, he waved his hand and said, "Don't call me before I have done my work."

His figure was cute and cool at the same time. Looking at him, Elise felt happy.

He looks like a little grown-up when he has business to do...

Thinking about it, she replied in a chirpy tone, "Got it."

Westdam Red Light District was the most chaotic area in Wegas. The streets were dirty, and drunkards could be seen lying everywhere. Moreover, one could see people having s*x in public, throwing up while hugging the pole, and some mafia gang fighting in the dark alley.

At that moment, a flashy Mercedes-Benz appeared in the streets. Its rich look and cleanliness immediately attracted much attention. Then, the car stopped in front of the most bustling bar.

When the car door was open, Alicia walked out of the door while carrying a flashy designer bag.

When she closed the door, she entered the bar with a defensive stance. As she entered the bar, the bright lights and blaring music caused her to close her eyes and cover her ears. After some time, she slowly adapted to her surroundings.

When Alicia, a woman who didn't belong in the red-light district, entered the bar, many eyes were on her. However, she didn't seem to notice and looked around cluelessly.

When she spotted whom she was looking for, she immediately walked to a bearded man by the counter.

"Hello," Alicia called out, but the man didn't hear her since it was too noisy.

In another attempt to gain his attention, she yelled, "Hello!"

At that moment, not only did the bearded man turn around and look at her, but those who noticed her also turned their gazes toward her. Then, Alice understood how to communicate here.

I guess I have to shout to talk to others...

"Are you Black Dog?"

"What do you want?" Black Dog glared at her impatiently.

"Is it true that they say you can get me a hacker?"

Although Alicia wanted to prove Jamie's innocence, Gale didn't want to help. Then, she heard from a foreign servant that a guy with the nickname Black Dog was in the Westdam Red Light District. He would be the middleman and introduce her to hackers if she were to find him. Hence, she mustered up the courage and went to see Black Dog.

However, Black Dog didn't reply and asked, "Did you bring any money?"

"Yes!" She knew that only money would get him to work, so she immediately took out two million dollars from the bag. "I didn't bring much cash!"

After he had taken over the money, he was still unsatisfied. “Is this all?"

"There's more to where that came from!" Alicia took out a bank card. "Here is another ten million! It doesn't have a password! I can get some more if you think it's not enough!"

"No need!" As soon as he took the card, he threw it along on the counter with the cash and immediately turned against her.

"You can go back now."

"What about the hacker?" Alicia urged.

"What hacker?" Black Dog played dumb.

"Since you have taken my money, you have to find me a hacker!" She began to get anxious.

"Why should I help you when I have already received the money?" He rolled his eyes at her impatiently.

"Then, give me back my money!" After all, this was Alicia's allowance, and she needed it to save Jamie.

Hence, she reached out and was going to take it back.

"B*tch! Don't snatch it!" Black Dog had the advantage of a tall figure and used it to grab Alicia's hand while standing up. Seeing that she was good-looking, he teased her. "Now that I have taken a good look at you, you look stunning! Here's how it is going to be! You will sleep with me for a night, and I'll take you to see the person you are looking for! How's that?"

Immediately, someone watching wolf-whistled. "Hey, the chick over there! Sign me up too!"

The crowd was fanning the flames. They went up toward Alicia and looked at her greedily.

On the other hand, Alicia ignored the man who cut into their conversation and struggled to get her hand out of Black Dog's grip.

"I will never believe you again! You are a liar!"

Then, she glared at the man angrily before turning around to leave.

However, he chased after her and hugged herfrom behind, taking her back inside the bar. "You can't leave that easily. Let's have some fun!"

Then, he reached out and tore Alicia's jacket.

"Well damn, I didn't know you had some good stuff." Black Dog teased her.

"No! Stop! Ah!" Alicia's scream was drowned in the blaring music.

On the other hand, upstairs at the bar, Gale had a motionless expression as he swirled the champagne glass he was holding. "How heartless of you. That is your cousin..." A person beside him couldn't stand to look at the scene and tease him. What happened to the poor girl was all part of Gale's plan. It was he who told the servant to spread the news to Alicia and lured her here.

Black Dog and those men flirting with Alicia were all his men. The reason he did this was to ruin Alicia. Only that way would he be able to successfully take charge of BJ Biotech.

"Empathy breaks a man..." Then, Gale finished his champagne in one shot and left through the back door.

Before he left, he reminded nonchalantly, "Make sure the photos are clear."