Ch. 2736..2740: My Wife Is A Hacker Chapter 2736-2740

Chapter 2736

“It’s okay. We can still trace them as long as we have some clues to work with,”

Nicole comforted Patricia.

Patricia had provided her with some very useful information. In fact, it was an essential discovery. The next step would be to determine the direction of the investigation.

“I’ll do it,” Patricia said decisively.

However, Nicole shook her head. “There’s no rush. Just go home and get some rest. Well decide after meeting up with Max and Charlie.”

“Well, I’ll take a nap in the office,” Patricia replied.

She could rendezvous with Max and Charlie right after work if she stayed here.

If she went home right now, she might have to wait until the next day, and she hardly had the patience forthat.

Nicole shook her head as she watched Patricia leave. She then called her secretary to make the necessary arrangements.

After ending the call, she leaned back against her chair with a darkened gaze.

‘Based on Patricia’s analysis, I wonder where those men from.’ It was almost the end of the workday when Nicole left Riddle Corporation and headed to Johnston Group with Patricia.

“You’re early,” Jared remarked, surprised to see her.

“Patricia made a discovery,” Nicole went straight to the point as soon as she entered his office. ’Have Max and Charlie come over.”

Jared called them over, and Patricia went on to explain the encounter with her assailants earlier.

“So they really made a move.” Charlie’s eyes darkened.

Then, Max frowned and asked, “Are you sure that’s how they fought?”

“Yes. I had already pulled Ellar out of the danger zone at that time, so I saw it very clearly,” Patricia confirmed.

“If that’s the case, I know about an organization.” Max continued through gritted teeth. “Do any of you remember the Eastern Falcon?”

“Do you mean…” Patricia’s eyes widened in shock. “But they haven’t shown any signs of activity for a long time now.”

Max nodded. “That’s what I find strange too. According to Patricia’s description of their combat techniques, there’s only one particular group with a style that resembles theirs, and that’s the Eastern Falcon.”

However, as Patricia had stated, the Eastern Falcon had been inactive for many years.

“Why haven’t they been active?” Nicole asked in confusion as she had not heard of this organization before.

“It’s said that a mission failure had caused major issues within their organization, forcing them to retreat and lick their wounds,” Patricia explained.

“Is it possible that their recovery period is almost over?” Nicole asked.

If that was the case, the organization should have recovered to full strength by now. Still, both Patricia and Max were shocked upon learning that they could very well be the ones responsible for the

encounter earlier.

“The problem is, they’ve declared that they would never set foot in the world of mercenary syndicates ever again.

They’ve also retreated to a place where no one would find them. That’s how they managed to recover from the fallout of their last mission.” Max continued.

“That’s why I find it strange that they’ve appeared. Even if they’re tired of remaining in the shadows, they wouldn’t go after Nicole unless they have a good reason to,” Max finished.

Nicole understood the general idea and looked at Jared, who gave her a light nod, confirming that Max and Patricia were indeed telling the truth.

“If that’s the case, there’s only one possibility. There must be a solid reason for them to emerge, regardless of whether it’s internal or external,” Nicole said as an icy glint crossed her eyes.

The only question that remained was, why had they decided to target her, of all people?

“I understand. I’ll get someone to investigate,” Patricia immediately responded.

Nicole’s allies could first investigate their internal ongoings, and if the reason for their reemergence was not tied to issues within the organization, then it would not be a stretch to conclude that they were motivated by external factors.

Though it seemed as though there could be countless possibilities, investigating the Eastern Falcon would not be a difficult task at all.

 

Chapter 2737

Having said that, Patricia turned around and began walking away.

Although her injury was not severe, she still wanted to take a good rest and wake up early the next day. She needed to be extra vigilant and alert during work tomorrow.

As she was about to leave, Ellar reached out and grabbed her.

However, he had made the mistake of seizing her by the arm which had been injured, causing Patricia to grimace and cry out, “Ow!”

She winced as her bad arm was in tremendous pain, and pulled away from Ellar’s grasp.

Realizing that he had caused her pain, he immediately released her with a remorseful look on his face. “Sorry for hurting you. Are you okay? Should we go to the hospital?”

“Never mind.” Patricia said, dumbfounded and speechless.

Going to the hospital would be totally unnecessary. It was just a brief moment of pain, not something severe enough to warrant a visit to the ward.

“I’ll take you home.” Ellar pulled her into his car.

He was still worried sick for her, as she had refused a trip to the hospital.

Patricia sighed, feeling helpless and defeated. “No, I’m fine, really. I can go home by myself.”

“Well, you’re going home anyway. What’s the harm in letting me take you?” Ellar insisted and turned to look at the driver.” Take us to Flora Apartments.”

“How do you know where I live?” Patricia asked with a frown.

“I asked,” Ellar pointed to the two men she had assigned to protect him.

The two bodyguards lowered their heads at once, their faces guilt ridden. ‘Did we do something wrong?’ Patricia then took a deep breath and warned the two, “Don’t tell any outsiders my address in the future.”

“Ye-yes, Patricia,” they stammered. ‘How are we supposed to know that Ellar is an outsider?’ However, Ellar did not seem to know what Patricia meant, and proceeded to chime in, “Yeah, don’t tell any outsiders next time.”

Besides, he already knew her address, so it was better if others did not.

Patricia could only roll her eyes at that point. She just could not be bothered to pay attention to Ellar anymore, and so, she simply closed her eyes and took a power nap.

After a while, the car pulled up in front of Flora Apartments.

“I’ve arrived. You can go back home.” Patricia got out of the car.

When she saw that Ellar wanted to follow her out, she slammed the door, locking him inside.

Ellar rubbed his forehead, having narrowly missed being hit.” Hey. Let me take you upstairs!”

“No,” Patricia sternly declined, before spinning around and hurrying back to her apartment.

Ellar issued a sigh of helplessness as he watched her recede from view. He was just worried about her, but as things stood, it seemed that Patricia wanted him off her back.

Meanwhile, Nicole and Jared were already on their way to the Riddle residence.

“What do you think is the reason for the Eastern Falcon’s reemergence?” Nicole asked Jared.

She was not familiar with any organization by the name of Eastern Falcon, so she could not guess what their motives were.

“It’s been so many years, so there shouldn’t be any problems within the organization. If it’s not due to the changes in their surroundings, we can rule out internal factors as the cause of their reappearance. That said, I believe they are motivated by external forces,” Jared said, his voice heavy and low.

“External?” Nicole frowned slightly. ‘What could that be? Benefits of some sort?’ ‘Is it possible that they have been given enough incentive to come out of hiding?’ she wondered.

“There might be lucrative rewards offered to them,” Jared said calmly, though his words conveyed a sense of nervousness and pressure.

“Yeah, that’s the only reason that makes sense to me right now.” Nicole agreed after pondering over it for a moment.

They could only wait for the results of Charlie’s investigation, which would hopefully be over soon.

“Those thugs exposed themselves today, but they didn’t manage to complete the mission, so they’ll probably lay low for a few days,” Nicole inferred.

It was evident that the group were well trained and coordinated. They would never act rashly and recklessly, as everything was well planned from the very beginning.

Moreover, they had probably lurked around Ellar for a while, waiting for the right moment to strike.

Chapter 2738

However, precautions were necessary and they still had to be on guard for the foreseeable future.

Jared gently held Nicole’s hand and looked at her with a tender and comforting gaze. In return, she smiled as a sense of happiness rippled from within her heart.

Upon arriving at the Riddle residence, they saw that Tia had also just brought Nolan and Lana home.

“Mommy! Daddy!” “Hello, Mr. Johnston and Nicole,” Tia greeted.

The kids ran up to Nicole and Jared, with Tia following them from behind.

Nicole patted their heads affectionately as she smiled.” You’re back.”

“Mommy, tomorrow is the parent-child event. Will you and Daddy be there?”

Lana tilted her head and asked with a hint of anticipation in her voice.

“Of course we’ll be there.” Nicole smiled and promised.

Indeed, she could not bear the idea of disappointing her two little cuties.

“Yay!” Lana cheered, and waved her little hands in excitement.

Nicole held Nolan and Lana’s hands with a smile and brought them into the house. “Let’s go inside and talk.”

Then, they made their way to the living room, where Daniel, Gloria, and Stanley were all present.

“Hi, Grandpa, Grandma, and Uncle Stanley,” Nolan and Lana politely greeted.

“Oh, my little darlings are back.” Gloria beamed, and beckoned them to come to her. “Quick, come to Grandma.”

Everyone present sat down on the couch and gathered around for a chat.

“Nicole, if there’s nothing, I’ll be heading back home,” Tia whispered to Nicole when she saw everyone happily chatting away.

Nicole glanced at her, hesitated for a moment, and nodded in agreement. “Sure, go back and get some rest.”

“Okay.” Tia nodded and left.

Stanley noticed Tia leaving and involuntarily looked in her general direction.

Though Tia’s figure had already disappeared through the door, Stanley’s gaze was still locked on it, as if he was stuck in a daydream.

“Stanley?”

Hearing someone calling him, he snapped out of his stupor and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“We are the ones who should be asking you what’s wrong. Why were you staring at the door in a daze? We called out to you several times.” Gloria retorted.

Why is it that Stanley appears to be acting weirdly? Is he not feeling well?’ she wondered.

“Oh, it’s nothing.” Stanley came up with an explanation. “I just thought of some work-related matters.”

Upon hearing this, Gloria felt reassured and breathed a sigh of relief. “I see.”

Nicole, however, was eyeing Stanley with arched brows. She had seen it very clearly; Stanley was looking at Tia just now.

Suddenly, Stanley’s phone rang. A frown crossed his face the instant he saw who the caller was.

After refusing to answer the call, Stanley sent Cherry a text message instead.

[What’s the matter?] [I’ve got an emergency. Can you come out for a bit?] [What’s going on?] [It seems that my family has sensed something, and they’re insisting on seeing you. Can you help me through this?] [Why don’t you explain to your family yourself?] Stanley was not in a good mood, and the last thing he wanted to do right now was go out there and help her out.

[Please, I’m begging you. There’s something wrong with my visa application process. It’ll take about two weeks for me to sort it out. If they find out, all my previous efforts will be in vain.] Cherry went on to send a few pleading emojis to Stanley, hoping he would agree to help her through this.

Chapter 2739

“Stanley, what are you doing?” Gloria asked when she saw Stanley texting someone with his head lowered.

“Why is Stanley so absentminded? First, he was busy daydreaming and now he’s looking at his phone. Is something bothering him?’ Gloria wondered.

“Mom, I need to go out for a while. There’s something I need to take care of,”

Stanley said as he got up.

He could only help Cherry out as he had promised to do so from the very beginning. Therefore, he could not go back on his word.

“What’s going on with him?” Daniel asked, puzzled by his son’s behavior as well.

“Who knows. He’s acting strange, that’s for sure.” Gloria sighed in defeat.

“Dad, Mom? Stanley can handle his own issues,” Nicole comforted them, not wanting them to worry about him.

She believed that Stanley must have felt something very different, which in turn made him uneasy. All she could do now was hope that he could figure his feelings out. Only then would things return to normal.

After Stanley had left, he immediately called Cherry. “Hey, where are you?”

“Okay, I’m coming over now,” he said before hanging up.

As he turned around, he saw Tia, who seemed to have just emerged from the direction of the garage.

“Tia!?” Stanley exclaimed in surprise.

At the same time, he was also feeling a little guilty.

“My handbag is in the car. I just went to get it. I’m going back now,” Tia spluttered, before walking past Stanley and hurrying to the backyard as if she was trying to flee from him.

Stanley watched as she hurried off, and reached his hand out to stop her.

However, he was far behind now, so he dropped his arm and watched as Tia’s figure vanished from sight.

When Tia returned to Mrs. Wallace Sr. ‘s quarters at the back, she began her cleaning routine absentmindedly, not realizing that she was holding a towel instead of a rag.

“Tia, what are you doing?” Mrs. Wallace Sr. asked, having noticed the strangeness of her actions.

“Oh, just wiping this down. It’s a bit dirty,” Tia said, her wiping motions becoming even more vigorous.

“But that’s a towel,” Mrs. Wallace Sr. remarked.

Tia paused for a moment, and that was when she realized that she was holding a towel. There, she stood frozen, embarrassed and at a loss.

“Come, come over and take a break for a while. Talk to Grandma.” Mrs. Wallace Sr. beckoned.

Tia instantly teared up while she gritted her teeth to fight the tears back in front of Mrs. Wallace Sr.

Then, she slowly walked up to Mrs. Wallace Sr. and sat down. At that moment, she began talking to Mrs. Wallace Sr. about her days in the countryside. Pouring her feelings out like that made her feel better, as many pleasant memories from the past resurfaced.

During the next day, Nicole heard frantic knocking and shouting at the door, even though it was still early and she had barely woken up.

“Daddy! Mommy! Wake up! Let’s join the event,” Nolan and Lana shouted from outside the room.

Frowning, Nicole opened her crusted eyes and sat up, slowly and groggily.

“Okay, you can go down first.”

“We’ll be waiting for you in the living room, then.”

The knocking stopped, and rapid footfalls took their place, growing softer with each passing second.

Nicole rubbed her temples when she was certain that her kids were gone. Then, she got out of bed, with Jared following suit.

After freshening up, the two went downstairs, where they saw Nolan and Lana sitting quietly on the couch in the living room.

But the second they saw their parents, they jumped up and yelled, “Daddy!

Mommy!”

Chapter 2740

“Come on, guys. It’s still too early,” Nicole said helplessly.

There was little point in them rushing to preschool this early. Even if they did, the teachers would likely not be there yet.

“It’s not early. By the time we get there, our classmates will have been there already.” Lana argued, feeling rather impatient.

Nicole smiled and patted Lana’s head gently. “It’s really too early. Let’s have breakfast first. And then, we’ll go to school, okay?”

“Okay,” Nolan and Lana agreed, and reached for the remote to turn the TV on.

They wanted to watch something for a while to pass the time.

At first, there was some news about current political affairs, but as the children could not understand anything about the subject, they switched to the entertainment channel. All of a sudden, Stanley’s figure appeared, on the screen, and right before their eyes.

“It’s Uncle Stanley!” the two kids shouted in surprise as they stared at the screen.

The voice of the anchor then emanated from the TV,” Yesterday, Stanley Riddle, the third son of Daniel Riddle, met his future father-in-law at a hotel. It seems that more good news is just around the corner…”

“Mommy, what’s going on?” Nolan and Lana asked in confusion.

While they understood a little of what was going on, they could grasp the full gravity of what they just heard. ‘Is Uncle Stanley getting married? But why is nothing happening at home?’ Nicole was also surprised. She did not know that Stanley had gone out last night to discuss marriage plans. ‘Is he not

planning to discuss it with the family first?’ “Were they talking about Stanley?” Gloria and Daniel approached them, having overheard the news.

“Mom, well… let Stanley explain it to you.” Nicole said.

She was feeling uneasy, and was not in the least aware of what was going on either.

“An explanation? What are you talking about?” Stanley asked.

He too had overheard Nicole, and was just as confused as the rest of them were.

“Uncle Stanley, are you getting married?” Nolan and Lana asked in unison.

“No?” Stanley replied, and shot them a look of bewilderment. “Why are the children asking me about this?’ In response, Lana pointed at the TV and said, “But the news just said that you and Cherry met your future father-in-law yesterday.”

“The news?!” Stanley was shocked, his mouth wide and hanging. ‘So, are they saying that the paparazzi took pictures when I went over to help Cherry out yesterday?! And it’s all over the news now?! Gosh!’ “Yes, it was just on TV.” Nolan and Lana nodded vigorously, indicating that they were not lying.

“Stanley, you were pretty absentminded throughout the evening last night. Was it because of this?” Gloria asked resentfully. “You didn’t tell us a thing. Is it because you were afraid that we wouldn’t give you our blessings?”

“No.” Stanley said, wanting to clear the air.

“Well, why didn’t you tell us then?” Gloria shot back.

“I’m not getting married. The situation yesterday was rather peculiar, and I was just there to help,” Stanley explained as he furrowed his brows.

If he did not clarify things now, the misunderstanding would grow in severity, and eventually spiral out of control.

“How can you help, especially in situations like these?” Gloria widened her eyes in astonishment.

She thought that parents were usually the ones who would step in and help out in issues like these.

“No, you’re mistaken. Actually, Cherry and I are not what you think we are,”

Stanley continued, trying to explain everything to his family.

Gloria, on the other hand, was even more taken aback by his ham-fisted attempt at clearing the air. “You said she was your girlfriend in front of everyone at the dinner table. What kind of relationship do you both have if it isn’t what we think it is?”

The idea that there was more than one sort of girlfriend was ludicrous, unthinkable, and unheard of to Gloria.

And just like that, Stanley was rendered powerless and speechless as though a gut punch had winded him. All he could do was stand there, not knowing what to say or how best to explain his predicament to his family.

If he had known the situation would spiral to what it had become, he would have not accepted Cherry’s proposal. As of now, it was already difficult enough to state his case and explain himself to his family.