Chapter <b>121 </b>
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“We met at your wedding with Jeffrey five years ago,” Riley said, standing at the doorway with that sly, charming look. “You’ve forgotten?”
‘Did we really?‘ Reba racked her brain and thought, ‘Nope, nothinges to mind.
“I tried flirting with you, and Jeffrey shot me a death re,” Riley added, hoping to jog Reba’s memory.
Reba paused, raising an eyebrow questioningly. She thought, ‘Flirting at my wedding?‘
Riley pulled out her phone and showed Reba a photo from a couple of years back. “Recognize this?<b>” </b>
Reba stared at the screen. There was a girl with shoulder–length, choppy hair, headphones around her neck. Her grin was full of youthful energy and a hint of mischief.
That photo flipped a switch in Reba’s mind. She stared at Riley, eyes wide. “Wait… You’re Riley?”
“Don’t I look even cooler now?” Riley ran her hand through her hair, her whole vibe radiating pure flirt power.
“You look great either way,” Reba said, stepping aside to let Riley in. “Come on in.”
Reba hadn’t run into Riley much aside from seeing her at the wedding. Riley’s whole vibe was a world apart from what it was at that moment. That was why Reba hadn’t recognized her at first.
Riley used to be just a cool girl, but at that moment, she looked so androgynous and smooth, and people couldn’t even tell if she was a guy or a girl.
Riley nced around. She couldn’t help but tease, “Seriously? Jeffrey let you and Samuel end up living in a ce this tiny?”
“I picked it myself,” Reba replied.
Riley was puzzled. She didn’t know all the messy details behind Jeffrey and Reba’s divorce, just that Jeffrey’s scandal with Andrea blew up. Before she knew it, they were signing the papers.
“Coffee<i>?</i>” Reba offered. Honestly, she didn’t know much about Riley, except that Riley and Jeffrey were pretty close.
“Water’s fine,” Riley replied, grabbing a cup and helping herself. “Actually, I came here today because there’s something I want to ask you.”
“Go ahead,” Reba said, sitting down with her.
Riley traced her fingertip along the edge of her ss. “How much do you actually know about your mom?”
Reba paused, raising an eyebrow questioningly.
“Your mom really reminds me of someone I used to know,” Riley said, keeping quiet about Jeffrey getting her to look into it. “That friend lived a pretty wild life, totally different from your mom.”
12:22 <b>Thu</b><b>, </b><b>Sep </b><b>25 </b>
“My mom’s in her forties,” Reba pointed out.
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“I know,” Riley replied honestly. “I only met her when she was just a kid.”
Reba grew even more curious, unable to help herself. “Did you know she was an orphan?”
“An orphan?” Riley arched her brow. Reba nodded.
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Riley gave Reba a long look. She thought, ‘Amelia never fit the orphan vibe. If Reba’s saying this, did some major drama go down back in the day?‘
“What’s wrong?” Reba asked, noticing Riley’s shift in mood.
“Probably not the same person,” Riley replied. She believed that Amelia kept that under wraps for a reason. “Just a weird coincidence, I guess.”
Since Riley didn’t want to talk, Reba let it go. Amelia’s history was just a big question mark. She’d have to wait until Amelia woke up if she wanted real answers.
When Riley was about to leave, she looked at the apartment and couldn’t help asking, “When you and Jeffrey split up, he didn’t hook you up with a ce? Not even a part of the property?”
Reba shrugged, repeating Jeffrey’s own line. “He earned it. No reason he had to split it with me.”
Riley got the message loud and clear. She headed straight to wherever Jeffrey was.
Jeffrey was surprised to see her. “Find anything?”
“Didn’t check,” Riley answered bluntly.
Jeffrey was confused.
Riley made herselffortable on the couch, looking totallyid back. “I stumbled across all the drama about your divorce with Reba onlinest night. Honestly, it was so nasty that it made me sick. I lost all motivation to look into it.”
Jeffrey just stared at her, speechless.
Riley raised an eyebrow, teasing, “Heard you kicked Reba out with nothing after the split? But didn’t you cheat her?”
“Cheated?” Jeffrey repeated, his voice t. That was what Reba and everyone else kept getting wrong about him.
“Wasn’t everyone saying you hooked up with Andrea? Spending nights over at Harmony Estate?” Riley pressed, basing it all on gossip from the inte and whatever she’d heard from Reba and Stanley.
Jeffrey stayed cool. “Did I ever admit to any of that?”
Riley snorted. “Come on, isn’t it basically written in stone?”
<b>12:22 </b><b>Thu</b><b>, </b><b>Sep </b><b>25 </b>
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“What you saw <b>is </b><b>just </b>what I wanted you to see,” Jeffrey said, keeping it short. “I didn’t cheat.”
He never slept with Andrea. He never even liked her.
Riley smiled. “Men, seriously.”
Jeffrey observed Riley’s strange behavior. He asked, “Did you go see Reba this morning?”
“Nope,” Riley shrugged,id–back as ever, making herselffortable on the couch.
Jeffrey asked, “Did you ask her anything about Amelia?”
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Even someone as chill as Riley couldn’t help feeling a bit helpless. ‘Man, having a genius for a friend seriously means you can kiss your privacy goodbye,’ she thought.
“So, Amelia’s got some mysterious background?” Jeffrey asked smoothly, not missing a beat.
“Not really,” Riley said. “I just asked around to see if Reba’s mom knew any hackers. The one who sealed off Amelia’s info was probably my mentor.”
She figured putting the truth out in the open was actually the safest move. If she tried to hide anything, with Jeffrey’s sharp brain, he’d sniff it out in no time.
“The one who taught you hacking when you were a kid?” Jeffrey said, recalling the memory.
“Yeah,” Riley replied, sprawled out on the couch without a trace of concern. “Honestly, with my skills now, I could break through my mentor’s old security no problem, but it just feels kinda wrong.”
Jeffrey suggested, “Why not just ask her?”
Riley blinked. “My mentor?” Jeffrey hummed in acknowledgment.
“She’s been out of the game for ages,” Riley said, sitting up and pouring herself a ss of water. “Years ago, she told me she needed to handle something big, and after that, she just vanished.”
Jeffrey pressed his lips together, falling silent. Riley brought the ss to her lips.
Just then, Jeffrey’s eyes fixed on her. He blurted out, “Is it possible that Amelia is actually your mentor?”
Riley froze in surprise, momentarily caught off guard. For once, her always–steady heart actually skipped a beat. Jeffrey really is scary–smart, Riley thought to herself.
“No way,” Riley replied, quickly pulling herself together. “My mentor was never one to settle down, for starters. Plus, the names don’t match up at all.”
Jeffrey watched her, saw she wasn’t lying, and didn’t press the issue. Right at that moment, his phone rang. was Reba calling.
It
<b>12:22 </b><b>Thu</b><b>, </b><b>Sep </b><b>25 </b>