Riley didn’t believe Jeffrey and replied, “Doesn’t matter to me if you look into Amelia or not. I’m just wondering why Amelia wants to keep their backgrounds hidden.”


    Jeffrey arched his eyebrow. He wondered, ‘Is Amelia really not her mentor?‘


    “Dig all you want if it’s just business,” Riley said with a half–shrug. “But if there’s anything personal in there, snooping’s going to make me look like an ungrateful brat.”


    “Didn’t you say your mentor retired?” Jeffrey asked calmly.


    “Yeah,” Riley replied.


    “Since she’s retired, whatever’s on the inte has nothing to do with her anymore. If you want to dig something up, try it,” Jeffrey said.


    “Okay,” Riley agreed.


    “Go ahead,” Jeffrey said.


    Riley nced at theputer screen with the security feed, hesitated for a bit, then finally gave in and decided to help him out.


    Amelia had a different name, so even if Jeffrey tried to follow the clues, there was no guarantee he’d dig up anything. Besides, Amelia had some connection to Riley, which was just Jeffrey’s guess.


    “Hold up!” Jeffrey called out suddenly, just as Riley was about to switch the screen.


    Riley asked casually, “What do you want to do?”


    Jeffrey thought he saw something, but it shed by too fast. “Rewind the footage two minutes,” he said.


    Riley obeyed, eyes on the monitor where Reba chatted with the middle–aged stranger. Seeing nothing weird, she shot Jeffrey a sideways look and teased, “It’s just a normal conversation. Don’t tell me you’re even jealous of this?”


    Jeffrey didn’t say a word. His gaze remained fixed on the surveince camera, never straying from the two figures on screen.


    Right then, that fleeting thought in his mind finally clicked into ce, all those nagging questions suddenly making sense. Jeffrey wondered, ‘Why does that guy look so familiar? Now I get it.’


    Watching his face, Riley shot him a sly look. She thought, ‘Is he seriously jealous right now?‘


    “Don’t


    you think Reba kinda looks like him?” Jeffrey asked to make sure he wasn’t seeing things.


    Riley replied, ncing casually at the screen. “If that’s all it takes to call them-” Riley froze mid–sentence, spine snapping straight. “Yeah, they kinda do look alike.”


    “Who is this man?” Riley blurted out before she could stop herself.


    Jeffrey just gave her a look, his eyes cold. He stared at her<b>, </b>saying nothing.


    “Give me two minutes,” Riley said, flipping into full gossip mode. She split her screen–surveince feed on one side, digging up background info on the other.


    Riley thought, ‘If this guy is seriously tight with Amelia, maybe he’s the reason she disappeared from the


    scene.’


    Her fingers flew over the keyboard, lines of code streaming across the screen. It didn’t take long for her to bust through the firstyer of Amelia’s defenses and dig up some info. But when she tried to go deeper, it was a dead end.


    <b>“</b>What’s wrong?” Jeffrey clocked her sudden change in attitude.


    “Turns out Amelia’s even more of a legend than I thought,” Riley said, her fingers flying as she tried to break through another line of defense. “All I got was some basic info on the man. Anything deeper; total no–go.”


    Riley thought, ‘Amelia was already this good at tech back over twenty years ago. If she hadn’t disappeared from the scene, she’d probably be unstoppable now!‘


    “What’s the basic info?” Jeffrey asked, already figuring he’d have Stanley dig up the rest.


    “His name is Ryan, from Honn, fifty years old, CEO of the Guzman Group,” Riley read off the screen. “Back in his younger days, he seriously gained quite a reputation.”


    ‘The Guzman Group?‘ Jeffrey thought. He quickly recalled everything he knew about it. Thepany was in the top three in the country and the top ten worldwide.


    It operated in a different sector than the Hanson Group, but its growth was impressive. The current leader was known as a big–picture thinker, and a few years back, he managed to reinvent the Guzman Group. But there was barely any news about their chairman.


    “Anything else?” Jeffrey asked.


    “No,” Riley said, packing up herptop, her mind still busy working out how to crack Amelia’s secondyer of defense. “Once I dig up something more, I’ll let you know. I’m heading home.”


    Jeffrey stayed silent; the instant the door clicked shut, he whipped out his phone and speed–dialed Stanley.


    Stanley picked up almost immediately. “What’s up?”


    “I’ve sent you the details,” Jeffrey said, suspicion churning in his mind. “Set up a paternity test for them as soon as possible<i>.” </i>


    “Got it,” Stanley replied, not missing a beat.


    Reba had no clue that Jeffrey already knew everything she was trying to find out. She had no idea he was way ahead of her.


    55 vouchers


    Reba was still in the hospital room. With Amelia showing <i>no </i>sign of waking up, Reba leaned against the bed, clutching Amelia’s hand as she gossiped about her failed divorce and random everyday stuff.


    After a while, Reba muttered, “Mom, if you keep sleeping like this, I can’t take it much longer. Honestly, I don’t know what to do. There’s no way I can win against him.”


    She’d shared so much with Amelia. A month had gone by, and there was still no sign that Amelia was waking up. Reba was scared that if Amelia didn’te around by the two–month mark, she didn’t know if she could take it anymore.


    “Still here with your mom, huh?” Timothy strolled in to check on Amelia, giving Reba a friendly nod.


    “Dr. Johnson,” Reba got up, anxiety clear in her eyes. “Seriously, be honest with me. Can my mom really wake up within two months?”


    Timothy answered without hesitation, “Of course.”


    Reba’s fingers tightened a little, her voice wavering. “Really?”


    Timothy smiled, closing the chart. “When have I ever lied to you? Your mom’s condition keeps improving. Give it a few more days, and she’ll be waking up.”


    Reba finally felt her tense heart rx a bit, her anxiety fading away as relief washed over her.


    The following day, Reba spent the morning busy at home, then headed to the Manor to hang out with Samuel.


    Reba knew Samuel was about to leave for summer camp again, and she couldn’t help but feel a bit anxious. On Monday, when it was time to send him off, she fussed over him, rattling off all sorts of little reminders before Samuel left.


    Seeing how attentive and anxious Reba was, Jeffrey offered, “If you’re that worried, just cancel the business trip. I’ll buy a house near his camp so we can be with him.”


    “No,” Reba rejected. She did worry about Samuel, but she couldn’t keep him glued to her side all the time.


    “Don’t worry, Mom. I can take care of myself,” Samuel said, actually pretty hyped to go to camp. “I’m a big boy


    now.”


    “If anythinges up, just call me,” Reba said, giving his hair a gentle ruffle.


    Samuel nodded his head. “Okay,”


    Once she’d finished fussing and sent Samuel onto the bus, Reba watched it roll farther down the road, an uneasy feeling twisting in her gut. After a moment’s pause, she nced at Jeffrey and asked, “Did you give his teacher the full heads–up?”


    Jeffrey replied, “Of course.”


    Reba pressed her lips together, unable to shake off that lingering sense of unease.


    55 vouchers


    “Here’s the info for your flight and hotel room for the trip, Jeffrey said, tossing in, “If you don’t feel like getting crammed into economy, just take my private jet instead.”


    Reba waved him off. “No need.” She tapped open the message to check the details.


    As Reba’s eyes hit the hotel room number, her brows knit together. She thought, ‘Isn’t the whole 18th floor in that hotel supposed to be deluxe suites?


    田