<b>Chapter </b>184
Jessica had been swamped with work at thepanytely and had only returned to Jsburg <bst </b>night. She’d heard Amelia wake up for good but had been too busy to visit.
When Reba said she needed to talk to her, Jessica replied without hesitation, “Just stay put with Amelia <b>at </b>the hospital. I’m free the next few days; I’lle find you there.”
Reba hesitated, as if she wanted to say more but held back.
Knowing Reba well, Jessica said, “Is it something we can’t talk about at the hospital?”
“Yeah,” Reba admitted. “Since Mom woke up, they took out the cameras from her room, but people are alwaysing in to check on Amelia. If someone overheard us and word got to Jeffrey, it’d be a real mess<b>.” </b>
Jessica quickly came up with a new n. “There’s a café across from the hospital on the second floor. We’ll meet there, and I’ll call when I’m close.”
Reba agreed. Half an hourter, she got the call and headed straight to the café.
The moment Reba stepped out of the hospital, Jeffrey–who was in his office upstairs–told Riley to pull up the surrounding surveince footage.
After Jessica and Reba met up, he said to Riley, “Hack into Jessica’s phone and monitor their conversation.”
Riley’s fingers flew over theptop keys as she joked, “Seriously, Reba’s my mentor’s kid. Isn’t this a little ruthless<b>?</b><b>” </b>
“Just hack Jessica’s phone,” Jeffrey said coolly.
Riley shot back, “What’s the difference?”
Jeffrey frowned, “I’m monitoring Jessica, not Reba.”
Riley clicked her tongue and didn’t push the argument further. She’d help him with these small tasks. But once Amelia and Reba were finally ready to leave, she’d shut off her phone and crash for the night, leaving everything to fate.
To keep things fair, Riley decided to clue Amelia in on Jeffrey’s little schemes at some point.
“Done,” Riley said, pulling her hands away from the keyboard and letting loose with a savage snark. “If I were Reba, I’d hold a grudge against you for life.”
Jeffrey didn’t even spare her a nce.
Soon enough, Jessica’s voice came through theptop. She exchanged a few casual words with Reba about how they’d beentely, and also asked after Amelia’s condition.
Once the small talk was out of the way, Jessica asked seriously, “You wanted to meet outside the hospital because you’re worried Jeffrey might catch wind of it, right?”
“Yeah,” Reba responded softly, “I wanted to tell you <fn9402> ???? ????s? ???????s ?? Find?Novel</fn9402>
“Wait a second.” Jessica interrupted her just in time.
”
1812
55 vouchers
No more sound came from theptop, but Jeffrey could easily picture Reba’s bewildered look.
“Mypany’s been filming a movietely,” Jessica said in a serious tone. “It has a scene where two big shots conversation gets monitored by the other side. To be safe, let’s both turn off our phones.”
Jeffrey was speechless for a moment.
Riley arched an eyebrow. “Do they know I’m a hacker?<b>” </b>
“Nope.” Jeffrey’s eyes darkened slightly. “I’ve only told Reba you’re gifted withputers and work as thepany’s technical consultant.”
Riley turned her gaze to theptop screen.
“Can we still monitor if their phones are off?” Jeffrey asked.
“Seriously?” Riley snorted.
Once the phones were turned off, they’d lose inte connection–there was no way she could reconnect to them, unless she’d been the one to turn them off. But she had no interest in doing that.
Jeffrey’s gaze grew darker with every passing second. After thinking it through, he pulled out his phone and dialed a number.
*****
Reba looked puzzled. “Isn’t this going a little overboard?”
“Better safe than sorry,” Jessica said. She’d seen the movie footage, and even now, she still felt like there were “eyes” everywhere around her.
After a pause, she continued, “Since we don’t want Jeffrey to find out, we need to be thorough.”
Reba fell silent. ‘Okay, maybe it is pretty dramatic, but she does have a point,‘ she thought.
Jessica shut down her phone, and Reba did the same. Naturally<i>, </i>Riley’s eavesdropping line went dead as
well.
Jeffrey stared at the nkputer screen, his face unreadable. Soon, his phone buzzed with a message from Gregory: [It’s done.]
Riley saw the message. “You have a backup n?”
Jeffrey nced at her, getting to his feet and strolling over to the windows. “Amelia’s your mentor, after all. Better to think ahead.”
Riley just rolled her eyes, not even bothering to respond.
*****
55 vouchers
Meanwhile, the coffee Reba and Jessica ordered was brought over.
Jessica stirred hers and looked up. “Alright, spill it. What’s on your mind?”
I want to take my mom and Samuel away from Jsburg,” Reba whispered, feeling a twinge of guilt toward Jessica. She hesitated, unsure how to put the rest of her thoughts into words.
But Jessica understood her immediately. “You’re worried that if you leave, we’ll get caught in the crossfire?”
Reba nodded. “Yeah.”
Jessica reached out and flicked Reba’s forehead.
Reba blinked, confused.
Jessica thought Reba was overthinking. She smiled, “You silly, Jeffrey’s only after you. If you leave and don’t look back, he’ll kick up a fuss for a couple of days and then drop it.”
Jessica and the others had nothing to do with Jeffrey. Someone like him would never waste his time on people who weren’t his target. Jessica was sure that in less than half a month, he’d switch up his tactics.
Jessica continued, “Of course, this only works if you stay steady when you hear the rumors he’ll deliberately spread. If you waver even a little, all the effort will be in vain.”
Reba looked at her, thinking, ‘Everyone’s backing me up, I’ll never waver.’
“Don’t contact me the few days before you leave. Just follow your n and slip out quietly,” Jessica said.
She genuinely wanted the best for Reba. She believed as long as Reba got out of Jsburg, she’d take a step toward freedom.
Even if Jeffrey found out where Reba waster, it wouldn’t really matter. As the CEO of Hanson Group, he couldn’t spend all his time chasing her. All she needed was to get away sessfully.
No one besides Jessica and Reba had any clue about what was discussed that day. Jeffrey had sent people to eavesdrop, but all attempts failed because of Jessica’s caution.
It seemed like fate–Jessica, who usually paid no mind to such things, had subconsciously grown wary of her surroundings after watching the sample footage of her entertainmentpany’s new movie.
“Let’s go check on Amelia,” Jessica said, grabbing her bag and getting to her feet. “I haven’t had a proper visit since she woke up.”
Reba nodded and headed out with her.
As they entered the inpatient department, Jessica suddenly spotted Ryan–someone who looked eerily simr to Reba–leaning casually against the wall to their right.
She tugged at Reba’s sleeve. But before she could speak, Ryan was already waving hello at her.
10:59 Thu, Oct <b>2 </b>
2
55 vouchers
Jessica waved back instinctively then she froze. ‘Wait, do I know this guy? Why did I wave at him without thinking?‘ she thought.
“Reba,” Jessica said, stepping into the elevator, “remember that photo I sent you before–the one with that guy who looked a lot like you?”
Reba’s eyes flickered. “Yeah, I remember.”
“I just saw him,” Jessica went on. “He even waved at me.”
Reba was confused. Just then, the elevator doors slid open. She stepped out, about to ask Jessica where she’d seen the guy, when another elevator door opened.
Out stepped Ryan in a crisp suit. The moment he saw Reba, his tough, businesslike vibe instantly softened. Then he nced at Jessica and said, “Thanks.”
‘Thank me for what?‘ Jessica blinked,pletely lost.
Ryan didn’t exin further. He walked right up to Reba and looked at her. “I’ve got something I need to discuss with your mom. Is it okay if I go see her?”
Sneaking into Amelia’s ward was one thing; asking the approval of his supposed “daughter” was another. He couldn’t leave Reba with the impression that her “dad” was some rude, impossible guy.
“No,” Reba said without a second’s hesitation, not wanting to argue with him anymore. “Mom already told me she doesn’t want to see you. Please leave.”