After the divorce, he begged

“If you can hack it,” Jeffrey said calmly, his voice steady and unwavering.

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Riley fell silent. Looking back, she probably should've held back on making his defense system so flawless. Now,

even she could barely make a dent in it.

“Amelia’s profile has been hidden by a top-level hacker.” Riley brought it up again, wondering if Stanley had

mentioned it to him. “If I can hack into it, it'll probably taketwo hours.”

Back in the day, she might've been stumped by this.

But now, this was a piece of cake. She could do it with little effort.

“Alright,” Jeffrey replied, settling in to wait for her. He had full confidence that she'd succeed.

As the minutes ticked by, the only sound in the private booth was the tapping of her fingers on the keyboard.

Stanley was stuck there, neither able to leave nor stay.

They didn’t drink or chat. It was boring.

Ironically, he was the one who'd insisted on meeting up.

“Jeffrey,” he finally broke the silence. “What's the plan for PrimePlay Technologies tenth anniversary bash? |

heard your folks cto the hospital this afternoon to see Stephen.”

“Whoever made the mess can clean it up,” Jeffrey replied, his tone dismissive. His mind was elsewhere,

completely focused on how he could keep Rebecca by his side.

He knew he couldn't just force her to stay. With her stubborn streak, she'd probably tear Rebecca's Manor apart

before she'd agree to anything.

And trying to trick her wasn’t exactly a foolproof plan either.

Stanley raised an eyebrow, totally baffled.

He stared at Jeffrey, who seemed completely out of it. “What's on your mind?”

“Did you and your

desk mate secretly binge on romance back in high school or something?” Jeffrey suddenly blurted out.

Riley instantly looked up, eyes sharp, clearly caught off guard.

Stanley was floored.

There was no way he'd ever admit to that embarrassing part of his past. “I've only ever read classics, alright? |

have never touched a romance . Don't talk nonsense.”

Jeffrey just stared at him, his gaze intense and unreadable.

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Stanley was under pressure. Jeffrey’s piercing gaze left him no way to dodge. After a long while, he relented,

coughing nervously and shifting his stance. “Alright, | admit it. Just one book, okay? You can’t really call that a

lot, right?”

“Yup.” Jeffrey said.

Stanley was baffled. ‘Seriously? Just a yup? That's it?‘ he thought, feeling exasperated.

He cleared his throat. “That's all you have to say?”

Jeffrey glanced at him. “What do you wantto say?” he almost asked, but caught himself. Everyone had their

own way of doing things. He thought it was better to make a plan that suited both him and Rebecca, rather than

copying someone else.

Stanley was totally lost. ‘How did this turn intowaiting for him to say something? He's the one who started

this conversation, right?’ he thought.

“Just drop it, will you?” He didn’t stand a chance against Jeffrey’s way with words, so he backed down. “It's

awkward.”

“Fine,” Jeffrey agreed smoothly.

Stanley shot him a suspicious look.

‘I'm 100% sure he wanted to asksomething else. But for whatever reason, he held back. Guess I'll never

know what changed his mind,’ Stanley thought.

Riley was enjoying the when something suddenly flashed on her computer screen. She was stunned for a

minute.

‘Why does this nlook exactly like my mentor’s? No way... Did she change her nafter vanishing from the

web?’ Riley’s mind raced, stunned by the coincidence.

“Any luck?” Jeffrey glanced over at Riley from tto time, clearly keeping an eye on her progress even while

chatting.

“Sort of,” Riley replied, her voice tinged with uncertainty. She closed her laptop, picked it up, and stood. “I'll look

into it somewhere quieter. Once I've figured things out, I'll call you.”

Both Jeffrey and Stanley looked puzzled.

They turned their gaze to her, suspicion flickering in their eyes.

“Why are you two staring atlike that?” Riley raised an eyebrow, her messy bangs giving her an effortlessly

cool vibe. “Con. Don’t tellyou're both falling forhere.”

“Aren’t you the type who loves working in a bustling crowd?” Stanley said, still a bit confused. “You always crack

the system and then have a drink to celebrate. It never gets old for you.”

“Digging up stuff is nothing like going toe-to-toe with someone,” Riley replied smoothly. “No shif you don’t

get it.”

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With that, she strode right out of the bar, flagged down a cab, and hopped in, leaving them both behind without

a second thought.

As she settled into the seat, her mind couldn't help but replay everything she'd just uncovered-that creepy

image flashing on the blank page and that name.

Riley thought, ‘All the pieces fit my mentor’s past perfectly. If Amelia was really the mentor I'd been chatting

with online for almost ten years, then what happened after she disappeared from the web, and why did she

assa new identity?

‘Did she cut off her past because it was too painful, or to keep it hidden? If | really break through that firewall...’

Her mind was racing with a million questions.

She decided to talk to Rebecca the next day. After their chat, she’d decide whether to hack into those files or just

leave them alone.

Stanley couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off when she left. He glanced at the nearly untouched

glasses on the table and turned to Jeffrey. “Did you notice Riley acting strange tonight?”

She barely touched her favorite drink.

Without a word, she just got up and left as if nothing had happened.

‘Didn't she use to be the last one to leave? What's different now?‘ thought Stanley.

“She must have uncovered something about Amelia,” Jeffrey said, calmly analyzing the situation. “It could be

related to her, or maybe to someone close to her.”

“Why didn’t you just confront her, then?” Stanley pressed.

“She’s cautious,” Jeffrey replied, standing up and straightening his clothes. His trust in Riley was clear. “If she’s

staying quiet, there's a reason. Let's just give her stime.”

Stanley paused, a flicker of doubt crossing his face. “But what if she decides to keep it to herself?”

Jeffrey's gaze was steady, cutting through Stanley’s worry. “If she chooses not to speak up, that means Amelia's

story is way more complicated than | thought. Honestly, there’s hardly anything that could make her skip her

fee, risk our friendship, and still stay tight-lipped.”

As long as he had her as a clue, he was confident he could piece together the truth about Amelia’s identity.

No matter if she spoke up or stayed silent, it didn’t really matter to him.

Stanley hesitated for a moment, thinking, Jeffrey is so smart.

They left the bar together, each getting into their own car. Jeffrey glanced at his watch. It was almost ten. He

finally turned his phone back on, pulled up Rebecca’s chat, and sent her a quick message: [Phone died. Just

turned it on.]

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Rebecca was so engrossed in her sketches that she didn’t see the message until after two in the morning.

When she finally noticed his brief reply, all she could think was, ‘And then? There wasn’t a single word about the

divorce certificate.”

Suppressing her anger, she

got up to wash up and then went to bed. Honestly, given how he had reacted twice today, she knew he wasn’t

going to bring it up in a text. She might as well wait till morning and call him directly.

‘He can’t seriously turn off his phone every t| call,’ she thought.

The next morning, after having breakfast with Samuel, Rebecca was just about to call Jeffrey. But before she

could even find his number, there was a knock at the door. She and Samuel exchanged glances. Their first

thought was that it must be Jeffrey.

Rebecca went over and opened the door.

If it were him, she could finally talk to him face-to-face about the whole divorce certificate mess.

“Hey there, Rebecca,” Riley said, standing at the door in a casual outfit, a playful smirk on her lips.

Rebecca squinted at Riley. Riley's face seemed familiar, but she couldn't place where she'd seen this super

good-looking, relaxed guy before. She blinked, puzzled, and said, “Hi, do | know you?”

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