âGood job, Silas, although it was a little slow,â Alyssa complimented him merrily.
âThis is pretty speedy, alright? Why didnât you get Axel to work on this? Heâs best at everything illegal.
Got to find the right person for the job.â
âI reached out to Axel a few days ago but heâs on an important mission. I donât want to take up his time.â
âLyse, youâre pretty good at hacking-almost at Axelâs level. Youâd have settled this yesterday if you had worked on it,â Jonah expressed his puzzlement.
She merely yawned and explained, âIâm lazy.â
Silas was dumbstruck after learning that he had been used.
Alyssa looked through the Twitter account he found and smirked. âA reporter with a strong sense of justice, isnât she? Instead of reporting on her own news, she goes ahead and leaks the photos of the wedding site at my hotel, sticking her nose into other peopleâs business.â
âAre you saying that someoneâs behind her actions?â Jonah wondered.
âNo. She wasnât working under orders or getting paid for it because a reporter has her principles. She wouldnât be involved in entertainment news if she primarily covers social news.â
Alyssa stared intently at Abigailâs name and mumbled, âAbigail Grant. Abigail Grant⦠Why does that name sound familiar?â
She was struck by a realization and screamed, âI know who she is! Sheâs Michael Grantâs daughter!â
âAnd who is he?â Silas asked blankly.
âIs he the ex-assistant manager whom you fired and sent behind bars?â Jonah raised a brow in amusement.
âYes! Sheâs his daughter!â she confirmed. Thanks to her sharp memory, she recalled the information about Abigail Grant she had once read, which helped to connect the dots.
âI can see now why she might have had a motive for leaking the news.â
âSame here. You sent her dad to prison. She was nice enough not to make you a social news headline.â
Silas nodded sternly.
âHeâs a corrupted man. Why would I keep him around?â She lifted her chin proudly and argued, âHeâs the one in the wrong, not me.
âIf sheâs a good daughter, she should visit him more, not take revenge against me to make herself feel better. Why do I have to be responsible for her dadâs crime? Itâs ridiculous.â
âMs. Alyssa, Iâve checked the surveillance footage. Our team members took turns monitoring the setup, and the workers surrendered their phones when they worked. No one else could have accessed the site.â His eyes darkened as he stated, âIt appears someone from our team sold us out to Abigail Grant.â
Judging from Abigailâs good looks, Alyssa ventured a bold guess and instructed, âSean, keep an eye on everyone in the team, especially the men. Monitor their movements discreetly around the clock. Notify me anyone is in contact with Abigail,â
ht away if *Lyse, why did you specify the gender?â Jonah questioned.
âThatâs because men are tuned to lust!â She scoffed, harboring a bias against all men after her divorce.
âExcept me,â Jonah quipped.
âExcept me.â Silas chimed in.
Sean raised his hand to protest as well.
âI know you guys are decent men. You donât have to defend yourself.â She lazily stretched and remarked, You canât be any worse than the one waiting at the gates, right?â
As the investigation stretched into the night, Jonah and Silas spent the night in the guest rooms arranged hv Alyssa nas Days of exhaustion had finally caught up with Alyssa. After a shower, she was out like a light as soon as her head hit the pillow.
A sudden flash of lightning tore through the darkened sky at midnight, jolting her from her sleep. She usually slept soundly but was surprisingly woken up by thunder. She struggled to fall asleep after that.
She woke up and draped a silk night robe on her silk maroon nightdress. She put on her velvety red slippers, ready to get some water.
Outside, the winds were howling, and the thunder was clapping. She quietly stood by the windows in the corridor with a mug of water in Her hands.
She remembered sitting in her motherâs warm embrace, nestled in a rocking chair by the window on rainy nights. They would gaze out of the windows, lost in their own thoughts. She mumbled, âIt was a stormy night when Mom left that place.â
But where? She couldnât remember.
Thunder roared again in the sky. Through the flash of lightning, she spotted Jasper standing steadfast at the villaâs gates, staring up at the windows of her bedroom. He remained unmoving as the tempest raged