Had she heard those words five years ago, Maureen would’ve been overjoyed. Now, she didn’t believe him.

    “I’m tired. I need rest.”

    Geoffrey scooped her into his arms and carried her inside.

    That night,

    Geoffrey held Maureen against him, refusing to let go.

    He couldn’t sleep. Each time he closed his eyes, he saw the empty house greeting him earlier.

    The wound on his hand still stung.

    Maureen suddenly spoke after an unknown length of time: “Can I ask about Andrea saving your mother?”

    Why didn’t she know anything about this?

    Geoffrey told her how Heather and Sean were framed years ago, how they took the same car to thepany, got into an ident, and were saved by Andrea.

    After hearing this, Maureen’s eyes filled with shock.

    Only now did she understand why Sean treated Andrea so well, and why Geoffrey tolerated Andrea so much…

    Only now did she realize Andrea had taken credit for her own act of saving them!

    Clutching Geoffrey’s sleeve, her hand trembled: “What if… just what if it wasn’t her who saved your mother, but me? Would you believe me?”

    Geoffrey’s dark eyes widened,

    Before he could speak, Maureen quickly added: “Don’t overthink it, I was joking.

    I’m tired, going to sleep.”

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    Maureen closed her eyes, unsure why she’d spoken, yet afraid to hear Geoffrey’s response.

    Maybe it was his constant distrust, his frequent mockery, the persistent neglect–she no longer believed he’d trust her.

    Afraid his first words would wound her.

    Besides, this happened over a decade ago. With no proof, pressing further was just asking for humiliation.

    Geoffrey didn’t take her words seriously. After all, when his mother had the ident years ago, he rushed to the hospital and saw Andrea taking care of her with his own eyes.

    He held Maureen close and finally fell asleep after a long while.

    In his dream, Maureen secretly left him again, and this time he could never find her.

    He jolted awake when it was still dark outside, instinctively looking beside him.

    Maureen had slipped out of his embrace and was now sleeping in the corner.

    Geoffrey pulled her back into his arms, holding her tighter.

    He tried to go back to sleep, but his phone vibrated. It was Wayne calling.

    He got up quietly, stepping onto the balcony before answering.

    “What is it?”

    “Boss, the finance manager just suddenly said your private ount got hacked! Over seven billion vanished instantly!”

    Geoffrey’s ount had beenpromised–a first in history.

    Wayne hadn’t expected it either; he’d been stunned when the call came in early this morning.

    “Any leads on who did it?”

    Geoffrey showed only a flicker of surprise before regaining hisposure.

    “Not yet.”

    Wayne paused briefly, then added, “This was too sudden. We had no defenses ready. By the time we realized, the money was already gone.

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    Strangely, the hacker who breached Geoffrey’s ount had taken just over seven billion.

    Besides, with that level of skill and audacity, why target a private ount instead of a bank? Clearly, this was personal.

    “You have one day.”

    Geoffrey hung up.

    Breaching an ount wasn’t the hard part–moving the money undetected was.

    The vanished sum in Geoffrey’s ount was merely digits disappearing; it didn’t mean the funds were irrecoverable.

    Even if truly lost, it’d be a drop in the ocean for him.

    Meanwhile, Katherine got up early to take Jacob to kindergarten. She pushed the door open only to find him still fast asleep.

    “That’s odd. What’s going on today?”

    Usually, Jacob would be up exactly on time without needing a wake–up call.

    Katherine took a few steps closer, seeing him sound asleep. She couldn’t bear to wake him, gently pinching his rosy cheeks instead.

    “What a rare sight. I’ll let you bete just this once.”

    Jacob had spentst night hacking into Geoffrey’s private ounts, finally drifting off around four or five AM.

    When he woke, it was already half past nine.

    He frowned slightly, looking like a miniature version of Geoffrey.

    “Overslept.”

    Like Geoffrey, Jacob valued punctuality. This marked his first tardiness since birth.

    He immediately washed up and prepared to leave.

    Unexpectedly, Katherine remained seated on the sofa waiting: “Little smarty, runningte today?”

    Caught red–handed, Jacob blinked. Usually Katherine left for work, with the driver taking

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    him to school.

    “Aunt Katherine, no work today?”

    He changed the subject.

    Katherine’s face clouded with mncholy: “Hmm, meeting someer.”

    “Not that Uncle Shen fromst time?”

    Jacob asked while packing his bag.

    Katherine’s eyes widened in shock. Her nickname for him proved urate–this kid missed nothing!

    “How’d you know?”

    Jacob put on an innocent look: “I guessed.”

    “Oh.”

    Katherine didn’t buy that at all.

    Seeing Jacob was ready, she said: “Let’s go. My meeting spot with him happens to be near your kindergarten. I’ll drop you off.”

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