CHAPTER 147: THE CHILDREN’S PLAN

Billy pulled out his laptop, his fingers flying over the keyboard at lightning speed.

Lines of code streamed down the screen, followed by a cascade of data and video feeds.

Someone had been tailing them for days. He didn’t know who, but there were clues—subtle, scattered, waiting to be pieced together.

He tapped into the city’s surveillance network and pulled up footage along the route they took home from school.

Zooming in on frame after frame, he replayed every suspicious movement.

At first, he wasn’t sure if those people were really following them.

But over the past few days, the same faces kept appearing.

And some of them looked familiar.

Before long, Angela came upstairs.

"How’s it going?" she asked, frowning. "Mom’s leaving tomorrow. If we don’t find out who’s behind this, something could happen when she’s gone. Whoever’s targeting us—it’s not about the kids. They’re after Dad or Mom. Either way, it’s bad for all of us."

Billy’s eyes stayed glued to the screen. "Sis, I found out who those familiar faces are. They used to be foreign mercenaries!"

"Mercenaries?" Angela’s face darkened.

"Yeah," Billy clarified. "Former mercenaries. They quit years ago, after some kind of incident. Now they’re working as bodyguards for a private company."

"What company?"

"I’m still digging... give me a few minutes."

Billy’s fingers darted across the keys again. After a few moments, his eyes widened.

"I found it—DS Group, one of the top corporations in Country Y."

"DS Group?" Angela murmured, brows furrowed. "That sounds... familiar."

Then it hit her.

The man who’d been pursuing their mother so persistently not long ago—Damien Brown—was from that company.

"That can’t be right," Angela said quickly. "Uncle Brown likes Mom! He’s never done anything to hurt her."

Billy shook his head. "He’s only a junior director there. The real chairman is someone else. Someone powerful—and secretive. He’s never even come back to the country."

A flash of realization crossed Billy’s face. He started searching again, typing faster this time.

When he finally pulled up an international flight record, he froze.

"No... he has come back."

Billy stood abruptly, glancing toward the door—then noticed the rest of his siblings had come upstairs.

He ushered them in, quietly locked the door, and cast his laptop’s display onto the wall.

"This man," he said gravely, "is ranked among the top ten richest people in the world. In terms of power, he could even surpass Mom and Dad.

He’s from Country Z, but he married abroad and built his empire overseas. Now he’s back."

Billy pointed at the photo on the wall.

"And Damien Brown—he’s this man’s son."

The room went silent.

Faye whispered, her voice trembling, "do you mean... he wants to hurt Mommy?"

Billy shook his head slowly. "We don’t know yet. Maybe he’s after Mom, maybe Dad. But if they’re tracking us, that means they plan to use us as leverage. We have to stay alert."

His tone turned firm. "From now on, we act carefully. I’ll have Piper, Ava, Sandy, and Aaron keep watch around the area. If anyone tries anything, they won’t even get close."

Inside, Billy had already made up his mind—If someone dared to use them to threaten their parents,then he would make sure that plan went up in smoke.

"Billy’s right," Angela said firmly. "We can’t let their plan succeed. But tomorrow, Mommy’s leaving the country. I’m worried she’s the real target... and it’s possible they might strike in multiple places at once."

Eric frowned thoughtfully. He always thought a few steps ahead of the others—no surprise, since he’d been studying psychology for years.

He could practically recite every major theory from memory, and lately, he’d even begun conducting his own small experiments on human behavior.

Judging from the patterns he’d seen, the people tailing them weren’t acting randomly. They were testing the waters.

They probably thought no one would notice.

And once they felt safe enough, they’d make their move.

But what they didn’t know was that these "children" were far more capable than they imagined.

Eric said quietly, "the real danger is with Mommy. She’s the one traveling tomorrow. If we look at everything we’ve found, it all points to her."

Billy nodded. "You’re right. We focus on Mom first. Is Dad back yet?"

"He got home not long after you came upstairs," Angela replied. "They’re both downstairs right now. Dinner’s almost ready."

...

Downstairs.

Lucas had come home unusually early that evening.

The date—July 28th—weighed on his mind like a storm cloud.

Whatever was coming, he couldn’t predict it; all he could do was stay alert.

Sophia noticed the tension in his face. "Don’t worry so much," she said softly. "You’re making me nervous, and if I start panicking, we’ll both lose it."

She gave a small laugh, trying to ease the air. "Whatever happens, happens. If someone’s really trying to trap me, then maybe it’s just a test I have to pass."

She sounded calm, but Lucas could tell she was forcing it.

Still, he understood her point—fear was exactly what their enemies wanted.

His expression darkened. "We’ve had eyes on the Morgan family this whole week. Nothing suspicious so far. But that man you saw the other night... could he have been bait? Maybe the Morgans are using him to lure us out."

"It’s not impossible," Sophia said, resting her chin on her hand. "But it’s already been nearly a week. If they were going to make a move, they’d need to know my exact schedule. And hardly anyone knows my itinerary—unless someone close to us leaked it."

Lucas’ jaw tightened. "Then I’ll drive you to the airport myself tomorrow."

"I’ll be fine," she replied quickly.

"I’m not taking chances," he said. "I’ll see you onto the plane. Once you’re safely abroad, I’ll fly back on the next flight. That’s final."

Sophia sighed. "You’re overreacting. There’s no need to waste a whole day on me. Besides, you’re supposed to meet that investor tomorrow, remember? The one from overseas?"

He waved a hand dismissively. "He’s not that important. Big name, small reach. His company’s famous abroad, but here? He’s got no real foothold."

Sophia raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Who is he? Maybe I’ve heard of him."

Lucas paused, his gaze steady. "Jacob Brown. From Y Country’s DS Group."

Sophia froze for a second—her expression flickering with confusion.

Jacob Brown?

That name... sounded far too familiar.