C426 She Called Him

Cipher looked at him. “You should be careful about defending someone before you know what she has done.” “I know my wife, and I know my family.” The two stared at each other. I interrupted before the situation became worse. “Wife.” Cipher turned toward me. I looked at Charlie. “It seems like she is telling the truth.” Cipher remained silent. I could not tell whether she believed me or simply decided to stop asking questions. Charlie looked toward me with tears in her eyes. “Please believe me. I have not spoken to my uncle in a long time. I don't know where he is, and I don't know what he wants.” Cipher finally lowered her weapon slightly. “Then listen carefully.” Charlie nodded. “Tell your uncle that if he dares to touch my family again, I will return the favour.” Charlie remained frozen. Cipher's voice became colder. “But next time, I will not only come after you. I will come after your husband and everyone he loves.” Her husband immediately stepped closer to Charlie. Cipher continued. “Your uncle should understand that his actions have consequences.” Charlie began crying quietly. “I don't want any trouble.” “Neither did my family.”

The room fell silent. I looked at Cipher. She nodded toward the door. It was time to leave. I took Charlie's phone from my pocket and threw it onto the sofa. Charlie stared at it in surprise. Then we turned and walked out of the house. The moment we entered the car, I connected my equipment to the cloned device. Cipher closed her door and started the engine. “Did you get anything?” “Not yet.” She looked at me. “Cracker.” “I need a minute. Don't drive too far I need to be close by.” I activated the cloned communication system. The device immediately began receiving information from Charlie's phone. Then, unexpectedly, it rang. I looked at the screen. Charlie was making a phone call. Cipher glanced toward me. “What is it?” I raised one finger, telling her to wait. The call connected. A man's deep voice came through the speaker. “Charlie, do you know what time it is?” Charlie was panicking. “Uncle, they came after me.” There was a brief silence. “Who came after you?” “They came. They almost killed me.”

Willy's voice became serious. “Who came after you? Was it the police?” Charlie was crying. “No.” “Then who?” Charlie hesitated. “Uncle... it was Alicia and Michael Smith.” Cipher slowly turned toward me. The call continued. “They just left.” Willy's voice changed. “So they are really alive.” Charlie said nothing. “They were not kidnapped?” Her sobbing grew louder. “No.” “What did they want?” Charlie struggled to answer. “They left a message.” Willy's tone softened slightly. “You don't have to worry. I will personally deal with them.” Charlie continued crying. “Uncle, I don't want to be involved in this.” “You are family. You are already involved.” There was another pause. “Are you coming today, or will you tell me everything over the phone?” “I am coming,” Charlie replied quickly. “I will be there. I will tell you everything once I arrive.” The call ended. For several seconds, neither Cipher nor I spoke. Then I smiled. “So she is going to meet him.” Cipher looked at me. “We have to follow her.” “We will know where Willy is.” “And we must inform the Lions. This is our chance.”

I shook my head. “No, Wife.” She frowned. “What do you mean, no?” “Yesterday, you said we would attack within a week.” “Yes.” “Then we do exactly that.” Cipher looked at me carefully. I continued. “Charlie is going to lead us toward Willy. We do not need to rush into them today and expose everyone. What we need now is information and preparation.” She remained quiet. “I can track the cloned phone once Charlie reaches him,” I said. “We will know the location of the Harris family without having to search for them blindly.” Cipher's expression slowly changed. “You are right.” “We have spent too long reacting to them. This time, we can prepare our own move.” She nodded. “Then we need to return to the base before anyone sees us.” I looked toward the road ahead. “Not immediately.” Cipher glanced at me. “What now?” I smiled. “I need to see my son.” Cipher froze. “You want us to go to our son?”

I nodded. “Just for a few minutes. And I know you want to check on your father.” A smile finally appeared on her face. “You know me too well.” “I am your husband.” She shook her head and started the car. “Then let's go home.” When we reached the Mooney residence, the mansion was heavily guarded. The security team immediately noticed the black vehicle approaching. One of the guards stepped forward, then suddenly recognized us. His expression changed from suspicion to excitement. “Miss!” He quickly opened the gate. “Miss, you are back?” Cipher smiled at him but said nothing. The guard looked toward me. “Sir!” I gave him a nod. The gates opened fully, and we drove into the compound. Returning home felt strangely unfamiliar. It was still our family's house. Our people were still here. And somewhere inside, our son was growing.

We did not need to knock. The moment we entered through the front door, we heard voices coming from the dining room. Everyone was seated around the table eating breakfast. Mary was speaking to Georgia when the two of us appeared. The room went silent. Every face turned toward us. For a moment, nobody moved. Mary was the first to react. She jumped to her feet. “Alicia! Mike! You are back?” Georgia rubbed her eyes. “Am I seeing things?” She looked at us again. “You two really came back?” I smiled faintly. “Yes, grandma. We are alive.” Mary hurried toward Cipher. She stopped only a few steps away, as if afraid that moving too quickly might make us disappear again. “You should have told us.” Cipher looked emotional. “We couldn't.” “Why?” Cipher glanced at me before answering. “Because we don't have cellphones." Mary shook her head. “I don't care about the reason right now. You are standing here.”

She reached for Cipher's hand. The hugged her tightly. Then she looked at me. “And you too.” I nodded. “It's good to see you, Mother.” Behind her, Mark slowly stood from his chair. Unlike the others, he did not rush toward us. He simply stared. His expression was difficult to read. Then he shook his head. “I told Victor I was fine. He did not need to inform you.” Cipher immediately looked at him. “Dad.” Mark's eyes softened. He stepped closer. “Tell me something.” He looked from Cipher to me. “Did you come back because of me?” Cipher's expression changed. For the first time that morning, the weight of everything we had been carrying seemed to reach her.