C521 Secrets Come To Light

Far away from Wood Family, Alicia and I returned to the Mooney family residence. The Highlanders were waiting for us, and Leon immediately stepped forward to greet us. "Welcome back, Director. Vice Director." I nodded at him, but before I could say anything else, he continued. "There's something you should know. Yesterday, we saw two vehicles passing by the residence. We believe they belonged to Hanna and her people, but they didn't stop, reveal themselves, or open fire." My expression changed. "Really? That means Hanna could still be in the city." Leon nodded. "That's what we suspect, Vice Director. We couldn't confirm that she was inside either vehicle, but the circumstances were suspicious enough for us to report it." I exchanged a glance with Alicia. If Hanna had returned to the city, we couldn't afford to ignore the possibility that she was preparing another attack. After what had happened at the border, I had no doubt that she would eventually come after us again. Before I could say anything else, however, the Highlanders began talking about the delicious food they had enjoyed earlier. Alicia laughed. "I'm glad you enjoyed the meal. And thank you for protecting my family while we were away." Leon smiled. "It was our responsibility, Director." "Nevertheless, I appreciate it. The remainder of your payment will be made tomorrow when you return to work at Lucia Goods. I might even visit the company myself." The Highlanders nodded appreciatively. "Thank you, Director." After exchanging a few more words, they took their leave. Alicia and I then entered the house.

The moment we stepped inside, I noticed something unusual. Everyone was strangely quiet. There were no cheerful greetings or casual conversations. Instead, Peter, Mark, and the others were sitting together with expressions that suggested they had been waiting for us. Alicia looked around, confused. "What happened?" Peter was the first to respond. "Perhaps we should be asking you that." Alicia turned towards him. "Grandpa?" "You left for the Gupta family residence, and suddenly, the normal operations at Lucia Goods were disrupted. Employees who should have been working at the company were sent here to guard the family. What exactly is going on?" Mark leaned forward. "Your grandfather is right. We need to know what happened while you were away." Alicia glanced at me, silently leaving me to explain. I took a deep breath. "Father, Grandpa, everything at the border was going well until Laura decided to avenge her father's death. She made a promise that a father would pay for a father, and she eventually plotted and killed Hanna's father." The room fell silent. I continued. "Now we believe Hanna may be in the city. Given what happened to her father, I doubt she'll take this loss lightly. We don't know when she'll strike, but we need to be prepared." Mark's expression hardened. "That explains why you've been strengthening the security here." "Exactly," I replied. "We don't want to give her another opportunity to exploit our weaknesses." Mark looked around the room before turning back towards Alicia. "Where is the rest of your team?" "They're with their families," Alicia answered.

Mark took a deep breath. "I need to meet with everyone. There are some important matters we must discuss, and there's also a new mission that requires their attention. Please contact them and ask them to come here as soon as possible." Alicia smiled. "Mike will contact everyone. As for me, I'll prepare dinner. It's been a while since I cooked, and now that the maids are no longer here, someone has to take over." Mary immediately turned towards her. "Really, Alicia? You're going to cook?" Alicia laughed. "Yes, Mother. Don't look so surprised." Mary smiled. "I just want to make sure I heard you correctly. It's not every day that I get to see you cook." "Then consider yourself lucky. Tonight, you'll have a meal prepared by myself." Everyone laughed, and for the first time since our arrival, the atmosphere began to relax. While Alicia headed towards the kitchen, I took out my phone and opened the Lions' group chat. I quickly typed a message. "Lions, we have an urgent situation. Everyone, please come to the Mooney family residence immediately." After sending the message, I went upstairs to our study. I still had unfinished business with the boat we had been tracking. If we could identify its owner, we might uncover another piece of Hanna's operation. I sat down at the desk and began checking the tracking system. Downstairs, Alicia changed into casual clothes and prepared to cook dinner.

At the Gomez Family. Laura had just finished freshening up when she went downstairs. Bright was sitting with his parents when he noticed her approaching. "Wife, your phone has been vibrating nonstop," he told her. Laura looked surprised. "Really?" She retrieved her phone and checked the messages. The moment she saw Alicia's message, she understood that something important was happening. "Alicia wants me at the Mooney family residence immediately." She turned towards Prince and Godness. "Father, Mother, I'm sorry, but I have to leave. I'll explain everything when I return." Prince nodded. "All right, Laura. Go ahead, but be careful." "I will, Father." Laura said her goodbyes and left without wasting another minute. Bright watched her go, wondering what could have happened to make Alicia summon everyone so urgently. Meanwhile, at the Wood family residence, Samantha and Sarah had managed to delay the discussion Kelvin wanted to have with them. They had claimed they were tired after everything that had happened and needed to take showers before joining the family downstairs. Unfortunately for them, the delay hadn't made their problems disappear. When they finally came downstairs, Tracy was waiting. The moment Sarah sat down, her mother turned towards her. "Sarah, there's something I've been meaning to ask you." Sarah looked at her cautiously. "What is it, Mom?" "The other day, when Ben asked you about that girl, you suddenly ran away without answering our questions. Why?"

Sarah straightened in her seat. "Mom, I already told you that it doesn't involve me. I can't really talk about someone else's personal stuff." She then pointed towards Samantha. "Why don't you ask Sam instead?" Samantha, who was carrying Monica, immediately panicked. She had hoped Sarah would help her avoid the conversation, not direct their mother's attention towards her. Tracy turned towards Samantha. "Sam, who is Aunt?" The moment Monica heard the word Aunt, she became excited. She jumped in Samantha's arms and looked up at her mother. "Mom! We should call Aunt! I missed her. Mom, I miss Aunt!" Sarah immediately choked and began coughing. Ben shook his head in disbelief. "Sam, you're my sister, and yet you're hiding things from me. Look at you! My wife is cheating right in front of you and you don't bother telling me." Samantha quickly tried to calm Monica down. "Monica, sweetheart, we'll call Aunt later." She then turned towards Tracy. "Mother, the aunt Monica is talking about is Faith Capsey, from the Capsey family. We've become close friends recently." Ben burst out laughing. "Close friends? Is that what we're calling it now?" Samantha shot him a warning look. "Ben, don't start." But Ben was enjoying himself far too much to stop. Instead, he turned towards Monica. "Monica, can you remind me again what your mother calls Aunt." Monica didn't hesitate. "Honey!" Sarah covered her mouth, caught off guard by the response.

Samantha's face turned red. "Monica! Shhh." But the little girl continued, completely unaware of the trouble she was causing. "Mom calls Aunt Honey, and she said I must call her Aunt. Aunt is beautiful. Aunt loves me." She paused, then looked at Samantha with hopeful eyes. "Mom, can I go shopping with Aunt? Grandpa gave me a card to go shopping. Can I take Aunt with me?" Samantha looked as though she wanted the floor to swallow her whole. Sarah could no longer contain herself. She burst out laughing, much to Samantha's embarrassment. Samantha stared at her daughter. "Monica, when did you learn to talk this much?" Monica simply smiled. Kelvin shook his head, amused by the entire situation. "Monica asked you a question. Can she go shopping with her aunt?" Tracy turned towards her husband. "You find this amusing?" Kelvin nodded. "Mmm-hmm." Tracy gave him an incredulous look before returning her attention to Samantha. But Samantha was already shaking her head. "No. It's dangerous." Her response made everyone pause. Kelvin's smile faded slightly as he studied her. "Is that why you've been avoiding this discussion? Is that why you sent all these people here?" Samantha froze. She hadn't expected her father to connect those things so quickly. Before she could respond, Tracy leaned forward with a knowing grin. "Actually, there's something else we need to settle first." She looked directly at Samantha. "Ben says that you and that girl, Faith, are together. Is it true?"

Samantha said nothing. Ben immediately smiled. "See? I told you all. She's not denying anything." Kelvin and Tracy exchanged glances before turning towards Sarah. "Sarah," Kelvin said, "you're our daughter. You wouldn't lie to us, would you?" Sarah's smile disappeared. "Father..." "Tell us the truth," Tracy interrupted gently. "Are Samantha and Faith together?" Sarah hesitated. She glanced at Samantha, who was silently looking at her. Sarah took a breath. "No..." "Yes, Father," Samantha interrupted. Everyone turned towards her. Samantha lifted her chin, took another breath, and finally admitted the truth. "Faith and I are together."