Evelyn accepted the help, rising carefully.
As they walked forward, Axel imdiately moved to Evelyn’s side, steadying her with a protective hand at her back.
Nicholas’s eyes softened again at the sight. Theodor gave a slight nod of approval. Finley smiles.
And at the sa ti, Oliver appears from the back door, runs over, and hugs Finley, waving at Nicholas and Theodor with cheerful enthusiasm.
"Bye, Great-grandpa Theo. Bye, Super Grandpa Nicholas. Next ti, I will co to your house..." Oliver declared, eyes shining like tiny stars.
"Sure, we will wait for you," Theodor replied, ruffling the boy’s smooth hair with unexpected gentleness.
Nicholas smiled warmly as he walked toward the car, Finley keeping close beside him like a loyal escort. The elders settled inside, and soon the Morgan family’s car rolled down the driveway and disappeared beyond the gate.
Silence returned to the Valley house.
Evelyn remained standing beside Axel, watching the empty road for a mont before turning toward him.
"So," she said, lifting one eyebrow, "what were you talking about inside that office for so long? Are you guys gossiping about ?" she playfully asked.
Axel glanced at her with a straight face. "Just casual talk."
"Casual talk!?" she repeated, clearly unconvinced.
He nodded solemnly. "Very boring business matters. The kind that could put an insomniac to sleep in five minutes."
As if on cue, Evelyn yawned, covering her mouth a second too late.
Axel’s lips curved. "Ah. Evidence accepted. My pretty wife is already sleepy, and I have not even told her the boring part yet."
Evelyn patted his arm weakly. "You have many excuses," she said.
"And you fall asleep too fast, my dear..." he countered smoothly.
He took her hand gently and guided her toward their bedroom. "Co. Doctor’s order. You need to take a nap."
"Hm... you are right," she murmured, already half drifting away.
Within minutes of lying down, Evelyn was lost in her dreams, breathing slowly.
Axel remained seated beside the bed for a while, watching her as if ensuring the world itself behaved properly around her.
When he was satisfied that she was sleeping soundly, he rose quietly, pulled the blanket higher over her shoulders, and whispered, "Sleep well, Mrs. Knight..."
Then, with a final glance back, Axel left the room and returned to his ho office, where unfinished matters waited patiently for his attention.
...
Before Axel could dial Collins’s number, his phone vibrated in his hand. The screen lit up, displaying the very na he had been about to call.
Collins.
Axel raised an eyebrow and answered.
"Hello, Boss," Collins’s playful voice rang from the other end. "Did I interrupt your weekend?"
"No," Axel replied evenly. "I was just about to call you. How’s your investigation going?"
He had been waiting for Collins’s report since morning. Still, Finley’s unexpected visit and the family lunch had stolen his ti. Now that the house was quiet again, his patience was razor-thin.
Collins humd. "Which one do you want to hear first?"
"Collins," Axel said slowly, his voice dropping into a cold edge, "don’t test my patience. I’m not in the mood for your chitty chatty today."
On the other end, Collins sounded as if he had straightened instantly from his chair. "Sorry, Boss. I just wanted to lessen your worries. Lighten up your mood."
"Then straight to the point!" Axel said coldly.
The teasing vanished from Collins’s tone. "Boss... I found sothing significant. Over the past two days, soone has been trying to investigate you. They are paid hackers on the dark web market, not just one person. A few."
Axel inhaled quietly. His hand lifted to pinch the back of his neck, a rare sign of restrained irritation. He knew exactly what this ant. Attempts to breach his networks. Attempts to find a weakness. Sothing he did not tolerate.
"And why didn’t you notice it before?" Axel asked, his voice calm but colder.
’If Evelyn hadn’t warned him...,’ a thought flickered through his mind, but he kept it buried.
"Sir," Collins replied quickly, "because those hackers only broke through the third layer of my nine-layer firewall defense. The system only notifies if the fourth layer is compromised. So technically, they didn’t even reach the danger zone."
There was a brief silence.
Collins imdiately regretted the faint pride in his tone.
Axel, however, was not amused.
"Do you know who they are?" he asked.
"I’ve identified the hackers," Collins replied. "But I haven’t discovered who hired them yet. I need more ti."
"Damn it." The curse left Axel’s lips before he could stop it. "Collins, why are you slow now?"
"Boss, I will give you an answer today," Collins swore. "I promise you I will deliver it with my life."
"Good," Axel said. "Because I may not spare your life if you fail, Collins."
"Yes, Boss," Collins replied, swallowing audibly.
Then, as if trying to soften the tension without crossing the line again, he added carefully, "And about the young boy... I an, Noah Henry Davis, I’ve started looking into him. But the incident happened in the Sunflower Country. Records from that ti are old and scattered. It will take so ti to dig out and put everything into useful information."
"No need to rush that," Axel said. "Focus on the people trying to dig for information about ."
"Yes, Boss." Collins hurriedly said.
Axel leaned back in his chair, gaze drifting toward the closed door of the bedroom down the hall. His wife was sleeping peacefully. His son was likely pestering his grandma and aunt again. The house was calm, warm, and safe.
Yet sowhere beyond these walls, soone had started to move.
Trying to look into him.
Trying to uncover sothing they should not.
Axel’s lips curved into a slow, dangerous smile.
"Collins," he said quietly before ending the call, "find them!"
"You’ll have their nas before the sun sets," Collins promised.
The call ended.
Axel placed the phone on his desk and folded his hands, eyes sharpening with purpose.
Whoever had started this ga had no idea what kind of opponent they had just provoked.
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