Filed to story: Mia Bowen and Timothy Barrett Novel
With everything falling into place, all Ginger needed to do was stage a convincing illness in front of Timothy.
“Be careful; don’t get yourself into trouble,” Nicholas cautioned.
“I’m aware of my boundaries. I’m not the old Mia they used to push around, ” Mia replied.
Furthermore, she intended to use these few days to teach the Barretts a lesson.
After ending the call, Mia made her way upstairs. She couldn’t help but steal a glance at the sleeping Ginger before tending to her own nightly routine.
There was a lot to be done tomorrow.
The following morning, Mia woke up to find Ginger already awake. Ginger sat quietly by the bedside, entertaining herself by playing with her toes.
Upon seeing Mia awake, Ginger’s eyes lit up with a smile, and she nestled into Mia’s arms, saying in her sweet, childish voice, “Mommy, you’re awake!
“Yes. Are you hungry? Shall we go for breakfast?” “Mm-hmm, my tummy’s rumbling.”
Mia gently kissed Ginger on the cheek before taking her to get ready for the day. Hand in hand, they made their way downstairs to have breakfast.
However, Mia couldn’t help but notice that the living room was filled with numerous gifts, including a large stuffed toy. Surprised, she asked, “Where did all these gifts come from?”
Wendy respectfully replied, “They were sent by Mr. Barrett.”
Mia’s expression betrayed a hint of surprise. She struggled to believe that Timothy had sent these gifts.
On the other hand, Ginger’s eyes lit up when she saw the presents. Taking small steps, she hurried toward the gift boxes, her small stature looking even tinier beside the large stuffed toy.
Mia’s gaze lingered on the gifts, her face reflecting a mix of emotions. What was Timothy’s motive behind this gesture?
Initially, Ginger was delighted as she held the gifts, but upon glancing at Mia, a hint of hesitation flickered across her expression. Reluctantly, she placed the gifts back.
Mia watched as Ginger gently patted her chubby hands. Keeping a composed demeanor, Ginger asked, “Mommy, do you like these gifts?”
Upon hearing Ginger’s question, Mia couldn’t help but let out a soft sigh. She had noticed the joy in Ginger’s eyes, and her subconscious reaction couldn’t be hidden from anyone.
Initially, Mia had been perplexed by Ginger’s sudden fondness for Timothy, but now it appeared that their familial connection was likely influencing it.
Mia softly patted Ginger’s head and replied, “Yes. Go ahead and accept it.” “Why are you taking gifts from the bad guy, Mommy?” “Because he agreed to be my boyfriend last night. However, he doesn’t know who we really are yet, so we’ll continue with our original plan.
“We only have a week. If Uncle Dominic discoversthat I’m in Bern City, he’ll come after US right away. You know how Uncle Dominic is; he never goes back on his word.”
Ginger nodded earnestly. “Okay, Mommy. What’s our next step?” “After this, I’ll get in touch with him while you stay home and pretend to be sick.
“When you come out, wait for the perfect moment to faint, and I’ll use that as an opportunity to discuss the bone marrow matching,” Mia explained, feeling a bit uneasy.
She had concerns about whether she could discreetly obtain Timothy’s bone marrow without revealing Sage’s existence.
After Ginger and Mia finished breakfast, Mia scrolled through her social media feed and noticed photos posted by Shelly, likely taken at a party.
In the pictures, Shelly was deliberately flaunting the designer bag and shoes that Mia had gifted her.
It seemed that Shelly was quite pleased with the gifts from Mia.
Mia liked Shelly’s post and commented: “I’m planning to visit the hospital later. Would you like to come along?”
With just a week remaining, Mia’s goal was not only to secure Timothy’s bone marrow but also to impart a lesson to those in the Barrett family who had mistreated her in the past.
Turning to Ginger, Mia said, “Mommy needs to go out now. Stay home and be good. Call me if you need anything.”
Ginger nodded obediently. She didn’t feel bored at all, knowing that she could video chat with Sage later and have some playtime with Rachel.
Seeing how well-behaved and understanding Ginger was, Mia couldn’t help but kiss her on the cheek.
As Mia made her way up the stairs to change, her gaze swept over the collection of branded clothes in the closet.
Ultimately, she decided on the newest dress and paired it with a limitededition handbag from a luxury brand. She also added some designer jewelry pieces for accessories.
She then stepped out with an air of elegance.
Ginger lay by the bedroom window, watching Mia depart. Left alone in the room, she quickly opened the laptop and logged into a software program.
Before long, Sage appeared on the screen, his expression serious as he asked, “Why is your IP address showing that you’re in Bern City?”‘
Ginger stuttered, “Um, it’s because… Mommy is in Bern City.”
She struggled with dishonesty, and now she felt increasingly flustered.
After all, Mia had strictly warned her not to reveal their presence in Bern City to anyone. If Dominic were to discover this, it could lead to dire consequences.
When Dominic was enraged, he was truly terrifying.
Beside Sage, a blonde girl appeared, her skin pale and appearing somewhat unwell. She uttered weakly, “I know, because your mommy went to see your daddy to trick him into donating his bone marrow.”
Sage was immediately upset upon hearing this. “Who told you and Mommy to do such a silly thing? I won’t die without bone marrow.”
Tears welled up in Ginger’s eyes as she replied, “But Mommy told me that if there’s bone marrow, Sage, you’ll recover.”
Ginger hoped that Sage could regain his health, attend kindergarten like her, and make friends with children his age.
With desperation in her voice, she pleaded, “Sage, please don’t tell Uncle Dominic.”
Seeing Ginger in tears on the video call, Sage’s stern expression softened slightly, “Don’t cry.”
Sniffling, Ginger continued, “Sage, please promise me, okay?”
After a few moments, Sage reluctantly responded, “I promise.”
Ginger immediately stopped crying, using her chubby little hands to wipe away her tears.
Despite a bit of snot hanging from her mouth, she managed to muster a bright smile as she looked at Sage on the video call.
With an air of maturity, Sage let out a sigh. He knew Ginger was deliberately being stubborn and tearful, but he felt powerless to stop her antics.
Accustomed to such displays, Rachel casually shook the tablet in her hand.
“Your daddy looks quite handsome, and word has it that he’s quite ruthless and decisive in the business circles of Bern City. He’s certainly a force to be reckoned with.”
Sage’s expression turned cold as he snorted. “Then I’ll show him a thing or two today.”
In a matter of moments, another computer beside him had already breached the systems of the Barrett Group.
Sage casually navigated through the internal networks, but soon enough, the corporation’s firewall sounded an alarm.
Ginger grew increasingly nervous. “Sage, they’ve discovered you. You better run!
If Timothy found out about Sage’s existence, it would spell disaster.
However, Sage remained surprisingly composed as he continued typing on the keyboard.
He had no intention of fleeing. Instead, his focus was fixed on the computer screen. This time, he had been a bit careless.
Typically, corporate systems had similar internal designs, and Sage was rather familiar with them.
Yet, to his surprise, the Barrett Group’s system proved to be different. Sage couldn’t pinpoint where he had triggered the firewall alarm.
Having never faced setbacks in the realm of computers, Sage had no intention of backing down¨C especially not from the bad guy’s system!
Sage’s expression grew stern as he confronted the firewall embedded within the system. Soon, the entire internal network of the Barrett Group began to collapse, rendering it inaccessible to all.
Upon receiving the alert, Timothy hurried to the Barrett Group.
As he stepped into his office and switched on the computer, he confirmed that the internal system had indeed crashed.
With a cold expression, he declared, “It’s been over half an hour, and you haven’t managed to apprehend the culprit or even restore the internal systems. What am I paying you for, exactly?”
Sweating profusely, Heath replied, “I apologize, Mr. Barrett. Our colleagues in the technical department have been working diligently, but this troublesome hacker seems to have a very elusive background and refuses to relent.”
“Are you saying that we’re completely at their mercy just because they refuse to back down?”
“Our technical team is putting in their best efforts, but the intruder has managed to breach the firewall you implemented, hence their audacious behavior,” Heath explained.
Infuriated, Timothy pulled at his tie, his eyes darkening as he settled in front of the computer. With his slender fingers deftly dancing across the keyboard, lines of code began to materialize on the screen.
Timothy’s swift intervention promptly stabilized the situation.
Observing his opponent’s screen, Timothy’s lips curled into a cold smirk before initiating a counterattack.
Nonetheless, the hacker displayed no intention of relenting. The confrontation persisted within the company’s internal systems, with both sides refusing to yield.
The staff in the technical department exchanged uncertain looks, puzzled by the unfolding situation.
Paul McKenna, the technical manager, wiped his forehead as he suggested,” Perhaps it’s best for us to step back; this matter no longer concerns us.”
It felt like a clash of titans; individuals of their caliber had no reason to involve themselves in such affairs.