With his gaze affixed to the computer screen, Sage hammered away at the keyboard. His lips stiffened as he stared at the numbers jumping about on the screen. He seemed somber. He had always been smart and was somewhat renowned in the hacker circle. It had been a while since he encountered any worthy opponents. But now, things were different. Although he hated Timothy, he had to admit that he had some skills. No wonder he could summon so many people to wage a major battle against the terrorists, ultimately eliminating them all shortly after. Realizing that he had become distracted, Sage quickly refocused. Why was he even thinking about the scumbag's past?Mia spotted Sage perching in front of his computer when she silently entered his room. He was clearly engaged in something, so she didn't interrupt him. Instead, she took a seat on the couch. He had always been confined to the research institute, unlike the other kids who could go out and play. It was mandatory for Sage to r
So, it was a boy after all. Timothy turned on his mic. "You're unyielding, huh? Have you never been defeated before?"Sage snorted, "No.""Then I'll teach you a lesson today."As Timothy typed at a frantic pace, the defenses Sage had painstakingly built up suddenly collapsed. Sage was flustered, not expecting to be defeated so quickly. He turned on his mic. "You were going easy on me? Didn't I tell you to go all out?""The game would have been over by now if I didn't go easy on you," Timothy replied nonchalantly.He initially thought it was a girl as adorable as Ginger on the other end of the server, so he patiently played along with her. What if the girl started crying because he didn't hold back?But now that it was a boy, things were different. Timothy believed that his son should learn from his mistakes and failures to grow into a mature man. Judging by Sage's haughty tone, he could tell that he was spoiled by the Lane family. Sage was furious. "I haven't lost yet. Don'
Timothy was stunned when he heard Mia's voice. Little did he expect her to show up as Sage's backup. What should he do now? She seemed outraged. He knew he was positively doomed at the moment. Timothy regretted not listening to Caleb earlier. He should've gone easier on Sage to avoid the consequences of his actions catching up with him. Seeing Timothy in a daze, Caleb was intrigued. "Tim, what's wrong? Did you make your son cry? Who's going to console him now?"Timothy frowned. "It has nothing to do with my son. Mia was his backup."Caleb immediately tossed his phone aside. He leaned over to the computer and said, "Hurry up and defend yourself. You can't afford to mess with her these days."Timothy sighed. He eventually gave up resisting and resigned himself to watching his defenses being torn down. What else could he do? He had already completely surrendered himself to her, after all. Soon, all of his firewalls were breached. Only then did Mia cease her attacks and glance a
Sometimes, having such a brilliant son could be frustrating. It made Mia seem foolish in comparison. Mia stared at Sage warily. "So, what did you guys talk about?" Timothy wouldn't have coaxed him, would he?"What else can we talk about? I just wanted to defeat him and make him go away sooner."Sage's expression grew awkward. He absolutely wouldn't tell Mia what happened. It was a huge blow to his ego. How could he lose to that man?Mia took the headset again and turned on the mic. "Timothy, I've never expected you to be so despicable. How could you approach my son behind my back? Who gave you the right to do so?"Timothy had been anticipating her response, so he didn't dare to disconnect. He felt relieved once he heard her voice. He still stood a chance if she was willing to talk to him. Calmly, he replied, "To be honest, he approached me first. I discovered his identity by chance.""Quit the act. You didn't even realize his identity when he hacked the company website, so h
Mia nodded. "I've heard of it before. In fact, this incident is quite renowned in the hacker circle. A lot of people deemed it as a legendary act, and they even refer to the initiator, doomBringer, as the hero.""Mommy, what do you think about it then?"Mia thought Sage's sudden question was quite strange. Still, she replied patiently, "It's quite impressive. I personally respect doomBringer a lot as well. I heard that he still managed to crush the terrorists despite receiving death threats on his end."Sage continued, "What kind of person do you think doomBringer is, Mommy?"Eyeing him curiously, Mia asked, "Why do you ask? Do you know who doomBringer is? Members of that organization communicate using codes, and they never reveal their real identities. They don't want terrorists to find out who they are and endanger their families.""Mommy, answer my question first." Sage looked uneasy. Mia thought for a while and replied, "I suppose doomBringer is a hero, all right. His action
Ruffling Sage's hair, Mia said, "It's a piece of cake for him to investigate your identity. But it doesn't matter. Even if he knows who you are, he will still try to coax you."Sage scoffed, "I'm not as easily fooled as Ginger."His expression grew stoic. He wouldn't be swayed by Timothy's measly gestures. Mia pulled him into her arms and patted his cheeks. "Alright, I know you have adequate self-control. Let's not talk about him anymore. Check out the snacks I've brought you."Noting the resemblance of Sage's features to Timothy's, she sighed. His personality was very similar to Timothy's, and she had no idea who would win if both of them got into a fight. Meanwhile, Timothy finally removed his headset after staring at the computer for quite some time. Caleb turned toward him. "It's over?""Yeah. She must've logged off."Misled by Caleb, Timothy had always thought his other child was a girl. He hadn't expected it to be a boy instead. Caleb raised his brows. "I was wonderi
Mia didn't recognize the voice at first, but she caught a strong whiff of perfume. It was as if the person had emptied an entire bottle on themselves. She might not have registered the voice, but she knew who it was from the overwhelming fragrance. She spun around. Indeed, it was Shelly, who just arrived at the banquet with Sharon. Shelly was fully dressed in designer brands, the pungent smell of her perfume lingering in the air. She was desperate to let everyone know what she was wearing. Shelly had managed to stoop this low despite being part of the prestigious Barrett family. Not wanting to meddle any further with her, Mia turned to the server and said, "Report this to the manager now. This has to be resolved right away. Such a basic mistake is unacceptable."The server nodded respectfully and left. Shelly sneered, "Look at how arrogant you are, Mia. People might think you're actually the owner of Aide Castle Hotel."Jasmine could no longer bear it. "Who are you to make su
Although Sharon recognized Jasmine, she merely stood by and watched Shelly make a fool of herself. A hint of amusement flickered across her eyes. She resented Shelly for leeching off their family. But Sharon couldn't do anything as well. The Barrett family hadn't split up, and Timothy was in charge of the family. Still, she couldn't let Shelly embarrass herself any further. The Barrett family's reputation would be tarnished if word got out. She smoothly intervened, "Ms. Shelbert, Shelly rarely visits Nord City, so she isn't familiar with the people here. If she offended you, please kindly forgive her.""It's better for her to refrain from going out if she doesn't know how to speak. Not everyone is as forgiving as I am. As an adult, she has to be responsible for her words and actions, right?" Jasmine snapped. Shelly was seething. Yet, she couldn't bring herself to argue with Jasmine before the public's eyes. She had more important matters to handle in Nord City, after all. Sh
None of the major shareholders was a fool.After that, Mia was busy handling Barrett Group affairs and barely had time to rest.With an exhausted look, she returned to the hospital.Mia looked at Timothy and said, "I'll run away if you don't wake up soon.""No… Please don't go…" Timothy grabbed her hand. His gaze was deep.Mia's eyes reddened as she gazed at the man who had just regained consciousness. Timothy finally came out of his coma.After that, everything was back to normal. Those who caused trouble quieted down.Sharon visited Timothy and told him that she was going to settle down overseas and would not come back anymore.Timothy bought her a property and gave her a huge sum of money before sending her away from Bern City.As for Maya, it was discovered that she was not the granddaughter of the Prime Minister of Yellow Island but merely his caregiver. Yet, she had been deceiving people outside.After Maya was exposed, she ran away dejectedly. Nobody knew where she was
Sage stood beside Timothy in silence.Soon, news that Timothy was hospitalized spread, and Barrett Group's stock plunged.The relatives of the Barrett family requested to hold a board meeting to elect another CEO.On the day of the board meeting, Mia brought her two children to Barrett Group.They managed to keep everyone on a leash as Sage bore a striking resemblance to Timothy.Mia marched into the meeting room, sat in Timothy's chair, and glanced at everyone present. "Let's begin. Didn't you all want to have a meeting?"One of the middle-aged men said, "Ms. Lane, this is the Barrett Group board meeting. It's not appropriate for you to be here.""That's right. Though the kids are Mr. Barrett's children, they're still young and do not have any shares. You all shouldn't be here."Mia flung a document onto the table. "This is an agreement signed by Grandma Laura to authorize me to manage Timothy's shares.""Anyway, we still need to elect a CEO to handle our company affairs.""
"Because to me, you're my family too," Timothy said.When Sharon heard the word 'family', her eyes turned red. Then, she turned around and left the ward.Mia walked out and asked Peyton to send Sharon to the hospital for a checkup.Looking at Sharon's back, Mia said, "I hope you don't let him down since he regards you as his family. He's the only one you can depend on now."Sharon did not turn her head around. Mia did not know if Sharon would listen to her advice.Mia immediately called her brother. "Dominic, I met Maya."She then told him everything about Maya.Dominic frowned. "I never thought she would go to Yellow Island.""Do you think she's really the granddaughter of the Prime Minister of Yellow Island?""Don't you know how good she is at lying?" Dominic said.Mia nodded. "Yeah, you're right. But I still don't know whether she's related to Yellow Island.""Don't worry, I'll find out."When Mia returned to the ward after ending the call, she saw a doctor bustling arou
Mia went straight to the hospital to ask Timothy about the matter.But when she arrived, someone had reached there earlier than her."Timothy, what do you mean? All I did was pull a few strings, but you want to humiliate me publicly. How am I going to maintain my standing in the company?" Sharon said.Mia went in with a frown. "This is funny. It's not just about pulling a few strings, but it's aimed at me. Mrs. Barrett, your actions have leaked confidential commercial information.""Stop trying to scare me. It's my son who opened doors for you. It's the Yellow Islanders who wanted to collaborate with us, and they are much better than you," Sharon retorted. Mia said with a half-hearted smile, "At first, I didn't want to pursue this matter. But since you put it this way, wait for my lawyer's letter then.""Such big talk, huh?" A mysterious-looking woman wearing a hat and a mask walked in from outside.Mia felt that the woman looked somewhat familiar. "Are you the rumored granddau
Mia glanced at the person on the screen. Without answering the woman, she turned off the laptop.After all, there was no need for Mia to explain anything.After Mia turned off the laptop assertively, she turned around and looked at Timothy. He did not say a word but started eating.Soon, Heath received a call. He left the ward and said to the woman on the other side of the phone, "She's Mr. Barrett's ex-wife. You'd better not mess with her."While Timothy was eating, Mia finished reading the proposal in her hand.She had to admit that the document was very valuable.Mia was about to leave the ward when Timothy almost finished eating, but his voice sounded behind her. "What did you say when you met her at the cafe earlier?""Did you follow me?""I followed her, to be exact. After all, the Hopkins are not good people."Mia totally agreed with that.She paused briefly before she said, "Grandma Laura asked me to talk to her because she doesn't agree with you about giving her all
"You don't know anything," Sharon said.Mia retorted, "I might not know everything, but Timothy is innocent. Before he knew the truth, he always regarded you as his mother. Even after he found out the truth, he has never mistreated you."Besides, when you said you wanted the Barrett family's wealth, he agreed. Tell me, who else could do what he did?"Mia felt that Timothy might have been hurt by Sharon's words.He seemed impressive on the outside, but his identity was a dark secret.Therefore, his relationship with Sharon became awkward.Sharon's eyes reddened. "But I also treat him like my biological son.""You're also his foster mother. Now everyone related to him is dead, and you're the only one he has. What are you afraid of?"Sharon wiped off her tears. "I'm not afraid of anything. It's just that I felt that I can't trust anyone.""Timothy is a man of his word. However, Grandma Laura said that if you remain stubborn, making the will public is her only option," Mia said.
Mia noticed Sharon's expression changing slightly when she mentioned Laura.Sharon took her cup of coffee and said, "What? Does Mrs. Barrett Senior still want to lecture me even when she's on her deathbed? She must have known Timothy's identity all along, but she conspired with her son to keep the truth from me. "She and the Barretts are birds of a feather. What else does she have to say?"Mia was not surprised by her words. She had expected that Sharon would certainly think this way.Fortunately, she managed to stop Laura when she said she wanted to meet Sharon.Sharon was emotionally unstable now. What if Laura said something unpleasant and Sharon retorted? Her words might upset Laura.Mia took a kraft envelope out of her handbag and placed it in front of Sharon. "I hope you won't regret saying those words after reading this.""What's this?""This is the will that your husband left behind, as well as the divorce agreement."Hearing that, Sharon quickly took the document out
Mia hesitated to risk exposing Laura to Sharon's potential agitation.Due to Sharon's emotional vulnerability, she often spoke impulsively. With Laura's delicate health in mind, any disruption was simply out of the question.As Laura recounted past events, Mia remained silent, absorbing her words.Upon hearing Laura's story, Mia was taken aback. She hadn't expected there to be hidden aspects to Timothy's family history.Taking a moment, she asked, "Does Timothy have any knowledge of this?""He doesn't. Some things are best kept from him," Laura replied calmly.Mia harbored some lingering questions in her mind. Unable to suppress them any longer, she asked, "Considering your knowledge of Timothy's background, what is your opinion of him?""Tim is a commendable young man, and he has never let our family down. He has achieved remarkably well for himself. To be honest, I feel indebted to him as well."At first, I only kept him around for the sake of preserving the Barrett family li
Despite her initial reluctance, Mia eventually found herself making her way to Timothy's ward.As she entered, she couldn't help but notice Timothy's expressionless demeanor as he lay there.Carrying a tray of food, Mia approached him. "The doctor pointed out your extreme fatigue. It's crucial that you increase your food intake and prioritize proper rest to reduce the risk of sudden complications."Upon hearing Mia's voice, Timothy lifted his gaze to find her seated beside him. His lips moved slightly as he asked, "What did you tell Luna?""Not much," Mia responded. "Just a sprinkle of salt on the wound and a dash of psychological pressure to make sure Luna doesn't have it easy in prison."Placing the tray of food in front of him, Mia urged, "Please, just a few bites.""I'll eat later. By the way, the kids have been here at the hospital for quite a while. You should take them home," Timothy suggested.Frowning, Mia insisted, "You should eat something first."As her words faded,