Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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In the previous lifetime, Summer had been so traumatized by those photos that she refused to leave the house. To avoid letting that affect her education, Henry resorted to finding a tutor who could teach her at home.
Anthony was a model student who was known for his academic accomplishments. That, combined with Rose’s machinations, allowed him to use that opportunity to enter the Hartford residence and become a part of Summer’s life.
Slowly sipping her milk, Summer sneered to herself. It seemed like despite suffering such a severe setback, Rose hadn’t chosen to give up on her foolish plan. If nothing else unexpected happened, she would most likely be running into Anthony in the Hartford residence soon enough.
Just then, Robin returned.
“How are the investigations coming along? Have you figured out who those people were?” Henry asked grimly.
Shaking his head, Robin replied, “Ms. Sanderson doesn’t remember the time or place of the incident. Moreover, the people in the video were all wearing masks, so we have no leads to go on at the moment.
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“Well, have you found the person who switched out Summer’s video collage that night, then?”
Robin shook his head once more. “The perpetrator was an extremely skilled hacker who didn’t leave a single trace behind.”
Summer lowered her gaze to hide the icy look that flashed across her eyes.
She was the skilled hacker Robin was referring to. Ever since she was a child, she had been a whiz with anything computer–related. In the previous
lifetime, Rose had her hide this skill of hers by claiming that Henry wouldn’t like her being involved in such things.
Later on, Anthony stole many of the things Summer created and used them to swindle others.
Thinking about it now, Summer couldn’t resist
calling her old self a blind idiot. Both Rose and Anthony had been fairly blatant with their
malicious schemes. Why did she only notice it when she was about to die?
“Damn it!” Henry fumed as he slammed his hand on the table.
“Well, the hacker did leave one thing behind,”
Robin added.
Frowning, Henry asked, “An extortion?”
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Shaking his head, Robin passed his phone to Henry, who looked at the photo on the screen. “The wicked are bound to meet their end?”
Immediately, all the color drained out of Rose’s face as everyone at the table turned toward her.
“I–I don’t know what that’s supposed to mean…” Rose frantically shook her head.
Was it a warning to her? Who was it? Just who was messing with her?
Rose was beside herself with trepidation. Suddenly, as if a thought had just occurred to her, she turned to Summer and called, “Summer, you…”
However, she paused. She knew that Summer was skilled with the computer and could possibly locate the hacker. That being said, the hacker clearly knew that she was plotting against Summer. Therefore, she would be screwed if Summer found the hacker.
“Yeah? What is it?” Summer asked as she looked over at Rose, her gaze clear and harmless.
“I–It’s nothing,” Rose replied, shaking her head.
“Ordinarily speaking, the perpetrator behind such an act would usually be asking for money. It’s strange that the person only left behind this sentence,” Robin said robotically.
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“Ms. Sanderson, it’s quite likely that the person is out for revenge. It’s best if you calm down and think of the people you might have offended.”
“I didn’t offend anyone!” Rose abruptly wailed. ” I’ve never hurt anyone before. I have no idea why such a horrible thing happened to me!
“Mr. Cohen, are you suspecting me of having done bad things just because the hacker left behind some ridiculous comment? I didn’t! I really haven’t done anything!”
Done with her outburst, Rose swiftly ran off in tears. She knew full well that Henry was a sly old fox. Despite being kind, amiable people, Luke and Kristen might also get suspicious because of what the hacker left behind.
Therefore, she had to take preemptive measures to prevent the Hartfords from suspecting her of anything.
Once again, Summer was stunned by Rose’s acting chops. She was even tempted to give Rose a standing ovation.
After running back to her room, Rose locked the door and refused to open it for anyone. She claimed she wanted to have some alone time, sending the adults into a panic. They were all worried she might do something rash.
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No one knew that Rose, who was on the verge of going mad with fury, was simply determined to complete her nefarious scheme as soon as possible -before she got exposed by the mysterious mastermind!
Just as Summer had expected, Rose immediately called Anthony.
Anthony had spent a sleepless night seized with anxiety. Rose had been ignoring his calls, so all he could do was repeatedly check the Internet, fearing that something related to him might pop up.
“Why didn’t you take my calls, Rose? What are you trying to do?” Anthony questioned, seething.
“You were too emotional last night. I figured it was best to let you cool off before we talk any further,” Rose replied.
“Fine…”
Taking a deep breath, Anthony continued, “I’m calm now, so tell me how you plan on salvaging this situation. Do you know who did it? If all the person wants is money, just agree to it. We have to settle this matter, or else you and I will both be done for!”
Anthony sorely regretted ever getting involved now. Initially, he thought that by going along with Rose, he would soar up the ranks of society, becoming someone with both money and influence.
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Alas, they hadn’t even made their first move yet, but someone already had eyes on them!
“Settle this matter?” Rose repeated with a scoff.” Now that things have come to this, Anthony, there’s no turning back. We’re not settling this matter!”
“What do you mean by that?” Anthony asked as chills ran down his spine.
“That means we’re proceeding with the plan. I told the old fart I want to get a tutor to give me lessons at home, so you’ll do as we planned and come over to the Hartford residence,” Rose said.
“Since the first step of the plan has already failed, what’s the use of me going over there now?” Anthony asked through gritted teeth.
“You can still get her to fall in love with you. I already told you that Summer is a foolish airhead. As long as she falls in love with you, she’ll do anything you say!
“Once you have her in the palm of your hands, you’ve got complete control over the old fart, too. You can do anything you want to him!” Rose declared.
“Anthony, you’re handsome and a brilliant student. You’re clearly way better than all those scions, but they get to push you around just because your
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family isn’t as rich as theirs. Summer is your only stepping stone to getting ahead.
“Plus, you have no way out of this now. You’re a smart guy. I’m sure you know the right choice to make!”
Anthony fell silent. Scenes of all the humiliation he suffered all throughout his childhood and teenage years while going to school with the kids from wealthy and influential backgrounds flashed across his mind.
He had seen Summer before. She was an entirely unsophisticated young woman who couldn’t even hold a candle to Rose. Nothing about her made her seem like the heiress that she was, and he didn’t like her at all–but Rose was right.
Summer was naive and easily fooled. She also possessed a decent amount of shares in Hartford
Group, making it possible for her to help him break into elite society.
“This is the final time,” Anthony said.
In the end, he agreed to proceed with Rose’s plan.
He was filled with too much indignation. He couldn’t live with being pushed around by scions who were far less capable than he was. He wasn’t willing to follow in his parents‘ footsteps and spend his entire life operating a meager company that was
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barely surviving in the first place!
Anthony wanted to be the king of the hill!
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While Summer was happily toying with Rose like a cat playing with its food, over at a towering office building, Mason was lazing on a black couch with his legs crossed.
“The result of a personal grudge, you say?” Mason remarked.
“That’s right. It is safe to say that the Hartfords weren’t the target of this incident. The perpetrator seems to have a private conflict with that young woman,” Kyle, the man who brought Summer home the other day, solemnly reported.
Mason’s gaze dimmed. After a while, he asked, She and Summer are close, right?”
“Yes, Mr. Hunt,” Kyle replied.
Cocking a brow, Mason murmured, “She’s probably going to be in a bad mood again.”
Kyle dared not make any comments. He had no clue why Mason was suddenly showing such an interest in Summer. Mason was known for having a volatile temper. For the time being, Kyle couldn’t ascertain whether Mason’s interest in Summer was a good thing or not.
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After pondering for a moment, Mason asked, “Is she still at the Hartfords‘ countryside manor right now?”
“She is,” Kyle quickly answered.
“Have someone deliver a chestnut cake over,‘
་་
Mason instructed before looking up at Kyle. “Make sure it’s done secretly.”
“Huh?”
Kyle was confused. He had done all sorts of
dangerous things for Mason, but he had never
delivered a chestnut cake to someone before. Was he
…
supposed to hide a bomb in the cake or something?
“Why does it seem like you have some kind of objection about what I’m asking you to do?” Mason asked as he shot a look at Kyle.
“Not at all!” Kyle immediately replied. “I’ll get it done right away. I’ll see to it that Ms. Hartford gets to enjoy the most delicious chestnut cake in the world as soon as possible!”
Once he settled the chestnut cake, Kyle respectfully reminded Mason, “You have an international video conference call in ten minutes, Mr. Hunt.
Everything has been set up for you.”
“Got it,” Mason acknowledged.
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Chapter 12
Rising to his feet, he strolled over to his desk. However, as soon as he sat down, his computer screen went black.
Immediately, strings of code appeared and formed an animated version of the whack–a–mole game. As soon as the hammer made contact with the mole, popcorn exploded onto the screen, and the words ” STOP TRACING ME” popped up in large, bold letters.
“What’s going on?” Kyle cried out in alarm.
Soon, someone from the IT department came running into Mason’s office.
“We were trying to trace the hacker who hacked into the Hartfords‘ system yesterday. We never expected the hacker to include some kind of intrusion–prevention feature, so we were caught off guard, and…”
The employee from the IT department trailed off, his face ghostly pale.
He thought he was done for, but Mason didn’t speak. His eyes were still on the screen.
There was a heaviness in the office as everyone eyed Mason timidly, waiting for the impending storm. Yet, all of a sudden, he… smirked?
Everyone was thunderstruck!
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“Have you played whack–a–mole before?”
The playful voice of a little girl rang out in Mason’s head as he recalled the past.
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Chapter 13
