Lucas stared, eyes wide.
With his years of medical experience, he immediately sensed something was off about Riley.
"She… is she—" He gestured vaguely toward his head.
Adrian's expression darkened. He said nothing, simply turned his wheelchair and left.
At dinner that night, Lucas couldn't stop watching Riley.
But she acted as if she didn't notice, happily eating her fill.
After dinner, Adrian took Lucas to the study, while Riley returned to the bedroom.
Once inside, Riley slipped into the closet and pulled out her small laptop.
She logged into the global medical forum.
The moment she entered, several messages from 1005 popped up.
[Rye, I'm back in the country. Let's set a time to meet.]
[Rye, why are you ignoring me? I didn't stop you from treating Adrian for no reason. His condition is complicated. I'll explain everything when we meet.]
[Also, you still haven't told me your full name. Am I supposed to keep calling you Rye forever?]
And then—
More rambling.
Riley thought for a moment, then typed:
[Tomorrow, 10 a.m. Imperial University.]
She closed the chat window and contacted the forum admin, rescheduling her appointment with Adrian.
He was leaving the country soon.
She needed to examine him before he left—get a baseline before making a proper treatment plan.
Just as she was about to log off, a new announcement caught her eye.
Sterling Corp was recruiting top talent.
The requirement?
Crack a program.
Riley blinked and clicked into it.
Sure enough, the code resembled the virus she had seen on Adrian's laptop earlier.
Only more complex.
She considered it briefly, then opened another program and typed a few lines.
[Naraku: I need a favor.]
The reply came almost instantly.
[TitoDax: Just say the word, boss. We'll go through fire and water if we have to.]
Riley twitched slightly.
[Naraku: No need for that. Just solve this. Split the money among yourselves.]
She sent over the link from Sterling Corp.
[TitoDax: Got it. Leave it to us!]
With that settled, Riley shut down her laptop and crawled out of the closet.
Just as she stepped out, she heard movement at the door.
Riley froze.
Then quickly turned, rummaging through the box at the foot of her bed—
And pulled out a wrench.
She crept toward the door.
Click.
The door opened.
A figure stepped in.
Riley didn't hesitate and swing.
"OW!"
A miserable scream echoed through the room.
Lucas clutched his shoulder, tears welling up as he stared at Riley, who looked completely innocent.
The commotion was loud enough to draw Adrian from the study.
"What happened?" he asked, looking between them.
Lucas sniffed, voice full of grievance. "What is wrong with your wife? She just swung a wrench at me!"
Adrian glanced at Riley.
She blinked back at him. "I thought it was a thief. Hubby doesn't come in like that."
Interesting.
Not entirely clueless after all.
She could even recognize my presence by sound alone.
Her instincts were sharp.
How interesting.
A faint satisfaction flickered through Adrian's eyes.
He turned to Lucas. "Why were you sneaking in and scaring her? She's timid. Stay away from her next time."
From Lucas's reaction alone, Adrian could tell—
That swing had been meant for his head.
The thought made him… oddly proud.
Good.
The little fool knew how to protect herself.
I could leave on my trip with a little more peace of mind.