Chapter 691 The Informant
Sophia's cheeks were a bit pink.
But Gabriel didn't catch that. He saw the half-finished clothes on her sewing machine and asked, "Not done yet?"
Sophia shook her head.
Gabriel offered, "Need a hand? I'm not great with the sewing machine, but I can cut fabric and iron."
He'd never done it before, but it didn't seem too hard.
Gabriel hadn't slept all night, so Sophia turned him down, "No, I'll finish up and then crash. You should get some rest too."
She nudged him to leave.
"By the way, everything okay at the company?" Sophia asked.
Gabriel replied, "Yeah, but I might be swamped for a while."
"Got it."
They both went quiet, and things got a bit awkward.
Sophia, usually tall and confident, seemed a bit smaller standing in front of Gabriel.
Gabriel looked down at her, catching a faint scent. His heart raced, and he couldn't help but pull her into a hug.
Sophia froze for a second.
"Don't move," Gabriel said, his voice rough and commanding.
Sophia could tell something was up.
She stayed still, letting him hold her, her nose filled with his scent.
"What's wrong?" she asked softly after a while.
Gabriel was always so strong and in control, like he could handle anything. People thought he was invincible.
But right then, Sophia could see he was struggling too, that he had his own problems.
"Nothing." Gabriel let her go, seeing the worry in her eyes, and playfully ruffled her hair.
"Are you worried about me?" he asked, smiling.
Sophia wrinkled her nose. "You didn't come back all night, and the kids missed you. We were all worried."
He laughed, his eyes crinkling.
"What's so funny?" Sophia thought his laugh was kind of silly.
Gabriel said, "It's nothing. There was a problem at work, but I can handle it. Don't worry about me."
He didn't want to ask for too much; her concern was enough.
And she didn't push him away.
A thrill ran through Gabriel, making him forget his exhaustion.
He thought, 'If I could kiss Sophia, that would be perfect.'
A few minutes later, Gabriel was kicked out.
The next morning, the kids woke up and didn't see Gabriel again.
Emma sighed, "Is Daddy gone again?"
Ethan said, "Daddy's just busy."
Sam nodded.
Emma sighed again, "Mommy's busy too. We're gonna be lonely kids."
Ethan stayed quiet.
Sam hugged Emma, "We won't be. You still have me."
Sophia walked in and heard "lonely kids."
"What lonely kids?"
Emma pouted, "Daddy and Mommy are both super busy and don't have time for us. We're gonna be lonely kids."
A pang of guilt hit Sophia. She hugged Emma and said, "Once Mommy's done with all her stuff, we'll have lots of time together, okay?"
"What about Daddy?"
"Daddy's really busy with work, but he'll have more time for you soon."
"Mommy." Emma suddenly looked very serious.
Sophia asked, "What's up?"
"When are you and Daddy getting married?"
"Huh?"
Emma, looking all determined, put her hands on her hips and started her little speech, "Other kids' parents have beautiful wedding photos, but Daddy and Mommy don't. Their parents had big weddings, and they sleep together at night."
Sophia was flustered.
Emma pressed on, "Does Mommy not like Daddy?"
Sophia replied, "No, that's not it."
"Then why won't Mommy marry Daddy?"
Sophia was stumped.
"Because Mommy still needs to see if Daddy's the right one."
Emma tilted her head, thinking. "Got it. Mommy, I'll help you check out Daddy."
Sam chimed in, "I'll help too."
Ethan took a small step forward, showing his support.
Sophia hugged the three kids and kissed them one by one.
Gabriel got to the office early, with Alex hurrying behind him.
"Mr. Lancaster, I just got some news. There's been a development."
Gabriel pressed his lips together, waiting for Alex to continue.
"It's Keith Richardson."
Keith was one of the main researchers on the X Project. After finding a lead, Alex had someone keep an eye on him.
Gabriel turned and headed to the lab with Alex.
An hour later, Keith sat on the couch, looking dejected.
"I had no choice. I had to do it."
Keith was in his forties, but a third of his hair had turned white. Out of fear and guilt, he was trembling all over, not daring to look at Gabriel.
Alex asked sternly, "Why did you do it?"
Keith covered his face with his hands and said painfully, "They have my son. I really had no choice."
Gabriel's brows furrowed tightly, his eyes fixed on Keith.
"Who are they?" His cold voice made Keith shudder.
"I don't know."
Keith took out a phone, which was his son's.
"A month ago, someone sent my son's phone to me."
Alex took the phone, opened it, and found messages between Keith and a mysterious person.
The mysterious person's phone was registered in Country M.
Keith's son was studying in Country M. The mysterious person had sent many photos of Keith's son's daily life. Worried about his son, he had his son report it to the local police.
However, the police found no evidence of suspicious individuals and even thought the threatening messages Keith received were a prank or a scam.
Keith believed it too.
But a few days later, his son had an accident.
On his way home, his son was hit by a car.
What seemed like an accident was followed by another message from the mysterious person, warning Keith that next time, it wouldn't be just a fracture.
Keith was terrified.
He had considered telling Gabriel, but the mysterious person was always one step ahead, like he knew what Keith was thinking. On his way to the Lancaster Group headquarters, he received a call.
His wife, on her way to visit their son in Country M, had been in a major car accident and was still in a coma.
Keith added, "I don't want my family to be torn apart. I had to do what he said."
The weight of what had happened was crushing him. The mysterious person was making it clear: comply, or his family was gone, maybe even right now.
To protect his wife and son, Keith had no choice but to leak some of the research data.
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