Chapter 25 Old Acquaintance
Maybe Diana was just super tired, so she slept like a rock.
The next morning, Dione whipped up breakfast again and asked Tony to take Diana to the city. But Robert was already on his way, so Diana thanked them.
Tony and Dione really liked Diana and personally escorted her to the cemetery gate.
Dione held Diana's hand, worried she'd be upset about the company, and tried to comfort her a bit. "Losing money isn't the end of the world. Maybe once Mr. Percy cools down, you can talk to him again. He might reconsider for Mrs. Percy's sake."
If only it were that simple. Diana didn't say much, just smiled and nodded.
Right then, Robert showed up. Seeing Diana safe and sound, he let out a sigh of relief, finding this situation much better than the last time at the hospital.
But seeing Tony and Dione with her, Robert was puzzled, wondering, 'Does the Spencer Family have other relatives?'
He didn't ask, just greeted them politely.
When Robert arrived, Diana said goodbye to Tony and Dione and got in the car.
Robert drove, occasionally glancing at Diana in the rearview mirror. Seeing her calm expression, he broke the silence. "How did your talk with Charles go yesterday? What did he say about the Spencer Group's bankruptcy?"
"You came to pick me up, so obviously, it didn't go well." Diana opened the car window, feeling the wind on her face. "I was planning to buy the Spencer Group, but he refused. Then we argued, and I slapped him. He left me at the cemetery."
In just a few words, Robert was shocked four times. If he didn't have strong nerves, he might've lost control of the steering wheel.
Diana looked so delicate, yet she dared to slap Charles and still be alive. It was truly surprising.
But that wasn't the main point. Robert cleared his throat and asked, "But our current assets are zero, and we can't even pay off the debts."
Diana replied softly, "Don't worry, I have a way to make money. But the most important thing now is buying time. By the way, did you get the news of the case I asked you to look for yesterday?"
Robert nodded and handed her the file at a red light. "I compiled all the kidnapping cases involving the Percy Group, including those in the news and those not disclosed by the police. There were five cases in total. My friend at the police station didn't have the authority to access the files, so I only got approximate times and locations."
Diana nodded and started flipping through the file.
Charles survived all five kidnappings. He was really lucky.
The first three happened when Charles was 1, 4, and 6 years old. These were minor incidents, and the perpetrators were caught within three days.
The fourth and fifth kidnappings happened when Charles was 13 and 17. These weren't reported in the news.
Diana's attention was drawn to the kidnapping at age 13. Besides the time, the file noted: The suspect was not apprehended.
Seeing her serious expression, Robert didn't interrupt.
After reading through it, Diana said, "Robert, just drop me off downtown. I'm going to take a walk."
"Okay." Robert understood that Diana was going to find a solution, so he didn't ask much.
When they reached the city, he dropped Diana off.
The weather turned chilly fast in Evergreen City during autumn. Noticing Diana was lightly dressed, Robert handed her his jacket before driving off.
Diana got out of the car and strolled slowly, following her GPS to find a place with a computer.
She found a room, unplugged the network cable, and got to work.
As she typed away, lines of green code scrolled across the black screen.
After a while, Diana finally logged into the Dark Web again.
The Dark Web forum had no URL. Any exposure would cause chaos.
You could buy or sell anything here if you had the money.
With the Dark Web's protection, neither party in a transaction knew the other's identity.
Diana skillfully posted a job request. She needed cash.
Whether or not she could buy back the Spencer Group, having money would make things easier.
As soon as Diana's notice went up, Dark Web users around the world got excited. It had been half a year since A last took a job, and now they were back, accepting open requests.
People in need started messaging them, lining up.
Diana wasn't in a rush to look at the requests. There were too many people wanting her help.
She was confident about making money and could choose the tasks she wanted.
After posting the notice, Diana opened her contact list, clicked on the top conversation, and sent a message.
[A]: Time to work.
Within ten seconds, the other party replied.
The messages came one after another, showing the other party's urgency.
[B]: Who are you?
[B]: How did you get this account?
[B]: Answer me!
Diana understood the other party's feelings and replied.
[A]: It's me.
[B]: Impossible, she's dead.
[B]: Who are you? If I catch you impersonating her, you'll regret it.
Diana knew it was hard to explain. As her close friend, B would have attended her funeral.
For a dead person's account to suddenly send a message, no one could accept it.
So Diana continued to reply.
[A]: Dean Palmer, it's me.
[A]: Your code name is B because you lost a bet to me, and I gave it to you.
[A]: You have a red mole under your left breast, which I discovered while bandaging you during the Skylandia mission.
Diana only sent three messages, but Dean Palmer fell silent.
In Windcrest, Dean stared at the chat box on the computer, his hands trembling, and his eyes reddening.
It really was her, Sophia. She wasn't dead, but he had attended her funeral. Dean snapped out of it and continued to ask.
[B]: What was our most dangerous mission? What did I say to you then?
Sophia recalled. Dean must be referring to the mission in Horizonia for taking down a terrorist organization.
Both of them were undercover agents at the time. Due to poor coordination outside, their cover was blown. When they were about to catch Dean, Sophia decisively shot their leader, exposing herself.
In a critical situation, Sophia tried to draw their fire until reinforcements arrived.
Sophia was on the brink of death, shot in the thigh and abdomen. But she let Dean escape with the information.
Dean didn't leave her behind. He carried her and solemnly said, "From now on, I'll carry you forward."
[A]: Horizonia, we went undercover in a terrorist organization. You said, "From now on, I'll carry you forward."
[A]: Thank you, Dean. Without you, I wouldn't have survived.
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