Marry my Mummy

In a quiet room, the soft glow of a laptop lit up the faces of two mischievous seven-year-olds, Larry and Laura.

They sat cross-legged on the floor, completely absorbed in the screen in front of them.

The room was otherwise silent, save for the sound of Laura slowly licking her lollipop and Larry’s fingers tapping away on the keyboard.

"Done," Larry muttered, his eyes gleaming as he hit the final key. He turned to his sister, who was watching intently.

Laura grinned, her lollipop shifting from one side of her mouth to the other. "That was too easy."

"Right?" Larry laughed. "Big companies think they’re so smart. But guess what? We just got into the Vaughn family’s accounts in Switzerland."

Laura’s eyes widened as she twirled a strand of her curly hair around her finger. "The Vaughns? Like, Rowan Vaughn? Mummy’s assistant boss in the research?"

Larry nodded, a proud smile stretching across his face. "Yup. And look at this." He tapped a few more keys, then turned the laptop toward her, revealing a screen full of numbers. "I just transferred a hundred million dollars of their net assets."

Laura giggled, her eyes lighting up. "We’re so good at this! No one’s ever gonna know." She held out her hand, and Larry slapped it with a high-five.

"Yeah! And now we can book that Christmas trip we wanted." Larry leaned back, stretching his arms over his head. "Mummy said she couldn’t afford it because she had put all her money on the research facility.”

“Mummy is too nice. She gives people free stuff at her own dettiment.”

“It's detriment, Laura.”

Laura rolled her eyes, sucking on her lollipop. "We could go to the North Pole... or maybe somewhere even better. Like Hawaii. I’ve always wanted to go surfing."

Larry grinned. "You are too small to surf. But Hawaii, That’s not bad. We could even stay in one of those fancy hotels. With the pools and all the room service we want."

They both sat there for a moment, dreaming about their perfect holiday, when Laura suddenly sat up straighter, her eyes narrowing as if an idea had just popped into her head.

"Wait... what if we did something even better?" she asked, a devious smile creeping across her face.

Larry raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? Better than a trip to Hawaii?"

Laura nodded, twirling the lollipop in her hand. "What if instead of Mummy being all alone, the big uncle of the Vaughn family married her? Like, wouldn’t that be way better? Then she wouldn’t have to work all the time. And he’s rich, right? So she could buy us anything we want. And we could live in a huge house."

Larry paused, considering the idea. "You mean... Rowan Vaughn?"

"Yeah," Laura said, bouncing a little with excitement. "Mummy doesn’t like him right now, but maybe that’s just because he hasn’t said sort her out. She is always whispering his name in anger. Adults are weird like that."

Larry tilted his head. "That could work. If he marries Mummy, she won’t be stressed about money anymore. And we could all live like kings and queens."

Laura grinned, leaning forward toward the laptop. "Okay, new plan! We’re going to give the Vaughns their money back, but they have to agree to our terms."

Larry smirked, watching his sister as she tapped away on the keyboard. "What terms?"

"Simple," Laura replied, her eyes gleaming with mischief. "We tell them they can have their money back if their big uncle Rowan marries Mummy. Boom. Everybody wins."

Larry burst out laughing, but he wasn’t going to argue with her logic. "Okay, okay, genius. But how are we going to tell them that?"

Laura thought for a second, then her face lit up with an idea. "We leave a note. On their site. It’s super secure, right? So they’ll have to take it seriously."

Larry shook his head, grinning. "You’re insane."

Laura just smiled sweetly, typing as she talked. "Dear Vaughn family, we have your money. If you want it back, meet with us tomorrow at 10 PM. We’ll give it to you under one condition: Uncle Rowan has to marry our Mummy. Do this, and we’ll give you every penny back. Signed, the best hackers ever."

Larry couldn’t stop laughing, but there was no denying how good the idea sounded. "Okay, now send it."

Laura hit the send button with a flourish, then leaned back with satisfaction. "Done."

The twins looked at each other, high-fived again, and dissolved into giggles.

"I bet they’ll never figure out it was us," Larry said, closing the laptop.

Laura smiled as she popped the lollipop out of her mouth. "Nope. And by tomorrow, we’ll have everything we want. Mummy will be so happy."

And with that, the two of them started planning their Christmas trip, the thrill of their plan still buzzing between them.

****

In a sleek, high-end office overlooking the New York skyline, Callum paced back and forth, the weight of the situation pressing down on him.

His fingers twitched anxiously as he adjusted his tie, his thoughts racing. $100 million.

Gone.

He could hardly believe it. The Vaughn family, one of the wealthiest, most untouchable empires in the world, had just been hacked—and by some amateurs, no less. It didn’t make any sense. How had their security been breached so easily?

His throat felt dry as he stared at the blinking cursor on his laptop screen, the note still glaring back at him. He ran a hand through his hair, then, with a deep breath, he turned and walked toward the large mahogany door. This wasn’t going to be an easy conversation, but Rowan Vaughn needed to know. As cold and detached as his boss had been lately, this couldn’t wait.

With a hesitant knock, Callum pushed open the door to Rowan’s office.

Inside, Rowan sat at his desk, his posture stiff, his eyes dark with the usual sternness that made everyone in the company tread carefully around him. He had been distant, more so than usual, ever since the accident and the loss of his memory. The powerful man who once commanded entire boardrooms with a single look now seemed… fractured. But today wasn’t the day to focus on Rowan’s personal issues.

“Mr. Vaughn,” Callum began, his voice tight, “we have a serious problem.”

Rowan barely looked up from the paperwork in front of him, his fingers absentmindedly tracing the edge of a document. “What is it, Callum?” His tone was flat, uninterested.

Callum took a deep breath and stepped closer, sliding his tablet onto the desk in front of Rowan. “$100 million has been withdrawn from the company’s Swiss accounts. Assets—gone. It was a hack.”

Rowan’s eyes finally snapped up, the coolness in them intensifying. He narrowed his gaze at the screen, leaning forward just slightly. “A hack?”

“Yes, sir.” Callum swallowed, his nerves on edge. “It gets worse. The hackers left a note.”

Rowan’s frown deepened. He swiped the tablet toward him and opened the note.

Dear Vaughn family,
We have your money. If you want it back, meet with us tomorrow at 10 PM. We’ll give it to you under one condition: Uncle Rowan has to marry our Mummy. Do this, and we’ll give you every penny back.
Signed, the best hackers ever.

The silence in the room was deafening. Rowan read the message twice, his expression hardening with each word. Callum shifted uncomfortably, unsure whether to speak or let his boss process what was clearly a bizarre situation. When Rowan finally spoke, his voice was low, controlled, but there was a dangerous edge to it.

“Uncle Rowan?”

Callum cleared his throat. “Sir, I don’t know what this is, but it seems like some sort of... prank. They’ve got access to an extraordinary amount of our assets, and they're making ridiculous demands. I strongly advise that we don’t engage with—”

“Whoever did this,” Rowan cut in, his voice icy, “knew exactly what they were doing. They’re not amateurs. Our sites were made by one of the best hackers there is.”

Callum blinked, taken aback. “Sir, with all due respect. Look at the note. It’s—"

“I don’t care what the note sounds like,” Rowan interrupted, his eyes locking on Callum’s. “Someone breached our system. Someone stole from us. Whether they’re amateurs or not, they won’t get away with this.” He paused, his jaw tightening as his mind processed the situation. “Set up the meeting.”

Callum’s eyes widened. “What? Sir, you can’t be serious. This is clearly some sort of joke. We can track them, find out who’s behind this. We don’t need to—”

“Set up the meeting,” Rowan repeated, his voice cold as steel. “If they want a meeting, we’ll give them one. But this isn’t about getting back our money. It’s about sending a message.”

Callum hesitated. “A message?”

Rowan’s lips curled into a faint, humorless smile. “No one steals from the Vaughn family and gets away with it.”

Callum stood there for a moment, the weight of Rowan’s words sinking in. He could sense the shift in Rowan’s demeanor—this wasn’t just about the money. It was about control. Pride. Whoever these hackers were, they had made the mistake of challenging Rowan.

But still… the idea of showing up to some mysterious meeting arranged by hackers, felt wrong.

Dangerous even.

“Sir,” Callum began carefully, “I understand wanting to confront them, but... what if this is a trap? What if—”

Rowan stood up from his desk, his full height imposing as he walked around to face Callum directly. “I’m not asking, Callum. I’m telling you to arrange the meeting.”

Callum nodded quickly, feeling the full force of Rowan’s presence looming over him. “Yes, sir. I’ll handle it.”

“And make sure we’re not walking into anything unexpected. I want full surveillance on the area. If this is more than just a prank, we’ll be ready.”

Callum swallowed hard and nodded. “Understood.”

Rowan’s cold gaze returned to the tablet, his fingers tightening around the edges as he stared at the absurd note. The idea of anyone thinking they could hold him ransom was laughable. But it was the mention of “Uncle Rowan” that stuck with him, gnawing at the back of his mind.

He didn’t have any nieces or nephews, and as far as he knew, there were no connections that could explain this bizarre demand. It was almost… personal. But how?

“Whoever they are,” Rowan muttered, mostly to himself, “they’ve made a grave mistake.”

Callum, hearing this, nodded one last time and quickly left the room, his nerves frayed. He knew better than to question Rowan when he was like this—cold, calculating, and ready to take down anyone who stood in his way.

As the door closed behind him, Rowan sat back down at his desk, his mind already piecing together how this meeting would go. He’d get his money back, no question about that. But more importantly, he’d find out who dared to play this game with him.

And when he did, they would regret it.