When he finally got in, he straightened his clothes while looking rather angry.
Thalia was a little confused when she stared at the tiny, chubby kid in her car.
“Who the hell are you?” asked Thalia.
“Who do you think I am?” challenged Anthony as he turned his head to look at her.
“How am I supposed to know that?” replied Thalia. She came up with a theory immediately after, though. “Wait. Did Anthony send you?”
Anthony was surprised. “Err…”
“Where is he?” asked Thalia. She instinctively looked out the window, but she never saw anyone suspicious. After that, she turned her attention back to the kid. “Why did he get a kid like you to come and meet me?”
Anthony was speechless.
With an IQ that low, how did Thalia even become the leader of an underground organization?
“You have watched too many tv dramas, you know?” commented Anthony.
Thalia arched a brow.
Anthony was too annoyed to explain everything, so he showed her his phone.
Thalia was even more surprised to see that. “A-Anthony gave you his phone?”
Anthony became completely speechless.
Oh my, her IQ…
Anthony didn’t even know if there was an adjective in the world that could describe Thalia’s incredibly low IQ.
He took a deep breath and said, “I am Anthony.”
Thalia was taken aback. She stared endlessly at him, grinned, then sat up straight. Her tone was condescending when she said, “Stop lying. Anthony really is something else. He refuses to show up and has gotten a kid to try to fool me. That infuriating idiot…” Thalia looked as though she was on the verge of losing her temper and going insane.
Anthony thought about the situation before he turned to her and asked, “Did you bring your laptop?”
Thalia scoffed. She got a laptop from the backseat and handed it to him right away. “What? Are you going to prove that you are Anthony?”
Anthony didn’t reply.
He proved his words with his actions.
After he turned on the laptop, his fingers danced swiftly and perfectly on the keyboard. The interface changed so quickly that Thalia couldn’t even keep up.
Soon enough, she saw her private information and photo showing up on the laptop.
One look was all it took to get her uncouth lips to run wild. “What the f*ck?”
She snatched the laptop away from Anthony at the very next second and stared with the strangest glow in her eyes.
Anthony crossed his legs as though he were a mob boss and asked, “Now, do you believe me?”
Thalia took some time to calm herself down. She put her laptop away and kept her eyes on Anthony. At that point, it was rather impossible for her to dismiss the truth.
Only a handful would have skills like that, so he must be Anthony.
Thalia cleared her throat awkwardly before parting her lips. “Y-Yeah.”
“For now, keep this information to yourself. Don’t tell Kyle anything,” requested Anthony.
“Why not?” asked Thalia.
“I’m not sure if it’s fine for him to know. I mean, isn’t this a little too shocking?” asked Anthony.
“Oh, this is beyond shocking. It’s nerve-wracking!” replied Thalia as she grinned bitterly.
She scanned Anthony. Those cute, chubby cheeks made it impossible for her to suppress her curiosity, so she asked, “H-How old are you?”
“How old do you think I am?”
Thalia was speechless for a moment there. “Is this why you have been reluctant to meet us?”
Anthony didn’t bother denying anything. He nodded and replied, “It’s one of the reasons.”
“There are other reasons?”
“The main reason I’m keeping this a secret is that my mommy disapproves of this,” answered Anthony.
Mommy…
Thalia was strangely weirded-out.
The master hacker who was deemed a prodigy actually said “Mommy” in such a sweet and childish voice…
Even thinking about it made her shiver uncomfortably.
Still, it was undeniable that the person sitting next to her was the dangerous hacker everyone wanted to recruit. He had what it took to threaten everybody’s wellbeing, and it was much better to have him on their side than on the side of their enemy.
Thalia bit her lip a little. For a moment there, she didn’t know what to say.
“Alright, let’s cut to the chase,” said Anthony.
Thalia stared in confusion. “Huh?”
“Remember how you saw someone messing with a car in Hamilton Corporation’s parking lot? That car belongs to my mommy, and I need to know who the culprit is now,” said Anthony.
Thalia learned, then and there, that was the only reason Anthony had shown up to meet up with her.
“I’ll drive and take you to the scene of the crime,” said Thalia.
Anthony nodded.
Thalia hit the gas and sped all the way to Hamilton Corporation’s parking lot.
She kept her eyes locked on the spot ahead. “That is where it happened. I saw the culprit messing with her car, which was parked right there.”
“Did you see what the person did to the car?”
Thalia shook her head. “No. My best guess is that he cut the hose linked to the brakes.”
Anthony hopped out of the car and scanned its surroundings. He noticed that there was a surveillance camera right above him, so he returned to the car and hacked his way into the system to look at the footage.
The culprit was wearing all black and had a face mask on, so it was not possible to see who it was.
Thalia, who had been sitting at the side, asked, “Does your mommy have any enemies?”
Anthony shook his head. “None that I am aware of.”
Thalia got a lollipop out of nowhere and popped it into her mouth. “Well, this is premeditated. The culprit obviously didn’t commit the crime impulsively.”
“What makes you say that?” asked Anthony.
“Firstly, he is focused on his target. Secondly, none of you live or work here, so how could a stranger know which car belongs to her? The fact that he went after that specific car shows that he has been monitoring your mommy for a while now,” said Thalia as she shared her thoughts. “Lastly, did you notice there are quite a few luxurious cars in its surroundings? Why would he skip all the other cars? It’s not like the culprit is a bull and only has a thing against red cars.”
Anthony nodded after hearing all that. The matter was too close to his heart, so he didn’t notice the things Thalia had just said.
“Oh, and look at his get-up. He obviously came prepared,” said Thalia. “If you wish to find this guy, you will have to investigate the people close to your mommy.”
Anthony made a copy of that footage, then paused to think for a moment. “My mommy and I just emigrated from a foreign country, and I know nothing about her having any enemies. She’s also mellow in nature and tends to let things slide, so I honestly can’t think of anyone who would want to hurt her.”
Thalia arched her brows. “That makes things much more complicated because we won’t be able to get to the bottom of it all until we find the culprit.”
Anthony was deep in thoughts for a long while. He kept scanning the footage, but all he could tell was that the culprit was a really tall guy. There was nothing else distinct about the guy.
“If Mommy’s enemy truly is behind this, then I have to work faster to locate this guy because he will attack again,” muttered Anthony.
He didn’t even want to imagine how bad things would be if the criminal went after them again.
There was no saying if Natasha would get lucky and survive once more.
“Actually… it’s not that difficult to capture the guy,” said Thalia.
“Really? How do we do that?” asked Anthony.
Thalia thought about it and answered, “I can’t be certain that my plan will work, but if that person truly hates your mommy so much that he wants her dead, then he will not relent until she is dead. In that case…”
“What?”
Thalia shot a look at him and asked, “Can we talk over supper?”
Huh? Anthony was confused and speechless.
“I spent the entire night running around to help you, so I haven’t had anything to eat. I’m famished.”
Anthony checked his watch. Ah, it is late. Heck, it’s almost midnight.
“Okay, then,” replied Anthony.
Only then did Thalia start the engine and drove around looking for somewhere to eat.
It was too late, so almost every restaurant was closed for the night. They ended up going to a store that was open twenty-four hours a day and ordered some sandwiches.
Anthony ate up, too. He was too worried about Natasha earlier, so he hadn’t had dinner and was hungry as well.
Thalia couldn’t help giggling when she stared at that cuddly kid in front of her.
“What are you giggling about?” asked Anthony.
“Can you imagine the look on Kyle’s face when he finds out that the great Anthony is just a kid? I bet he’d look just as surprised as I was.”
“Oh, you didn’t look surprise. You just look stupid.”
Thalia couldn’t speak for a moment there.
She was about to fight back when Anthony said, “That said, I will definitely capture then enhance Kyle’s surprised expression and turn it into an animated gif. After all, something like that must be shared on the internet.”
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Not Twins (Natasha and Kenneth)