Sienna’s words earned a short laugh from Riley, though it faded quickly.
"Wow, your humor is back. That means you are all right there," Riley teases.
She chuckled lightly. "Come on... be serious."
He cleared his throat before responding, "Don’t worry... Whoever sent that text is just bluffing."
But Sienna didn’t feel reassured, not even a little. Her fingers tightened around her phone. She wanted to believe him, but something in her gut refused to settle.
After a moment of silence—
Sienna spoke again, interrupting Riley’s attempts to calm her down. "Riley," she said, her voice calm but firm, "I need your help..."
Riley’s brow knitted slightly. "Help?"
"Yes." She nods as if Riley could see her. "Can you find a hacker for me?"
There was a pause. Then Riley’s shocked voice echoed from the other end, "...What? Y-You need a hacker?"
"I mean, do you have a friend who can trace a phone number? That kind of job?" She asked.
Before Riley could say anything, she continued, "And I also need you to investigate Angie. I want to know where she is now, after she was fired from the Imperial Hotel. Has she found a new job yet?"
This time, the silence on the other end lasted longer. Still, Sienna didn’t interrupt him. She waited.
Took a few more seconds before a low chuckle could be heard from the speaker.
"Sienna," Riley finally spoke. This time, his voice sounded amused and slightly impressed. "Are you serious about doing that? Since when have you wanted to connect with a hacker?"
Sienna didn’t hesitate as she replied, "Yes, I’m serious. Because I trust my instincts, I believe that person has malice toward me. I can’t ignore the threat."
There was no humor in her voice now. No doubt. Just certainty.
Another pause followed, shorter this time.
"Okay," Riley finally responded. "I will try to do something about it. Send me the number..."
Relief didn’t come immediately, but something inside her loosened just a little. "I will send it right away."
Sienna was about to end the call when suddenly Riley stopped her, "Wait, Sienna—"
"Yes? What’s wrong?"
"What about your situation there? I mean, in your hometown."
The question made her whole body tense as she remembered lying to him the night before. She said in their chat group that she is in her hometown now, but in reality, she is on her mini vacation, working as a private chef.
’Should I tell him that my father wants to sell me to the gangster?’ she wonders, but dismisses the thought right away.
She didn’t want to shock Riley if he heard it on the phone. She needs to tell him in person.
"...Well, it’s complicated," she said carefully. "But I’ll tell you everything on Monday. In person."
There was a brief pause.
Luckily, Riley didn’t push her further. "I will wait."
She exhaled softly, feeling relieved. "Thank you, Riley."
"Always," he replied lightly.
But her heart? Still not settled.


And her "clients" were more than satisfied.
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