The Real Heiress Is Coming Back (Hannah Carter) novel Chapter 277

Chapter 277 Keep Teasing Me

Chapter 277 Keep Teasing Me

The room was set up as an office.

On the desk was a computer hooked up to three monitors, and on the wall opposite stood a big whiteboard plastered with a web of connections and motives.

Right in the center were two photos: a black-and-white shot of woman and a color photo of a man. The woman wasn’t drop-dead gorgeous, but she had a graceful vibe. The man looked a lot like Barnaby. They were Hannah Carter’s adoptive parents.

Hannah pulled her hand free and stepped closer to get a better look at the details.

The web of connections around her adoptive parents was mostly the Thole family, and the leads matched what she already knew.

But Barnaby had a bit more info than she did, especially about who really came out on top after the death of Barnaby’s third uncle and the imprisonment of Barnaby’s sixth uncle.

Back when Barnaby’s grandfather was dying, he’d planned to pass the family headship to Barnaby’s third uncle.

But after Barnaby’s third uncle died, Barnaby’s sixth uncle went to prison, Barnaby was still a kid, and Barnaby’s fourth uncle couldn’t compete with Edmund. In the end, the family headship landed in Edmund’s hands.

“This is the case progress Ethan and I have been analyzing,” Barnaby said, stepping up beside her. “You started by looking for the culprit behind Rosalie’s murder, but the trail hit a dead end with Iris.

“I figured we could trace things from whoever stood to gain the most, so I laid out everything I know about my sixth uncle from back then.”

Yeah, Hannah had always thought that if she could track down whoever killed her adoptive mother, she’d get to the bottom of why her adoptive father was framed and thrown in jail.

After all, it was her adoptive mother who dug up the crucial evidence back then, which freaked out the real culprit and made them desperate enough to destroy both the body and the proof.

“But I wasn’t there at the time, so all I know is what the Thole family made public. Plus, my sixth uncle’s case file was sealed by the authorities, so I can’t access it. Still, I’m pulling some strings to get you a chance to see him,” Barnaby added.

“Is that possible?” Hannah turned to look at him, her eyes shining with unmistakable hope.

Ever since she’d come down from the mountains, she’d been planning to visit her adoptive father.

But the Thole family had locked down visitation rights. Outsiders weren’t allowed to visit at all, and even family members had to apply in advance.

Barnaby said, “I’ll see what I can do.”

Neither Hannah nor her adoptive father was there that night. Hannah was just a little kid, burning up with a fever when her dad got arrested.

Her mom was busy trying to save her husband and had no time for her. Back then, it was Barnaby and the nanny who looked after her, so she barely remembers anything about what went down.

If she could just see her adoptive father, he was the one who lived through it all, and could give her the real story.

“Shouldn’t you, as the Master of the Scepter House, be able to promise me anything?” Hannah teased, raising an eyebrow.

“Even the Scepter House has to play by the rules,” Barnaby replied, leaning in and tapping his cheek. “But if you cheer me on, I’ll do my best to make it happen.”

Hannah lifted her hand, kissed her index and middle fingers, then pressed them softly to his cheek.

Barnaby’s eyes grew darker, his Adam’s apple shifting as he tried to get even closer, but Hannah stopped him right away.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself! You’re just doing all this to prove you’re innocent,” Hannah shot back.

Barnaby didn’t get mad. He just fixed her with that deep, smoldering look. “Go on, keep playing hard to get. When I finally win you back, I’ll make sure you pay me back twice as much.”

If that day ever really comes, this guy will absolutely follow through, Hannah thought, a little chill running down her spine. Still, she just smirked and said, “So this is your idea of chasing e? Seriously?”

“Hold on, come over here and check out this a

Barnaby said, circling around to the desk and b Successfully unlocked! ent for you in my quest to win you back,”

bang den

“You seriously think a program is gonna win me over?” Hannah coffed, but she still dragged a chair over and sat down, curious to see what kind of geeky move this tech nerd was about to pull

Barnaby clicked on an icon on the desktop. “Audio restoration software. Did you bring that SD card with the recording? Let’

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Chapter 277 Keep Teasing Me

s see what it can do.”

If it were just some jewelry or trinket, Hannah wouldn’t have eve glanced at it. But this was exactly the kind of tech job she’ d been hoping he could help with. There was no way she could say no.

She grabbed the mouse and gave the software a spin. “When di you start working on this?”

“Last year, I helped Ethan’s team develop a criminal investigation system. It had an audio restoration feature, but it was pretty basic. At the start of this year, I started working on it whenever I had time, and I only finished it early this morning,” Barnaby explained.

“I wasn’t planning to tell you about it. I was going to wait until the data was fully integrated with their system and let Ethan tell you about it.

“But these past couple of days, I’ve been thinking about how to win you back, and I just changed my mind. I’m not giving it to them. I want you to have it,” Barnaby said.

Hannah listened, a bit dazed, her heart thumping faster for a few seconds because of what Barnaby said.

“Thanks. I’ll try it out when we’re back in Kinswood. But you should still hand the software over to Ethan. Keep up your hero routine,” Hannah teased.

As she spoke, she logged into WhatsApp and sent the installer to her phone.

Seeing this, Barnaby flashed her a playful smile. “Ms. Carter, since you’ve accepted my gift, how about dinner with me? Maybe we can catch a movie after?”

“That’s just part of the rent perks,” Hannah shot back, logging out of WhatsApp and heading off to find her little piglet.

She was already itching to get back and try restoring the recording on her memory card.

“You promised you’d let me chase you,” Barnaby called after her

Hannah walked out of the yard with her little piglet in her arms. Fine, you can join me for dinner, but you have to cook!”

“Deal!” Barnaby grinned, thinking, ‘Does this mean she’s letting me back into the west wing?’

By the time they got back to Kinswood, it was already eight at night.

Hannah was too focused to care about food. As soon as she got out of the car, she made a beeline for the study, fired up her computer, installed the software, dug out her SD card, and got to work restoring the recording.

The restoration was going to take a bit, so Hannah opened up the code behind the software, wanting to get a feel for Barnaby’s coding style and logic.

Barnaby went into the kitchen, grabbed the steaks he’d marinated and kept in the fridge, cooked up two, and made some pasta. He brought the food out, but Hannah still hadn’t left the study.

He walked into the study and saw her totally focused on the computer. Stepping closer, he said, “Honey, come eat first. Don’ t starve yourself.”

“Just leave it. I’ll eat in a bit,” Hannah replied.

Barnaby’s brow furrowed. Honestly, sometimes Hannah was even more obsessed with work than he was.

She was always like this. Once she got focused, she’d totally forget about eating. When her stomach started hurting from hunger, she’d just jab herself with a couple of acupuncture needles to ease the pain. Barnaby worried about her; doing this all the time was definitely not good for her health.

Barnaby said, “You promised you’d have dinner with me. If you bail, then I’ll just have to switch it up and crash here tonight.” Hannah glanced up at him, then got up right away and meekly followed him out to eat.

After dinner, she headed back to the study, and right as she walked in, her computer let out a cheerful “ding”. The recording was finally restored.

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