Chapter 7
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Zina sized up the girl in front of her–delicate features, well–groomed, clearly spoiled from childhood. No wonder she could say something so thoughtless and spiteful.
“What are you looking at? Don’t think I’m not capable of kicking you out,” Lydia snapped through gritted teeth, her tone sharp and threatening.
And then suddenly, she let out a scream and collapsed hard onto the floor on purpose. “Help!” she cried.
Hearing the commotion, Richard and Yvonne rushed up immediately. Zina remained expressionless, quietly watching Lydia’s little performance unfold.
“What’s going on?” rushing into the room, Richard frowned deeply and reached out to help Lydia, but she dodged his hand skillfully.
“Dad, I want to get along with my sister, but she doesn’t seem to like me.” Looking up with a pitiful expression, Lydia cried. “I was just trying to show her the bracelet you gave me…”
She carefully revealed the diamond bracelet on her wrist, casting a cautious glance at Zina while pursing her lips, playing the role of the scared victim perfectly.
Richard furrowed his brows, gave Zina a long, searching look, then sighed deeply before saying, “Go downstairs and have the doctor check if you’re hurt. I’ll talk to her.”
“All right,” Lydia nodded, heading for the door but glanced back smugly at Zina.
Before Richard could respond, Lydia added with a worried tone, “Dad, please don’t blame my sister. It’s partly my fault…”
“Go on downstairs now,” Richard interrupted firmly, waving her off.
Once Lydia left, Richard turned to Zina, his expression serious. “I know this has nothing to do with you,” he sighed. “Lydia’s probably just struggling to adjust to having someone new in the family.”
Zina had already prepared herself to burn bridges and leave, but she hadn’t expected Richard to say this. For a moment, she was caught off guard, unsure how to respond.
“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure she settles down.” Richard looked at her kindly. “You’re my daughter, and I won’t let you suffer any injustice.”
He then pulled out a black card from his pocked. “Here, take this card and buy something for yourself.”
Zina raised an eyebrow as she looked at the black card in Richard’s hand. This was one of the three top–tier black cards in the entire Haldrin–and she didn’t expect him to hand it to her so easily.
“Please accept it. It’s just a small token from me,” Richard said without hesitation, slipping the card into her hand. Then he added with gravity, “Don’t take what happened earlier to heart. The house has surveillance, and I believe you.”
Zina pursed her lips, silent. The Sinclair family had surveillance in the house too. Thinking about all those times when Rosie set her up, she believed they had just taken sides and deemed it normal.
But of course, no one was coming to answer her anymore. She didn’t care either.
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Chapter 7
As Richard escorted Zina downstairs, Lydia was sulking on the couch, whining pitifully. Yvonne didn’t look pleased either, though she tried to hide it.
Zina felt a chill, staying quiet as Yvonne approached her. “You weren’t hurt just now, were you?” she asked.
Zina blinked and shook her head, catching Lydia’s dumbfounded look out of the corner of her eye. Yvonne breathed a sigh of relief, patting her chest.
“Good. Since neither of you got hurt, let’s not bring this up again,” she declared. “Tomorrow, I’ll take you shopping. We’ll buy whatever you like.”
Every word she spoke was decisive, leaving no room for argument. Zina understood then: Richard and Yvonne clearly saw through Lydia’s antics and had already given her compensation. For her, that was enough.
“I don’t need anything right now.” Zina shook her head.
“That’s not an option. We owe you. We’ll make it right.” Yvonne insisted.
Zina had no choice but to accept. In the end, she nodded. “Okay.”
That evening, Lydia stayed in her room, avoiding everyone despite servants calling her down.
Zina didn’t really care. She ate dinner with Richard and Yvonne, and learned Yvonne was the daughter of the powerful Bradley family in the capital–hence the reason the Lambert family felt so secure.
After dinner, the house fell silent. Zina sat by the table, opening her laptop, fingers hovering over the mouse but hesitating.
The website was built entirely of black code, mysterious and dizzying. Her cursor hovered over, but she hesitated.
After a long pause, she counted silently inside, then clicked the login button. Her eyes opened, staring at the familiar interface, the data unchanged–and she was taken aback. She thought her account was deleted years ago.
At the same time, hackers everywhere erupted in excitement.
[Rocking: What’s going on? “The one‘ is back?]
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[RestlessSoul: No way, that’s the top hacker who’s been gone five years! Something big must be happening to bring them back.]
[Marisyl: I worship the top dogs–if they’re back, someone’s about to get hit.]
[Piscara: Am I about to lose my spot as second best?]
[LowKey: All the big shots are coming out? What hope do we newbies have?]
In a dimly lit skyscraper, Hayden stared at his screen, eyes glittering with excitement.
“Kellan! Do you know who just came back?” he shook his head in awe. “Ani is back!”
Kellan remained unfazed. He raised an eyebrow, examining Hayden’s expression, then turned back to his phone. “Who’s
that?”
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Chapter 7
“Ani! The top hacker who’s been number one forever.” Hayden explained. “They disappeared five years ago, but now they’re back. You don’t know their records–they once fought a hundred rivals alone, and won. A true legend in our field!”
Kellan glanced at him, then stood up to study the website on Hayden’s laptop. Starring at the avatar on the Top 1 list, for some reason, he felt familiar.
“Keep an eye on that account,” he commanded. “Let me know immediately if there’s any movement.”
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