His Devious Rule

The night breeze was rather cold on the lawn of the Oasis mansion. Anya was closing her eyes, trying to calm herself but her mind was busy trying to find a way out of this place. She has to solve the mess else she wouldn't be able to live peacefully with her son. It might also affect her parents. Hence even if she wanted, she couldn't be at ease.

"Miss… Miss…"

Anya suddenly opened her eyes and turned behind. Under the faint light, next to a circular bush, a lady in a maid uniform was kneeling on the ground. She seemed to be afraid of getting caught and nervous to speak with her.

The maid glided a cellphone towards Anya, "I know you want to leave and Master isn't letting you go. Please don't call the police and try to find a way."

Anya glanced at the cellphone and the maid. Anya was happy to get help but the maid was going against her employer. The maid was unfaithful to her job and the employer, such people are loyal to nobody. Anyway, Anya needs to repair her life instead of worrying about others. "Thank you."

Anya picked the mobile and looked at the maid. The latter understood she needed privacy so she sneaked away between bushes.

Anya dialed Jason again. She had many questions for him. What does he mean by he knew she was at Alvin's place? Why did he avoid speaking about Alvin? And so on.

[Ms. Owen.] The man greeted her first.

Anya wasn't surprised as her team could find the location of the call in a few seconds.

"May I know what is going on?" She was already betrayed at the secretariat, she wasn't ready for any betrayal from her team. So she didn't beat around the bush.

[Ms. Owen, I hope you had a good conversation with your son,] The voice was calm and relaxed as he continued, [I am sorry, I was busy saving the home you grew up in. So I couldn't speak earlier.]

Anya's back stiffened. She realized Harper was looking for her parents. If he captures her parents, she would obviously step out to save them.

Jason continued with brief pauses again and again. He seemed to be having his dinner, [No worries, your parent's place is safe. However, your family…] He sighed in guilt. [Especially, you- You are in danger. Harper is turning the city upside down to get you.]

Anya fell silent hearing him. If she had escaped from the mansion, probably Harper would have caught her by now. She bit her lips, though she was angry knowing Alvin stole the hard disk, he was indeed keeping her safe.

Jason paused again. He knew Anya had lots of questions and she needed answers. Irrespective of that, provoking Anya was dangerous. If she stands against them, she could destroy the peace in the country. As polite, kind, and sweet she was, she was a notorious hacker, hiding her talent under her fingertips.

[When we lost your track, we got to know that Harper Johnson is still tracking you. So I followed your son's father.] That's how he got to know her location. The team didn't save her or bring her out because Alvin could keep her safe than them.

Anya's face darkened to a few shades after hearing 'Your son's father.' She gritted her teeth and probed in a cold voice, "You checked the past!?" She wanted none to know Zane's biological father was Alvin. She trusted Krystle so she was an exception.

'Cough... cough…'

Jason who was eating choked on his food hearing her. It was a slip of tongue. He drank water, cleared his throat, and responded, [Ms. Owen, When our platform hosted the three hacking tournaments, those were specially designed for you, so we had all the details about you before we hired you.] After all, the organization needs to have people they could trust.

Anya still didn't like it. Anyway, what's known is already known. She hummed, adding a request politely, "I want no one to be aware of it. I would be pleased if you forget it too, Chief Jason."

She doesn't have to worry about her job. She didn't need this job, the job needed her. She could survive in a different city or country. She had the confidence and was brave enough to build her career anywhere. So she could put up her request and also threaten if needed.

The line fell into weird silence. She could already imagine the man cursing her in his mind while looking at his phone screen. She broke the silence, "Who turned my home upside down?"

[Harper's men.] He answered like an obedient child.

"Who attacked the car I was in?" She needs to clear her questions to clear any misunderstandings if present.

[Harper's men] Jason responded in a muffled tone when the food was in his mouth.

So if Harper's men kidnapped her, how did Alvin bring her to his place? Since Harper is still looking for her to destroy the information, neither Alvin nor Bernard is connected with Harper.

"How did Alvin save me?"

[You should ask him.] He meant he or the team doesn't know. When they checked nearby areas, they found no camera in the alleyway. The main road traffic camera captured the thick fog coming out of the alleyway. Even they were surprised how slickly Alvin had taken her away.

"What is Alvin's motive to steal the hard disk?"

[You should ask him.] They were still working on it.

Anya felt her head throb. What is Alvin or Bernard's motive? From the looks of it, Jason had no details about Alvin. Something clicked in her mind. Jason fluently responded to her question without asking if Alvin stole the hard disk. No one knew where she had kept the hard disk so even if Alvin broke the tree branch, others couldn't know Alvin stole the hard disk, "How did you know Alvin stole the hard disk?"

Jason almost choked again because he knew her intention behind that question, [We weren't around your place, Ms. Owen. If not Harper, I guessed your… Alvin Matthews must have taken it.] If the team was around her place, they would have taken her away to a safe place.

Jason too discerned something. "Wait... Why would Harper look for you if he had stolen the hard disk?" Harper was looking for her so he thought Haper didn't get the hard disk so he guessed Alvin stole it. What he discerned was a simple case and Anya shouldn't be asking such a question. So why did she ask?

"... Hard disk… has nothing!!?" He meant the hard disk doesn't contain the information against Harper Johnsons.

Anya hummed imagining Jason's jaws dropped at the realization. Jason was probably finding ways to bring her out of the case as innocent. Now that he knew the information wasn't stolen, he wouldn't work overnight to solve the case. Argh.

She shrugged and demanded, "Chief Jason, take me out of here. I need to find the real mole and get out of this secretariat." Though she could give up the assistant general secretary job, she preferred to complete the responsibility she took.

Jason hesitated at the other end for a few seconds, [Er… Ms. Owen... Alvin's Matthew's place is safe for you right now. Even if we bring you out safely, you will have to live in the office. I won't recommend that to you.]

She couldn't leave the city or country as Harper had his eyes everywhere. They weren't sure how many days it might take to solve the case, living in the office wasn't good or safe for her. Since she was able to call him twice and didn't complain as Alvin was hurting or torturing her, Jason found it the best choice.

Anya was bewildered hearing Jason. She was against it so she tried to retort, "But…"

'Beep... beep... beep…' The call ended.

Anya: "..."

She knew her safety was important but she didn't want to stay with Alvin. He would ask her countless questions and she wasn't ready to answer any of them.

Turning behind, she looked at the majestically stood magnificent mansion. She felt like whining and throwing tantrums like a child. She was tangled with the person who she wanted to avoid in her life.

"Dear bad luck, let's break up," Anya whined, tousling her hair in frustration due to her back-to-back bad luck.