In Love, Never Say Never

With that, I walked away and didn’t look back.

He didn’t follow us out; he had no reason to, nor did he have any need to. My attitude had been enough to make him come to his senses and realize that trying to claim custodial rights over Summer was a lost cause. If he dared piss me off, I would go to much further lengths to hide Summer away than just transferring her to another school.

While in the car, I snuck another look out the window at the café while John was busy buckling his seatbelt. “I have a weird gut feeling,” I told him, frowning. “call some of your best men from the company’s IT department over to the house.”

He silently considered the idea for a moment before taking out his phone and swiftly tapping the screen several times. After that, he started up the car engine and drove us home.

Half an hour later, we arrived at the Stovall residence, where a group of five or six nerdy-looking boys wearing glasses and a similar style of checkered shirt were already waiting for us inside.

“Mr. Stovall,” they politely greeted, bowing in John’s direction.

John made a simple sound of acknowledgment, turning to face me. “The nation’s highest-ranking graduates in the IT field this year are all here. Just tell them whatever you need from them. They might seem a little dense, but they’re good at what they do.”

I nodded, stepping forward and cutting to the chase. “Have you all brought your laptops?”

“Yes, Ms. Stovall,” the guy in the corner called out loudly. His gaze was fixed on the floor, and I could tell he was nervous from how badly he was trembling.

The rest of them weren’t faring any better; some were clenching and unclenching their fists nervously, while some were hanging their heads. I gave John a questioning glance, as if to ask, “Are you sure these guys are the real deal?”

He only crossed his arms, proudly lifting his chin in the air as if anticipating my reaction.

His self-confidence left me with many suspicions, but I had no other choice except to trust him.

Clearing my throat and taking a deep breath, I announced, “I will send some information regarding the Crest family as well as the log in details and password to my personal account to each of your smartphones I want you all to spare no expense in investigating the Crests’ criminal history or finding out anything else that will give us an upper hand over them. Got it?”

“No problem, Ms. Stovall!”

The loud bark startled me, and I turned towards the source of the voice to see the boy from earlier staring at me intensely. His attitude had changed completely from before, as if a switch had been flipped.

After holding his stare for a few seconds straight, he suddenly lowered his voice and ordered, “Let’s go!”

The rest of the boys instantly got moving, bowing before me before lining up and heading for the dining table where they had their laptops already turned on and ready to go.

In the blink of an eye, the room was filled with the furious, rapid clicking sounds of multiple keyboards.

Taking a step closer and leaning in, the once stiff boys were now all gazing intently at their screens, eyes slightly squinted as the tips of their fingers flew across the keyboard at inhuman speeds.

I nodded in satisfaction. I would have expected nothing less from John.

About ten minutes later, the guy closest to me ceased his actions and turned the laptop around to show me the screen. “It’s all done, Ms. Stovall,” he explained matter-of-factly. “All of the Crest family’s finances have now been frozen. They will not be able to spend a single cent of it unless I remove the virus.”

“Good work.” I reached out and patted his shoulder in an act of encouragement.

The words had barely left my mouth when I heard someone yell, “Something’s wrong! There’s someone trying to rewrite our program, and they’re doing it rapidly! Mine is getting destroyed!”

Everyone else instantly snapped out of their dazes and got back to work on their laptops. Their anxious expressions made even John and I feel slightly nervous.

In the following fifteen minutes, I witnessed what I could only call “utter defeat”.

The group of initially enthusiastic technicians was slowly being taken down one by one. First, their laptops were being controlled remotely, and then their firewalls were getting taken down, and so forth. In the end, I saw the laptop nearest to me completely shut down by itself, unable to be rebooted no matter what its owner tried.

In love, never say never chapter 1317

“That’s impossible. How can such a small company possess such powerful technology?”

As though dealt a heavy blow, the boys scratched their heads in defeat. It seemed like these rookies were no match for the technology the other party used to stop us.

The Crests had compensated a hefty sum because of the incident at the chemical plant. Their business was affected later on, so they couldn’t possibly have enough money to hire computer experts or solve this crisis in such a timely manner and even retaliate against us. Based on the Crest family’s connections, there weren’t many who could be behind this.

“It’s not your fault.” I grabbed my phone after some thought and went to the garden in the backyard before speed dialing Ashton.

He answered within a second.

“What is it?” As always, Ashton sounded calm and confident, as though everything was within his control.

family?” There was a hint of hostility in my voice as well as a trace of anger, and

who would be willing to shield such a despicable family like the Crests or have so much power and

had the audacity to hide his release from me. If I knew about it earlier, Summer wouldn’t have been tricked by him again and innocently placed

before Ashton replied in a

that supposed

even mentioned Jared posing as a

Panic instantly engulfed me.

Jared becoming

didn’t

sleep or eat, my eyes stung with tears of betrayal. “You’re not the one who’s having a hard time. Who gave you the right to forgive that man in Summer’s place? Jared is a master of deception. If something happens to Summer this time, do you really think

of this happen again.” Ashton reassured in a firm tone, “I’ve met with Jared. We’ve been friends for decades. I can tell when he’s lying, and he’s not.

wasn’t he your best friend too? And then what happened, huh? Ashton, I never knew you were such a magnanimous and selfless man that you could

the case, I deserve

all of a sudden and silence

end, Ashton was the one to break

Summer as much as you do. You’ve also seen how happy she’s become after interacting with Jared. She’s slowly getting better. As parents, we shouldn’t overprotect our children. She needs to get out

what you’re worried about. I’ve arranged for people to watch Jared twenty-four-seven. If he so much as poses a threat to Summer’s health and

with some sort of supernatural power because just a few simple words from him seemed to put me under a spell, instantly quelling the boiling rage in

because he had countermeasures for everything we threw his way. For example,

say

Jared to continue using his identity as a teacher to help Summer with her emotional struggles, but only for this. You must warn him not to expose his identity or even think about gaining custody of her. Also, I’m only giving him two years. Two

get him to put it

Although I had acquiesced, I wasn’t going to go easy on him. In a tone oozing with sarcasm, I spat, “Knowing Jared’s character, we can forget about having it in black and white. Even if he makes a blood oath, he won’t deserve my trust. You’re his guarantor, so if

won’t get the chance,” Ashton countered in a lighter tone, probably relieved that

and worry still gnawed at my chest. “I’m gonna be frank with you. I

me. You won’t be disappointed.” I could hear the smile in

“We’ll see.”

to joke around, I hung up the

I turned around to head back into the house, I saw John leaning against the glass door with his hands stuffed into his trouser pockets, looking me with a

You heard everything.” I raised

solemn look. “Summer likes me and I like her too. You might as well transfer all rights to

What the hell are you talking about?” My eyes

Does someone like him even deserve a chance? Summer can’t handle anymore trauma. Let me adopt her

how dead serious he was, I couldn’t

helplessly and stepped forward to smack him on the shoulder. “When you show the same

I walked past him

was approximately eight o’clock when Emery called me. Her appointment for her treatment overseas had been brought forward. We chatted for a while and she had to hang up the call to board the plane. She was an easy-going person, but I hoped that she would come back with

day, John insisted on sending Summer to school

eye-catching among the group of children, but he had deliberately dressed in a simple outfit. His jaw was covered with stubble, making him look like he had aged

for a few days, Summer broke into a run toward him the moment she got

them were all smiles, garnering a lot of envious gazes.

murderous look on his face, looking like he was only a step away from tearing down this scene. I noticed his lips moving subtly as he mumbled something under his breath. From his expression, I could tell

us in greeting, seemingly much more courteous than the

Ashton back then. I had seen it too many times. Thinking about the scheming mind behind

and simply said, “I’ll have

all. It’s my job. Besides, Summer is a very good girl.” Jared stroked Summer’s head and they smiled at each other, getting along very

as a grim expression took residence on his face. He and Summer were still not on talking terms because of the matter about the

never say

more ridiculous the older he gets. I can’t believe he’s being so

which she instantly understood. With that, she walked over to hold John’s hand and started behaving adorably. “Uncle John, will you come pick me up tonight? Can you bring me for some ice cream? You

matter how old he was, to remain unmoved when a little girl said such sweet words to him, especially in

on John’s face was replaced by delight. Although he proudly raised his

he looked down at Summer, clearing his throat mechanically before saying, “It depends on your performance. If you’re a good girl, then I’ll reward you.

made a salute

abruptly softened. “Be a good girl, mm? Listen to your teachers and

a tamed lion in front of Summer. The

knew that he was actually overwhelmed with worry about

in a grown-ups’ words and took it literally. “Mm!

a child’s innocence was the best way to wash away all our troubles and sorrows. Summer’s brilliant smile was immensely reassuring, and I found myself