Dark Revenge Of An Unwanted Wife: The Twins Are Not Yours! - Chapter 246

Chapter 246: Long Night X
Gianna nodded in agreement with Ewan’s statement, though she couldn’t shake the feeling that there was a “but” lurking somewhere in the context.

Hadn’t she and Athena been friends for the longest parts of their lives? She knew the latter like the back of her hand, yet it seemed she had been haughty in believing she truly understood her best friend. It was painfully obvious that there were other layers hidden from her.

Typically, Gianna would have been annoyed by this revelation, but the truth was, she had secrets of her own—dirty secrets she didn’t want her friend to know for fear that it would drive a wedge between them, that it would result in Athena joining Zane in hating her for life.

Thus, she nodded, pretending to be naive.

“I see.” She said, refraining from pushing further to uncover the identity of this “old rival” or even questioning whether such a rival existed. Instead, she chose a different approach. “Can’t we utilize this person again, considering this is a dire situation?”

Athena shook her head immediately, relief washing over her. “That would be too risky. And the person’s cost is too high. But not to worry, we can surely find someone within our ranks to do the job.”

But do they? Athena wondered next, glancing at the men in front of her, her eyes lingering on Ewan as if to silently say, “thank you for the rescue there.”

Understanding her unspoken gratitude, Ewan gave her a subtle nod of acknowledgment before bringing up a certain someone.

“I know someone…” He began, capturing the attention of Sandro and Zane, who both wore expressions of annoyance at the mention. This made Athena curious about the mysterious figure he was referencing.

“He’s very good at what he does. The best there is. I’m sure he can do the work without leaving a trace. I’ll reach out to him to see if he can work with us,” Ewan continued, disregarding the glares being shot in his direction by Zane and Sandro.

Of course, they knew who he was talking about!

“Can you get him now?” Old Mr. Thorne suggested. “I know it’s late, but this is a night job, and we need to know where we stand at the moment…”

Even though he had men on his team, including those entrenched in the dark web, he wanted to give Ewan a chance to prove himself. If Ewan believed his contact could handle it, then why not trust him?

After all, he didn’t know anyone who had attempted to breach the gang’s system—leaving everything theoretical.

“Okay then.” Ewan agreed, pulling out his phone and dialing Spider’s contact.

Spider picked up on the second ring.

“Hello, Ewan, did you finally locate Zack?”

“Yes, I did. Thanks a lot. But I need something else from you.”

“And what could that be?”

“I need you to hack into the server of the Scorpions Gang and cooperate with a sneak-in operation happening tonight…”

A tentative pause ensued on the other end.

“Hello…” Ewan called when the silence became unbearable, feeling the weight of everyone’s attention on him.

“Ewan, I’m here. I’m just thinking. You want me to hack into the server of a gang that’s not even on our radar, and to join in on an operation I know nothing about? If things go south, you know I’m dead, right?”

Ewan nodded even though Spider couldn’t see him. Of course he knew. Hadn’t he once run a gang himself?

“Ewan…”

“I know.” Ewan replied aloud, recalling that Spider couldn’t see his nods. “But you can trust me. Things won’t go south. And even if they do, I’ll protect you.”

“How will you do that? You left us…”

Ewan pursed his lips. Even though he had explained his new life choices to his old family, they still held onto the belief that he had abandoned them, that he had left them to their vices after their last operation.

“Trust me. Have I ever gone back on my word?”

Opposite him, Athena couldn’t help but wonder who Ewan was talking to in such a calm tone.

Yes, she understood it was a hacker he was conversing with, but who exactly was this person that Ewan spoke to softly? What was the relationship between them? A furrow appeared on her forehead without her awareness.

“You have, to me.” The response came.

Ewan inhaled deeply, still avoiding eye contact with his friends. “I’m sorry about that. It won’t happen again. Can you just do this for me? You can name any amount.”

Another pause on the other end.

“Don’t worry about it. Once I do this, we’re even. I don’t owe you anything after this. Just hope the boss doesn’t find out about this. So, what will you have me do?” Spider finally spoke.

Ewan exhaled in relief, showing the others that he had surpassed that particular barricade. “I’ll send you a document with detailed instructions. Can you stay awake?”

Spider laughed. “The night is my season, Ewan. I’ll be waiting.” The call ended.

“I take it the call went well?” Athena asked before she could stop herself.

Ewan nodded, oblivious to the hint of gruffness in her tone or the furrow that marred her forehead. “We just have to send this Samaritan the instructions on what we need him to do.”

The crease on Athena’s forehead vanished. “Sure, we can do that. We just need to plan this in more detail…”

An hour later, Gianna watched with a furrowed brow as Athena turned to follow the men outside, leaving her behind with the elderly couple.

“Where are you going, Athena?” She asked, noticing a different side of her friend, who was getting more mysterious by the minute. “Surely, you’re not going with them? What if you get hurt or, worse, shot dead? You have the twins to worry about!”

Athena froze. She had completely forgotten about Gianna’s ignorance regarding this part of her life. She pursed her lips, contemplating how best to navigate this delicate territory.

“She needs to be in touch with my person… they need to communicate,” Ewan intervened, surprising Athena. What did he think he was saying?

This time, Gianna didn’t pretend to be naive. This was Athena’s life they were discussing!

“What do you mean by that? Isn’t it an online surveillance operation? Surely she could do that from home…”

Ewan shook his head, his mind scrambling for another lie. “She has to be at the location to communicate live happenings to the surveillance man…”

Gianna still wouldn’t buy it. Despite her field being jewelry making, she often served as the children’s sitter, and had overheard them debating about feeds and all such matters. Surely…

“Gianna, listen to Ewan. Don’t worry, Athena will be safe. I know you’re just concerned about her,” Old Mr. Thorne stated, halting Gianna, who had opened her mouth to voice her doubts.

Hearing this, Gianna inhaled deeply and exhaled. “Okay then. Do it your way.” She muttered, turning to walk out of the sitting room without wishing her friend well.

Athena sighed, thanking Old Mr. Thorne.

“You have to tell her though. Isn’t she your best friend? I’m sure she can be trusted.”

“It’s not about trust; it’s about her safety,” Athena replied as she headed for the door.

“But she is already on the gang’s radar. I suggest you tell her nonetheless.”

Athena didn’t respond to Florence’s words at first. She paused briefly before continuing. Ewan followed her out, promising Old Mr. Thorne, with his eyes, to keep her safe.

Outside, as they walked toward the vans containing more than twenty agents, Athena expressed her gratitude to Ewan for covering for her. “If you hadn’t said something, I really don’t know what I would have said. Not a lot gets me speechless.”

Ewan nodded in acknowledgment. “That’s alright. By the way, when you talked about the hacker from last time, that was the twins, right?”

Athena halted in her tracks, turning to Ewan, who had stopped as well. “The twins…” She chuckled nervously. “Don’t be ridiculous. I know Antonio mentioned they were tech geniuses, but come on, you should know better than that. There’s a limit to these things.”

“Yeah, I thought the same until they told me themselves.”

Athena’s mouth dropped open in surprise. They told him what?! She screamed internally, wanting to smack them on their buttocks. Why would they do that?

“Do you believe them?” She asked, still chuckling, albeit less enthusiastically. “They’re just making small talk. They’re dreamers…”

Ewan chuckled, raising an eyebrow. “Yeah, I thought so too, but saying that almost put me in trouble.”

This time, Athena fell silent. A tense silence passed between them.

“I don’t know why they would tell you that, but keep it to yourself,” She finally said, locking her gaze with his, steeled determination in her eyes.

“Of course, I had no plans of sharing. They told me in confidence,” Ewan responded lightly, turning away still finding it hard to believe his children had hacked into the servers of the gang.

Yet he was relieved she hadn’t involved them in this operation.

“Thank you,” He murmured before picking up his pace.

Athena furrowed her brows, not understanding why he was thanking her. She shrugged it off, walking after him into the van. They needed to focus on the operation tonight; she could sort out her thoughts later.