Since Kevin asked, Anne knew that she had to tell him the truth.
She turned around and gazed at Kevin with a frown. She didn't intend to hide it from Kevin at first, but
she didn't figure it out until recently, long after the incident happened.
Moreover, it was only an assumption, which was confirmed by Selma earlier this morning. Besides,
Selma had promised that she would delete those photos. Anne thought it was no need to dwell on this
matter anymore.
However, things had taken an unpredictable turn.
"Kevin, I'm sorry," she apologized before telling him everything.
Kevin looked disappointed and unhappy. He wasn't expecting such a thing to take place.
Selma had promised that she would delete those photos but she was horrified when she returned
home and found that her house was burgled and her computer was missing.
She had lots of gold and silver, and other expensive jewelry which could have been easily stolen. But
surprisingly only a few of those were taken. She couldn't understand why the thief also took the
computer whose value was far lesser than the jewelry. Besides, the computer was not an easily
portable device.
Therefore it was highly unlikely that someone had stolen it for the sake of reselling it. Their intention
must have been to steal the computer from the very beginning.
"Mom said that she had set up a password to the photos so that no one else can have an access to
them. The thief must have tried to use different passwords and when it didn't work, they must have
been forced to take the computer along." Kevin's frown deepened after Anne's explanation. She further
added. "The thief entered the Fu Family's house not for gold and silver jewelry, but for the computer."
Kevin nodded slowly. That could be possible. It seemed like the only plausible explanation at the
moment.
He began to think about other people who might know about the photos.
"The two brawny men are on the run. The police are trying to look for them, but there is no news. But
they have sent out word to other police stations and have also distributed posters so that if anyone
recognizes them then they can inform the authority. According to the police, they are not bold enough
to return to A City.
How many people know about the photos?" Kevin murmured, deep lines appeared on his brows.
Anne looked up at Kevin, perplexed. What did he mean?
"Anne, maybe we should suspect Ryan," he said to her grimly. Kevin added, "The Ryan we know now
is not the real one, nor is he your friend.
What's more, he even wanted the property from you and when you tested him, he shrewdly managed
to hide his real identity even when you called him out on it.
Ryan is also a smart man. Otherwise, he wouldn't have hidden his true identity for so long and been so
patient." Anne looked at him unhappily. Kevin sighed. He understood her. An imposter was posing to be
her friend even when she knew the truth. It was not a good feeling.
Still, he reasoned, "Now he is desperate for the money. It makes sense that he is eager to get those
photos."
Anne nodded as she thought, 'After all, he pretended to be someone else just for the property. So it will
not be strange if wants to get his hands on those photos.'
She completely agreed with Kevin. There was no one more suspicious than Ryan at the moment.
"Kevin, you need to hurry up and go back to your mother's place. I'll stay here to take care of the
children," Anne said urgently.
Kevin nodded. Now that he had a clear picture of the incident, he knew how to take actions accordingly.
Before he turned around, he engulfed Anne in a tight hug and whispered in her ear, "Don't be afraid. If
we can get the computer back, then everything will be fine. Even if we can't get it back on time and the
photos get exposed, I will still be here, supporting you."
After that he left hurriedly.
As she kept her fond gaze on his retreating figure, a soft smile unconsciously bloomed on her lips. This
time she was sure that no matter what happened, Kevin would always stay by her side.
So what if there were scandals? As long as he knew the truth and believed in her, she did not care
what others had to say about her.
Kevin's comforting words eased the turmoil in her heart. She lingered outside for a moment before
going to Sally's room.
The children were another source of comfort for her.
When Kevin reached the house, he saw many police cars in front of the gate. When he entered the
monitoring room he saw some policemen watching the surveillance video.
He left the police to do their job and went to find his mother. He found her sitting sullenly on the sofa.
Selma looked worried, but her eyes lit up at the sight of Kevin. She immediately got up and walked up
to him. "Kevin, I am so glad you came. The police are investigating. I am sure they will find some clues.
Don't worry, okay?"
Kevin nodded, not at all comforted by his mother's words. His jaw ticked. He would find the culprit.
They had taken the risk of meddling with him, so he wouldn't let them off the hook so easily.
Anyone who dared to destroy his family would be sentenced to death.
On the other hand, an unremarkable and ordinary looking black car had made its quiet exit from A City.
Back at the house, Anne sat on the bed in her pajamas. However, she was lost in thought as she
blankly stared at the book in her hand.
It was already dawn and Kevin hadn't come back yet. That itself said how grave the situation was.
Anne groaned before grabbing her phone from the nightstand and scrolling through her contacts until
she found Ryan's number. Her thumb hovered on the dial button and after hesitating for a moment she
pressed the dialer button.
After a few rings, the call was answered. Ryan's groggy and sleep-laden voice came from the other
end, "Anne, are you going to watch the sunrise? Why did you get up so early?"
"Ryan." Anne's voice was anything but friendly. She had no mood for joking around especially not with
that imposter. Without beating around the bush she directly came to the point. "When I was in coma,
Selma took photos of us and stored them in her computer but that computer was suddenly stolen."
Before she could say more, Ryan asked in a surprised tone,
"What did you say? How could this be? Did Selma do it?"
Anne rolled her eyes and abruptly ended the call. She just wanted to inform him.
On the other side, Ryan had not been awoken by the phone call, nor was he sleepy. In fact, he was
sitting on the sofa in a tailored suit, stroking his stubbled chin as he stared at the phone's screen.
"You are really good at pretending." A cold and disdainful voice came from the other side. Ryan
frowned as he looked away from the phone and settled his gaze on the man sitting on the opposite
side.
"Kim, you stole the computer and what do you mean by pretending?" Ryan countered, pocketing his
phone.
Kim snorted as he looked down at the said laptop. Only one of his men could successfully enter the Fu
Family's house and thankfully managed to get his hands on the device.
But when the computer asked for a password, Kim cursed under his breath, "Stupid woman. Do you
think setting up a password would stop me from getting an access into the computer?"
For him, decoding a password was as easy as remembering his phone number.
Ryan regarded Kim silently before he asked, "What are you going to do after the password is decoded?
Are you going to make our photos public?"
Make it public?
Kim glared at him as he replied,
"No." But in his mind he sneered at him, 'Like hell I would make those photos public. After
acknowledging my feelings for Anne, I will not rest until I marry her.'
Therefore, these photos would help him get Anne back. They would come handy for blackmailing or
manipulating her to his side.
As for these photos, according to Ryan's description, it didn't go too far. But still, the mere thought of
his woman lying in another man's arms made him angry and jealous. He would never make these
photos public until it was absolutely necessary.
Of course, if there was no other choice, he would do it.
But he was in no mood to explain that to Ryan.
"Your goal is getting the property, right? So don't worry. I will get the property from Anne's hands for
you, but don't forget to send her to me. Otherwise, I will expose your true colors and make you lose
everything," Kim threatened Ryan before leaving.
Ryan's lips formed into a thin line as he watched Kim's retreated back. His jaw clenched. Kim was
threatening him and that did not sit well with him.
He cursed under his breath. He had no way to retaliate even when the other man was threatening him.
The two of them worked together to get what they needed. Kim had enough evidence to destroy Ryan
but the latter had nothing to hold as a leverage against Kim.
At noon, Kevin returned to Anne's house with an exhausted Selma in tow.
All of them had a sleepless night. Anne's eyes were framed with dark circles. She looked at Selma's
exhausted form. The older woman mumbled weakly,
"Anne. I didn't expect it to be like this. If I had known it earlier, I would have destroyed the computer. I
am not behind all this. You must believe me." She lowered her gaze. Her shoulder slumped with guilt.
Anne did not answer. She busied herself with pouring a glass of warm water for her mother-in-law. She
couldn't put all the blame on her. She handed her the glass and said,
"Mom, I know it has nothing to do with you. Don't worry. I won't misunderstand you." Anne offered her a
small smile, trying to sound as reassuring as possible.
Selma nodded at length before drinking the water.
Kevin sighed and plopped down on a chair. He did get a glimpse of the thief but the man was dressed
in black. Moreover, he was wearing gloves. Therefore he could neither recognize him nor could the
police get any fingerprints.
The police found his car as well but the vehicle was a stolen one. They were at the dead end.
The thief had done a meticulous job and had left no trace behind. Kevin pondered, 'For whom does he
work? Nobody knew anything right now.
Whoever the ringmaster is, he is smart.'
"Even though they took the computer, I don't think they will be able to access it so soon. Let's not
panic." Anne tried to reason. They needed to keep calm. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to find any
solution.
Kevin nodded. But his frown remained in place. Selma sighed, regretting the moment she had hatched
this idea.
Lunch was a quiet and heavy affair. However, the incident wasn't mentioned again.
Three days had passed, but Kevin didn't get any news from the police or other sources.
Even Anne had been worried but when she didn't find any pictures of her and Ryan surface on the
Internet, she felt a little relaxed.
During this period, Ryan came to inquire Anne about the situation. He even comforted and reassured
her, saying that he would testify if their photos got leaked.
However, he didn't mention anything about property from beginning to the end, which made her even
more suspicious of him.
After waiting and expecting for such a long time, Ryan's ultimate goal was to get the property. He had
already mentioned about it earlier but these days, not even for once did he utter a word about property
or speak about the crisis in his company.
And that heightened Anne's doubts and solidified her assumptions.
Therefore, both Anne and Kevin were sure that this matter certainly had something to do with Ryan.
However, if there was no evidence, Anne and Kevin could not force Ryan to admit it. The only thing
they could do was keep a close eye on him.
They hoped that they could reveal his true identity and send him behind bars.
That afternoon, there was a sudden knock on the door. Before opening the door, Anne checked the
monitor screen and frowned at the person standing outside.
A tall, beautiful and fair-skinned woman waited, with a gentle smile on her lips. Anne was well
acquainted with this woman.
She neither felt happy nor annoyed towards the visitor.
She wondered, 'What happened to her face?' The woman was none other than Anne's sister. They
used to look very similar to each other but now, as Anne regarded her through the screen, she couldn't
help but feel as if she was looking at herself.
Anne let out an exasperated sigh. What did she want?
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