Moonspring Estate had been unupied for days, dust setifing over every surface, Brandon had ratified the old Butler at the Wade Stanser ada sa the butter brought several maids to clean both vis thoroughly. By the time Ashton and Briar arrived, the maids had just finished up and warn about.

    To love

    The butter’s wrinkled face blossomed into a smite as he saw Ashton and Brial step out of the car.

    Wee home, Mr. Wards and Miss Jennings’

    peering over his reading sses, the butler looked past Ashton to Briar. “Miss Jennings, you must be tired from the journey. When I heard you wereing back today. I had the chef prepare your favorite desserts. I had them ced in your living room

    Briar nodded, smiling sweetly. “Thank you.”

    The butler then ryed the message from Griffin before leading the maids away.

    Briar went home first to freshen up, changing into a conservative set of loungewear. She then carried a te of delicate desserts over to Ashton’s house

    next door.

    Ashton was still in his original clothes, deep in conversation with Morton and the others in the living room.

    The ck-d figures nking Morton radiated lethal intensity, an unmistakable warning to stay clear.

    One man, in particr, currently whispering a report to Ashton, had a stern face, a sinister gaze, and a muscr build. Under his ck shirt, his muscles bulged, and a long, thick scar ran down his neck. His right pinky finger was missing a segment, and his hands were rough with old wounds

    If these guys weren’t with Ashton, they’d be the kind of people folks would secretly call the cops on if they saw them walking down the street.

    The man reported, “Mr. Wade, our people havepletely taken over all of the Garza family’s underground business operations, and we’ve also found…

    Briar strolled in, her unhurried entrance cutting off the man’s report. He gave her a slight bow and greeted her, “Miss Jennings.”

    He spoke with an air of deference.

    Briar nodded. “You guys go on. I’m heading upstairs…”

    “No need,” Ashton called out, stopping Briar as she was about to head upstairs. He waved her over. “Briar,e sit here and eat your desserts.”

    Briar ambled over and sat down next to Ashton, casually leaning over to nce at the file in his hand. “Are those the Garza familypany’s files?”

    Seeing her interest, Ashton passed the file to her. “Yeah, see if it’s more thorough than what the Hacker Alliance dug up.”

    Briar set down the te of desserts and started flipping through the pages one by one. “Let me take a look…”\

    Their easy, close interaction left the men in ck stunned

    ‘So the rumors are true,’ they thought. ‘Miss Jennings does mean a lot to Mr. Wade.’

    Ashton, seemingly oblivious to their surprise, said tly, “Go on, Dempsey.”

    Dempsey Woodward quickly hid his surprise and nodded. “Yes, our people also discovered that the Jennings Group has been secretly doing business with the Garzas. Two-thirds of their liquid fundse from Edgar’s ount.”

    Briar looked up from the file, her gaze sharp as she looked at Dempsey. “Has this information been confirmed?”

    Dempsey nced at Ashton, who nodded, then exined to Briar how they

    Edgar and his family under…”

    had obtained the information. “The source is reliable, our team has ced

    Dempsey studied Briar’s expression. Seeing she had no particr reaction to Edgar’s name, he continued, “Under temporary surveince.”

    Briar was part of the Jennings family, too, and Dempsey figured she’d at least be a little upset that they went ahead and put Edgar and the rest of the

    Jennings family under surveince without even telling her. But to his surprise, Briat just nodded in acknowledgment and didn’t say anything else,

    She didn’t even look the slightest bit bothered.

    ‘Guess Miss Jennings does hate Edgar and the rest of the Jennings family, Dempsey thought.

    Seeing that Briar had no more questions, Ashton took the file from her, pointed at the desserts on the coffee table, and said, “Enjoy your desserts. Do you want milk, coffee, or fresh orange juice?”

    Briar thought for a moment. “Coffee, please.”

    Ashton nodded, got up, and went to the kitchen himself

    to

    make her a cup of coffee, cing it beside her.

    Then he leaned back into the sofa, draping one arm casually along the back of the couch behind Briar, and signaled to Morton and Dempsey. “You two, keep going.”

    Dempsey was so stunned he could barely process what

    Morton, on the other hand, had gotten used to this now. He ignored the girl engrossed in her dessert and mobile game, forcing himself to focus. “If we stick to our original n, once the Garzas find out that Hayden is in our hands, they’ll do everything they can to get him back…”

    Briar’s identity as a hacker was already out in the open, so she didn’t bother hiding her use of the Hacker Alliance’s internalwork from Ashton

    anymore.

    Right now, she was contacting Georgiana from the Hacker Alliance, instructing her to freeze all of the Jennings Group’s overseas ounts and block any foreign currency transactions. She told Georgiana to do it on her behalf.

    Ashton watched from the side, the corner of his eye twitching in surprise. ‘This scorched-earth tactic is truly ruthless,’ he thought.

    Once he targeted the Jennings Group, Edgar would try to make a run for it overseas. But with Briar cutting off all their liquid assets ahead of time, even if Edgar wanted to escape, he’d have nowhere to go.

    People always said that schemers had dirty hearts. Watching the girl beside him, who was just as sly as he was, Ashton couldn’t agree more.

    Half an hourter, they finally wrapped up their business. Ashton noticed that after finishing her desserts, Briar was starting to look a little sleepy. He told Morton to take Dempsey and leave.

    Then, he bent down and pulled the sleepy Briar into his arms. “Tired? Want to go to our room and get some sleep?”

    Briar nuzzled his shoulder. “Okay, but go take a shower first. You smell.”

    Ashton was at a loss for words.

    He carried Briar upstairs, tucked her into bed, pulled the covers over her, and told her to get some rest while he hurried off to the bathroom to give himself a thorough scrub.

    After all, Briar had just said he smelled.

    Even though he knew Briar was teasing, Ashton still took it seriously and scrubbed himself squeaky clean from head to toe.

    Half an hourter, he slipped into a bathrobe and quietly lifted the nket.

    Briar was already fast asleep, her delicate features rxed in a peaceful, yetzy, way. In sleep, she looked even sweeter and softer, nothing at all like the ruthless side of her with a gun in hand.

    Ashtony down beside her, gently pulling her into his arms and carefully adjusting her head into afortable position. His dark eyes seemed to hold all the tenderness and starlight in the world as he gazed at the girl in his arms for a long time. Finally, with a contented sigh, he closed his eyes.

    A gentle breeze drifted in through the half-open window, carrying the unique warmth and gentle touch of the morning sun. It wrapped around the young

    T?uple entadovu in sleep, painting a krene if que