CHAPTER 165: CHAPTER 165: MORNING CHAOS, HAPPENING TOO FAST

"Why are we even going home already?! Isn’t the point of remote work is that it’s remote?!"

If the people inside the vacation house weren’t awake already, they were now. Gracey’s loud voice practically shook the humble mansion, causing the thick windows to vibrate from her frustration.

Riley also followed them inside. He was curious, of course—he was the one who caused all of this morning chaos, after all. He wondered when the news of the website would finally reach Lorraine or Prophet, but he did not think it actually took an entire day.

The website was taken down a few hours after it launched, but his clones had already readied several hosts and domains to keep it alive. It wasn’t until half a day had passed that the clones decided it was time to let it rest.

To Riley’s surprise, there weren’t that many who availed his services. He was expecting at least a hundred orders in a single day, but there was only a single one.

Granted, Riley was only going to accept one in the first place, but he was still slightly disappointed about the outcome.

But now, not even six hours since they opened the website again, Lorraine already got wind of it. Well, perhaps she was even a little slow considering all of her resources and her job.

Must be the alcohol, Mrs. Gray.

Riley stood next to the glass door, where he had a view of all the chaos that was happening in front of him. Hannah was the first to come out of her room, her hair still disheveled, but her eyes were already alert. Her shoulders really only relaxed when she caught sight of Riley.

She squinted at him, and Riley only shrugged in response. She looked at Gracey, and then at Lorraine, who already had their bags packed.

The rest of the Baby Crew soon also stepped out of their rooms, wondering what exactly the commotion was all about.

Lorraine, not really wanting to answer their questions one by one, set up her laptop in the living room and connected it to the gigantic TV. She showed them everything they needed to know in one single image.

Everyone slowly gathered in front of the TV, even Bella, who had no idea what was happening at all and was still rubbing her eyes.

And there it was.

The Website.

It only had a single line of question and a single bar to type on.

"Who... do you want dead?" Tanisha was the first to say something. She stared at the TV, putting on her reading glasses to make sure she was reading it correctly. She read it again in her head, and when it was still saying the same thing, she finally looked at the others.

"What in the devil’s work is this?"

"It’s a website created by Darkday," Lorraine answered, checking her bags again to see if she wasn’t forgetting anything. "That’s why I need to go. I need to confirm its authenticity... and if I’m correct, there’s already a rumor going around that someone used it in Indonesia."

"Indonesia?" Lisa raised an eyebrow, making coffee for everyone there. "Isn’t that only a few hours away from here?"

"Yes, we’re stopping by there first. It—"

"Mother!"

Gracey screamed over Lorraine’s words before she could finish. Gracey approached her, yanking one of the bags away, and took it away with her to the side of the living room.

"What do you mean ’we’, ’we’, ’we’?" Gracey gritted her teeth. "This is the only time I get a vacation in god knows how long, and you’re cutting it short?! Why not just go by yourself?! V is here by herself, and Tomoe is too!"

"Because Tomoe’s family was killed by the very person who made that website!" Lorraine also screamed. She pointed at her daughter, but quickly retracted her hand, trying her best to calmly place the bags on the counter. She was about to say something else, but then a loud sizzle whispered through the entire house.

Everyone turned to look to check what it was, only to see Diana cooking something on the dirty kitchen outside on the patio. They didn’t even notice her opening the large glass door or preparing anything for that matter.

"Hm?" Diana tilted her head, smiling when she realized that everyone was staring at her. "Oh. Just wait a moment, you’re going to like this—it’s a fatty, fried, butterflied bangus. Milkfish, Bernard caught it this morning."

"I—"

"He also caught some other things that I was hoping we could prepare later tonight in a little feast. Giant mudcrabs. They’re incredibly sweet and meaty. Shrimp and some squid."

"Wh—"

"Why don’t you eat first, and then decide what you’re going to do after, hm?" Diana didn’t let Lorraine speak. "Never decide anything on an empty stomach, especially one that’s still filled with alcohol. I also asked Riley to stew some tinola. He’s been learning how to cook, you see. It’s tender veggie chicken soup with lots of ginger—extremely good for hangovers."

"That—"

"Which, surprisingly, you don’t seem to have, considering the copious amounts of alcohol you consumed last night," Diana smiled at Lorraine. "I guess the stomach of a journalist is different, huh? Please, eat first."

Lorraine stared at Diana’s smiling face for a few more moments, and then back at Gracey, who was obviously trying her best not to cry. She then focused on the website, and finally sighed and let go of her bags.

"I’m... sorry for waking everyone up."

"Nonsense, woman." Tanisha lightly slapped Lorraine’s hand. "I remember being a busy working mother. Without their dad in the picture, I put my work first over them to provide for my babies... It’s a life no one should experience. But now that my oldest could work, I could focus on them. But you, madam—you can afford to take a day off. Never let the devil’s work derail your life. Never let the devil take that away from you."

She clutched her chest, then also glanced at Tomoe.

"You are more than the results of the actions of one single individual who decided to commit this savagery, and you are not alone."

Tomoe returned her gaze and then looked away.

As for Bella, she covered her face for a moment, a little embarrassed that her mother gave a speech out of nowhere. But, Diana’s cooking, as well as her words, seemed to have an effect on everyone and everything there, as it became quiet all of a sudden and everyone calmed down.

Well, except for Riley, who was already preparing the plates outside for breakfast.

"Riley’s preparing the table," Diana once again smiled at Lorraine. The tone of her voice was warm, but there was... also something else mixed there. "Are you telling me... you’re not going to stay after my smallest, sweet, special, child prepared a meal for us this early in the morning? Your daughter’s right too. You can just work here."

Of course—how can Lorraine even leave after that?

The only thing she could do was apologize to everyone again. She was about to pull her laptop from the TV, but Bernard suddenly sat in front of it and quickly dived deep into the website.

"Oh, well..." Diana shrugged. "...He’s going to be there for a few minutes. Why don’t you help me prepare for now? Please? Do you know how to make spicy vinegar sauce?"

Lorraine blinked a couple of times, not knowing what to do. But after a few moments, she sighed and just took off her jacket to help. Lisa, who saw Bernard sitting on the floor, decided to bring him a cup of coffee.

"Bernard, here’s a—Eh?!"

To her shock, however, she suddenly lost her balance and tripped as soon as she was close to Bernard. And there was nothing there at all for her to trip to.

She fell forward, and Bernard didn’t even look at her as he slapped the hot cup of coffee away and caught her at the same time with one hand.

"T-thank you..." Lisa gasped, quickly collecting herself as she checked on Bernard. "...I didn’t spill any—Oh, no!"

She gasped again, this time louder, as she noticed that all the coffee went straight into the laptop.

"I’m so sorry!" She quickly said, glancing over Lorraine. Lorraine quickly rushed back to the living room, but her steps soon slowed down. She stared at her laptop, and then shook her head and placed a hand over Lisa’s shoulder.

"It’s... okay. I have all my files in a backup," Lorraine softly chuckled. "I was meaning to replace the laptop anyway."

"Let... let me pay for it."

"Don’t mind it. It’s just a laptop. Come on."

Lisa didn’t really say anything; she just looked at the laptop one final time and then followed Lorraine to the patio. As for Bernard, he stared at the TV for a moment. Watching as the screen turned black.

He then looked at Prophet... only to see him staring right in Riley’s direction.