To find out Samantha's situation, Alex and Noah did not stay for dinner.
After hurriedly bidding farewell to everyone, the two of them took a taxi directly to a private detective agency, where they paid a hefty sum to hire a detective to investigate Samantha's situation.
They knew that even if they went back to ask their father, he wouldn't tell them the truth.
So, they decided to take matters into their own hands.
Private detectives have extensive networks, and in less than half an hour, they had tracked down Samantha's whereabouts.
"Samantha, female, twenty-three years old, the eldest daughter of Lloyd Miller, the CEO of the Miller Group. She was taken away by the police for murder last night and is currently being held in custody."
After saying this, the detective handed over the data and photos that were transmitted to the computer to Noah and Alex.
"Take a look, is this the person?"
Alex and Noah's hearts were pounding as they listened to him. They quickly took the data and photos.
The information was very detailed.
They found preliminary information about Samantha's recent activities.
The photos showed Samantha sitting on the cold bed in the detention center, staring blankly ahead.
Even though they were separated by a barrier and a distance, they immediately recognized her as their Mommy.
Sure enough.
They hadn't misheard last night.
Mommy really got into trouble and was in jail.
Alex's eyes were red with excitement.
Noah, forcing himself to stay calm, asked, "The police accuse her of murder. Who did she kill? I want to know the specifics."
The private detective replied, "The victim was the controversial Rex James, who was found dead in a guesthouse two days ago. It's rumored that the two had a grudge four years ago, possibly due to deep-seated resentment."
Noah asked again, "Can you find information about Rex?"
The private detective pretended to be hesitant.
Noah knew what he was thinking and didn't say anything. Instead, he transferred another five thousand dollar to him.
Seeing the money, the private detective immediately smiled and fiddled with the computer for a while. Soon, information about Rex was pulled up.
After Noah carefully read through the information about Rex, his face turned pale.
"Rex's girlfriend four years ago was Suzy Miller?!"
The private detective said, "That's what the information says, so it should be correct! My friend at the police station also said that on the day Rex died, Samantha was with Suzy. But when the police went to question Suzy, she denied it. Samantha has no alibi at the moment, and her button and hair were found at the scene. The evidence is conclusive. This time, she's probably doomed."
Hearing Suzy's name, Alex jumped up in anger.
"Suzy, Suzy, it's Suzy again. Why is she always involved in everything?"
Noah didn't say anything more, took all the gathered information, and left the detective agency with Alex.
Although Alex was the older brother, the environment he grew up in didn't make him as calm as Noah.
In the face of a major event, Noah became his backbone.
"Noah, what should we do now? Will Mommy go to jail? Will she never come out again? Mommy definitely didn't kill anyone."
Noah took the initiative to hold his hand, solemnly promising, "I believe Mommy didn't kill anyone! Don't worry, I won't let Mommy get into trouble!"
Alex asked in confusion, "What are you going to do?"
Noah said, "We'll start with Suzy! Since Mommy said she was with her that day, then she must have been. It's just that Suzy resents Mommy too much to want to help prove her innocence."
Alex pouted, "That woman is so bad, will she help Mommy?"
Noah fell silent, his face twisted in thought.
Suzy would definitely not want to help Mommy.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have committed perjury, claiming she wasn't with Mommy that day.
So, to prove Mommy's innocence, they needed to prove that they were together that day.
They needed to prove that Suzy lied when she gave her statement.
But how exactly could they make Suzy admit she lied?
For a moment, Noah couldn't think of a good solution.
"I'll think about it when I get back, there must be a way..."
After learning about Samantha's situation, the two boys took a taxi back to Chelsea Creek.
The lights were on inside Chelsea Creek.
The two little kids hand in hand stepped inside, but as soon as they entered, they felt a powerful aura rushing towards them.
Noah shivered all over, his legs involuntarily weakening, standing at the door, afraid to take another step.
Alex wasn't as intimidated by Ethan as Noah. He forcefully dragged him inside, sitting on the sofa without paying much attention to Ethan's imposing presence.
Noah gently tugged at his clothes, gesturing for him to calm down.
But Alex seemed indifferent.
Deep down, he actually harbored some resentment towards this father of theirs.
If it weren't for their father bringing him back, he wouldn't have had to leave Mommy and Charlotte.
Maybe Mommy wouldn't be in jail either.
Ethan's temples throbbed visibly, his handsome face resembling a grim and frightening demon.
"Where were you two? Why didn't you answer the phone? Do you know how worried I was?"
Noah lowered his head, lips slightly parted, habitually apologizing, "I'm sorry!"
Alex, still holding him, raised his chin high, stubbornly saying, "I deliberately didn't answer your calls. You always restrict our freedom. We're human beings, not your pet cats or dogs. We want to breathe fresh air outside."
Ethan's entire face darkened upon hearing this, his fist clenched tightly, a chilling coldness emanating from his eyes.
"Noah, you speak."
Noah kept his head down, silent for a moment before slowly saying, "We went to Aunt Samantha's house, hoping to see her. But she was away on a business trip."
Ethan asked in a deep voice, "On a business trip? Who said that?"
Noah answered, "Auntie Yurika."
Ethan fell into silence, looking at Alex and Noah expressionlessly, unsure of what to say for a moment.
At this moment, Noah spoke again, "Father, we just missed Aunt Samantha and wanted to see her. We were afraid you wouldn't agree, so we went without permission."
His tone was as pitiful as possible.
All the anger in Ethan dissipated instantly upon hearing this. He sighed helplessly, the frost on his face melting visibly, unable to bear scolding them, and asked, "Have you eaten?"
Noah shook his head, keeping it low.
Ethan said, "Go eat! After eating, go rest upstairs."
Seeing his anger dissipate, Noah's lips curled imperceptibly with a hint of satisfaction. He obediently nodded and walked slowly to the dining room, holding Alex's hand.
In a place where Ethan couldn't see, Alex secretly gave Noah a thumbs-up.
...
Davis Group.
Albert had been waiting for the results from the engineers.
It wasn't until late in the evening that the results finally came out.
"Mr. Davis, I'm sorry, I've done my best, but I couldn't recover the contents of those three days. It was shredded with deliberately created software, and there were even viruses deliberately hidden inside. If I forcefully cracked it, the virus would immediately infiltrate my computer through the memory card."
Albert's face turned as dark as the bottom of a pot.
"No way?"
The engineer said, "Unless, unless we find the creator of the software, maybe they have a way."
Albert's temples throbbed visibly.
He leaned back in his chair, tapping the armrest with his slender fingers.
After a moment, he waved his hand, "I understand, you can leave!"
The engineer placed the memory card on Albert's desk and left with the computer.
Once the office door was closed, Albert took out his phone and made a call to his subordinate.
"Find out any recent changes in Suzy's bank account, see if there have been any large sums of money transferred out, and find out the identity and address of the other party."
He had investigated Suzy before. Suzy was just a small jewelry designer. Apart from that, there was nothing remarkable about her.
If she deliberately destroyed the contents of the memory card, then she must have spent a lot of money to hire someone else to do it.
As long as that person could be found, the contents of the memory card should be recoverable.
…
Samantha was locked up in a cell, deprived of daylight.
Apart from meeting with her lawyer, she couldn't contact anyone else.
She missed Charlotte, her grandfather, Alex, Noah, and even Ethan...
Although she didn't want to admit it.
But she really missed Ethan.
After being detained for three days, she was finally released.
When she walked out of the detention center, it felt like she had crossed into another world. The sunlight stabbed her eyes, and she couldn't help but shield them with her hand.
At that moment, a low-profile luxurious Maybach stopped by her side.
She squinted.
The driver's door opened, and the first thing that caught her eye was a pair of exquisite Italian handmade leather shoes, followed by a pair of long legs.
Then, the man she had been dreaming about for the past few days appeared in her line of sight.
At the sight of Ethan, she thought she was dreaming, rubbing her eyes vigorously.
It took her a moment to confirm that the person in front of her was real, and she wasn't dreaming.
"You, why are you here?" Her voice was hoarse, as if she hadn't spoken in a long time.
Ethan opened the passenger door, commanding sternly, "Get in the car."
Samantha was taken aback for a moment, then bent down and got into the car.
The car sped away like an arrow leaving the bow.
Samantha immediately tightened her seatbelt, her heart pounding in her throat.
Silence filled the car.
The car drove directly to the parking lot of Chelsea Creek.
Samantha didn't know what Ethan was thinking, so she sat in the car without moving.
Ethan urged impatiently, "Get out of the car!"
"Erm..." Samantha asked inexplicably, "Why did you bring me here?" She remembered that they had previously drawn a clear line between them.
Ethan, impatient, urged again, "Get out of the car." His voice carried a hint of icy coldness.
Samantha could tell he was in a bad mood and obediently opened the car door and got out.
Just as she got out, Alex and Noah ran over, embracing her legs excitedly, "Mommy, you're finally safe, we missed you so much."
The familiar faces, the sound of their voices, and the little ones she missed dearly made Samantha's eyes moisten instantly.
She squatted down and hugged the two little ones tightly.
"I missed you too..."
Hearing her words, Alex and Noah couldn't help but tear up.
***