Chapter <b>398 </b>
Mirabe had just finished her dinner, a ssic meatloaf with a side of creamy mashed potatoes, <b>and </b>was <b>about </b>to head upstairs to tackle the stack of homework her teacher had assigned. But a buzz from her phone stopped her in her tracks – a text from Wyatt. After a moment’s thought, she didn’t head upstairs but Instead walked over to her dad, who was lounging in the living room with a freshly brewed cup of coffee. “<b>Dad</b><b>, </b>I’m stepping out for a bit to walk off dinner<b>,</b>” she said.
Her father, Shawn, looked up in mild surprise. His daughter usually retreated to her room after meals, so this sudden desire for a post–dinner stroll was out of character.
He nced regretfully at his steaming cup, thinking he could’ve joined her for a walk around the neighborhood if he hadn’t made coffee.
“Sure, sweetie, just be safe,” Shawn said with a casual wave.
“Will do,” Mirabe replied before heading out the door.
As she reached the neighboring vi’s gate, Wyatt was already waiting, eagerly swinging the gate open for her. They walked into the vi, one after the other.
“Hey, kiddo, have you had dinner?” James called out from the dining room as he spotted Mirabe. He raised an eyebrow inquisitively.
The dining room was brightly lit, casting a glow on his strikingly handsome face, which appeared even more refined and aristocratic under the soft light.
Mirabe couldn’t help but admire him for a moment before answering, “Yeah, I’ve eaten.”
“That’s a shame. I <b>was </b>hoping you’d try the chef’s new recipe,” James said, ncing at the sumptuous spread on the table.!
She shot him a <b>look </b>and said rather bluntly. “Then it doesn’t seem like you were really sincere about inviting me over for dinner.”
James‘ eyebrows arched yfully. “How about I sincerely invite you for dinner tomorrow evening? Would
that work<b>?</b><b>” </b>
Mirabe waved it off as she walked towards the living room. “Nah, I’m swamped<b>.</b>”
A smirk tugged at James‘ lips as he watched her settle onto the couch with easy grace. Shaking his head with amusement, he pulled out a chair and sat down to eat in peaceful silence.
Once seated, Mirabe pulled out her phone and opened a game, ready to dive into a team battle, but a notification from Messenger popped up. She tapped it open.
LIN: [Mirabe, Leo said that some medicine you gave him totally fixed him up?]
Ever the research fanatic, Nick couldn’t shake off the words his brother had mentioned during theirst call. So he decided to get straight to the point <b>and </b>messaged his sister directly.
Mirabe pondered for a couple of seconds before slowly typing back. [Leo wasn’t that sick to begin with. He just had a hard–to–detect poisoning.]
Nick was even more surprised, [Poisoning? I didn’t detect any poison when I examined him before. How could he have been poisoned?]
After a pause, he typed another message. [Was it a reaction to the medicines?]
If the toxin from Sce Stem was that easy to detect, it <b>wouldn’t </b><b>be </b>known as a high–grade poison. Mirabe, of course, wasn’t going to spill the beans <b>and </b>simply replied. [Not really, maybe Leo just had
some <b>bad </b>luck with a backstabber.]
Wyatt brought over a ss of water <i>for </i>Mirabe, and she looked up to thank him before diving back into her messaging<b>. </b>
Wyatt couldn’t help but nce at her phone screen, noticing she was deeply engrossed in her conversation <b>on </b>Messenger. Touching his nose thoughtfully, he walked away.
Curtis sat with aptop perched on his knees and a headset on, asionally speaking into the mic.
Wyatt leaned against a nearby cab and asked, “Curtis, do you think you, as aputer hacker, could hack into someone’s phone to see what they’re chatting about?”
Curtis lifted one side of his headset and looked at Wyatt. “What did you say?”