L had barely taken a couple of steps when she heard knocking behind her.


    Peeking through the peephole, she saw Teddy''s face pressed against the door, grinning mischievously.


    L chuckled and opened the door. Jamie''s head was the first to pop up. "Ms. Hart, we''re here to celebrate your new ce!"


    Behind her, Amelia peeked in as well, signaling with her eyes that she hadn''t told them about L''s situation. She then eximed, "We''re here to see Nova too!"


    Teddy stacked his head on top of theirs and said, "Quick, let me cuddle the cat." L couldn''t help butugh and opened the door wider.


    Seeing her rtively rxed expression, Amelia breathed a silent sigh of relief. A lively atmosphere would keep L from overthinking things.


    The three walked in, each carrying two bags of goodies.


    "What did you all bring?" L asked curiously.


    "It''s all stuff for Nova. Only one of Teddy''s bags is groceries," Amelia replied.


    L asked, "Groceries? Who amongst us knows how to cook?"


    "Dang it! I forgot about that."


    Teddy chimed in, "Haven''t I mentioned that I do? Jamie knows I can."


    L and Amelia shifted their surprised gazes from Teddy to Jamie.


    "Well..." Jamie hesitated. "He cooked a few times when he came to my ce."


    "How many times?" Amelia crossed her arms, looking like a strict parent ready to punish her if she didn''t tell the truth.


    Teddy quickly stepped between them. "Just three times! Let''s not talk about this anymore. Come on, let''s give Nova her gifts."


    Amelia gave a soft "tsk" but dropped the subject.


    Meanwhile, Nova, still a tiny kitten, was overwhelmed by the sudden influx of people and hid under the sofa, too frightened toe out.


    Teddy wandered around the apartment, asking, "Ms. Hart, did you buy such a big ce just for Nova?"


    Amelia whispered to L, "I told them you wanted a cat, but Uncle Kieran was allergic, so you bought this ce to keep Nova. Don''t slip up."


    L nodded with a slight smile. "Yeah, and the environment here is great-perfect for daily living."


    "You rich people are unbelievable!"


    "Don''t worry about it. You can go back and ask my mom for a ce," Amelia said while crunching on an apple. "She loves her godson so much now."


    L raised her eyebrows in surprise. She hadn''t expected Amelia''s mom to take the joke about Teddy being her godbrother seriously.


    The group bantered for a while before Teddy headed to the kitchen and Jamie went to shower.


    Amelia grabbed L, who was about to help. "Give the young ones some space. You need to learn to read the room."


    Once they were out of earshot,


    Amelia lowered her voice and asked,


    What


    your n for your parents


    case? Should I pull some strings


    with my family?"


    L fell silent. She had no good ideas.


    Even without the Morgan family protecting James, shecked sufficient evidence. And with him


    having been abroad for years,


    finding him wouldn''t be easy.


    "Don''t worry. We''ll figure it out together." Amelia patted L on the shoulder.


    The group enjoyed a cheerful meal together. After some drinks, they decided to crash at L''s ce for the night.


    The next morning, L was still asleep when she was shaken awake.


    "Ms. Hart! Ms. Hart!" Jamie nudged her shoulder, her tone anxious. "Look at this news."


    Beside her, Amelia groggily sat up. "What''s so urgent? Did you or Teddy get caught in a scandal?"


    "No. The police have announced


    they''re reopening the investigation into your parents'' car ident. And they''re inking it to the Morgan Group''s core technology leak from back then."


    "What did you say?"


    Amelia reacted faster than L, grabbing the phone to see for herself. The news article clearly read what Jamie had just said.


    She looked up at L. "The Northridge Police Station announced it at 6:00 am."


    Just then, the phone buzzed with a new notification.


    "Morgan Group President Kieran Morgan Responds to the Case From 12 Years Ago."