<b>Chapter </b><b>169 </b>


    It all started to make sense. In the small town of Dasmieca, besides the Jennings family, the only person who seemed to hold a grudge garest <b>Briar </b>s Hayden.


    ‘She furrowed her brow in thought, wondering, “But… did I even do anything to Hayden?


    ‘The only thing I can think of is that I was with Ashton the day Hayden got hurt. If he really couldn’t get over that embarrassment and wanted revenge, wouldn’t he go after Ashton instead?


    ‘So why did he go to the Hacker Alliance and put a hit out on me? What kind of twisted thinking is that?


    ‘Tsk, tsk.


    It looks like the people backing Hayden are just as shady as he is.’


    Her expression shifted as her fingers flew over the keyboard, bringing up the Hayden family’s file on her screen.


    But the more she investigated, the more confused she became.


    The entire file seemed suspicious, especially the records from the years preceding their departure for Qathana. There was so rouch information that had been deliberately erased.


    Strangely, those were the same years when her mother disappeared, went into a downward spiral, and ended up in a mental hospital.


    Briar didn’t believe in coincidences. For her, coincidences were simply illusions crafted to mislead others.


    She was determined to uncover the truth about her mother.


    She thought, ‘Could the Garza family be connected to my mom’s mental breakdown and her tragic end?


    ‘It seems like finding Sawyer isn’t enough. I need to dive into Hayden’s background as well and uncover what secrets his family is hiding.”


    Briar closed herptop and nestled under the nkets, her mind racing with thoughts. After some time, she picked up her phone and dialed Ashton.


    “Briar.” The call barely rang twice before Ashton answered. Hearing his familiar, calming voice instantly eased her restless mind.


    “Ashton, are you free tonight? I’d like to take you out for dinner,” Briar told him. She couldn’t exin that he’d helped her get through a challenging situation with a dangerous group, so she kept it vague.


    Ashton sounded a bit surprised, as he hadn’t expected her to call just for dinner. “Of course! Anytime you ask, I’ll always make time for you,” he replied.


    Briar responded, “Great! I’lle pick you up tonight, okay?”


    Ashton confirmed, “Sure, I’ll be waiting.”


    As one of the wealthiest men in Shoneport, Ashton rarely dined at ces he wasn’t familiar with, as he owned numerous businesses.


    Despite holding a high status in the city, there were always people looking to take advantage of him. Wherever he went, he had bodyguards by his side.


    One of them, Brandon, was quite skilled and protective.


    Additionally, Ashton was known for his fighting/abilities, and rumor had it he was perfect.


    Given the unrest in Shoneporttely, Briar chose a popr local restaurant that turned out to be one of Ashton’s businesses.


    Just then, a voice called out, “Briar, you home?”


    Downstairs, someone was banging on her doorbell loudly, shouting as if they thought she couldn’t hear.


    Briar immediately recognized that it wasn. She jumped out of bed, got changed, and went to open the door as she grumbled, “You better have a good reason for visiting me.”


    As soon as Briar opened the door,n rushed in like he was escaping a fire and pulled Briar in with him. He quickly mmed the door shut, making a loud noise.


    Confused by his actions, Briar stumbled onto the couch whilen crashed onto the other sofa, trying to catch his breath. “What happened? is someons after you?” she asked anxiously.


    now.”


    Briar’s face turned serious as she asked, “Did Sawyer see you?”


    For thest couple of days,n had been watching Sawyer, the doctor at Shoneport University. They not only shared simr names but also had simr skills.


    The first timen tried to spy on Sawyer, he almost got caught. Having lived a dangerous life filled with risky jobs for years, he had learned many tricks to stay out of trouble.


    But his presence had still made Sawyer suspicious.


    After his friends at the DDC Vanguard Base found out what happened, they couldn’t help but teasen, which only angered him more.


    Briar had urged him to take a break from spying, butn wouldn’t listen. Now that his friends wereughing at him, he was determined to keep going.


    She sighed internally, thinking, ‘Seriously? It’s only been a day, and he’s already gotten himself into trouble again?‘


    Then heunched into the whole story of how he was spotted and how he managed to make his escape.


    He shared, “Briar, there’s definitely something seriously wrong with Sawyer. Didn’t you say that when those two Shoneport University students were found dead, all their organs had been ripped out?


    “Turns out, Sawyer and his crew have a secret human dissectionb. On the surface, they’ve got all these organ models on disy, but a few of those rooms are actually set up for live dissections.


    “Briar, you didn’t see it with your own eyes, but I did! I saw people getting their bellies sliced open; there were guts everywhere. It was gruesome!”


    Jan grew increasingly agitated, his anger boiling over. Briar didn’t even have to guess. “So, you blew your cover and jumped in, huh?”


    Briar let out a sigh, stood up, and grabbed her phone as she made her way to the door. She said, “They’re going to try to move thatb quickly. Come on, let’s go stop them.”


    “Okay,”n nodded, following her closely. “Briar, are you about to call Ashton?”


    Briar nodded in response and was just about to dial whenn added, “There’s no need to, I already called him. Ashton’s people should have Sawyer and his team cornered in theb by now.”


    Briar gave him a surprised look, then said, “Good job.”


    <b>10:51 </b><b>Tue</b><b>, </b><b>19 </b><b>Aug </b><b>? </b>


    Briar’s mouth twitched in amusement as she asked, “You think calling Ashton out of the blue won’t make him suspicious?


    “I just told him I happened to find out by chance,”n replied, looking taken aback.


    He added, “Seriously? Is Ashtoh really that sharp? I’m just a nice, somewhat shy regr guy–why would he even suspect me?”


    Briar stared at him in silence.


    ‘A kind and timid man? And a regr guy, is he being serious?‘ she thought.


    “Do you even believe that yourself?” Briar retorted, not buying it for a second.


    Just then, Briar’s phone rang. She nced at the screen and saw that it was Ashton who was calling. Both she andn went silent. <pn stammered, “Are you serious? He’s already onto me?”