The man in the black hoodie was in charge of carrying out the Smiths’ shady dealings. He led a small team that consisted of a few people.
The Smiths provided for him while he took care of things for them at critical moments.
His name was Quentin Smith, and he was a member of the Smith family.
He had never failed in any of the various tasks that he had undertaken so far and was basically very reliable.
Although Ian’s request was a simple one, Joel had always regarded him as someone who was even more important than his father. Thus, he had tasked Quentin with the mission despite it being just a simple one.
He’d originally thought that it would be done in just a few hours, but unexpectedly, a whole day had already passed, yet he hadn’t received any news yet. Suspecting that Quentin had forgotten to inform him after he completed the task, he specially summoned him back to ask him about it.
Quentin’s head was lowered, and his entire face was buried in darkness. His voice was low as he replied, “Sorry, I haven’t gotten it yet.”
Joel was a little surprised.
He didn’t quite understand. There were many ways to retrieve a person’s DNA sample.
For example, there might be saliva on the target’s cutlery during meals, or they could also catch the target off-guard and pluck a few strands of hair from her head. If all else failed, they could also retrieve some skin tissue…
Quentin was a ruthless man. Surely his heart didn’t soften just because his target was a beauty, right?
Joel frowned. He was about to ask when Quentin scratched his head. He looked a little pained as he said, “I have never seen a woman who’s such a shut-in like her.”
Quentin looked at Joel. He sounded aggrieved as he said, “I’ve been watching her for a day and a night. During this time, she ate a meal and slept for 24 hours! She always washes the dishes immediately after she eats. I can hardly even find her fingerprints in the Andersons’, let alone retrieve her DNA sample!”
An indignant Quentin went on. “Her water glass is placed right on her bedside table, right? Surely there will be saliva on it, right? But no, there isn’t! She cleans the glass even if she only takes a single sip. Is she really a woman?”
It was only when Quentin looked up that Joel finally noticed the dark circles under his eyes. He obviously hadn’t slept a wink for 24 hours, but in spite of that, he said exceptionally energetically, “Don’t worry, I will continue to watch her even if I don’t eat or drink. I don’t believe she can coop herself up at home for a whole month.”
“… Did you sneak into the Andersons’?” asked Joel.
“Yeah, I did.” Quentin nodded.
Joel frowned. “Did they discover you?”
He just wanted a DNA test done secretly. He didn’t want to make enemies with the Andersons.
Quentin shook his head. “I’m confident enough in that, at least. My footsteps are light, and I bring my equipment wherever I go. There won’t be any traces left behind.”
Joel nodded. Then, he turned and started to walk out of the room.
“Where are you going?” asked Quentin.
“To send my daughter to school.”
—
At the Andersons’.
Nora stretched after she woke up. Then, she shuffled out of her bedroom leisurely. When she was exiting the room, her eyes flickered a little and she looked at the door.
As expected, the strand of hair that she had attached to the door before she went to bed had fallen off.
From the looks of it, she wasn’t imagining things when she sensed someone sneaking into her room while she was asleep the night before.
Nora took a walk around the entire house, but she didn’t find anything missing in the house. The only things that had been touched were her glass of water and the trash can in the toilet.
Tsk.
What a disgusting thief!
Nora shook her head. At the same time, she also became wary. It seemed that her mother was indeed right!
She was already staying so low-profile, yet people were setting their sights on her. Life was simply too dangerous!
If she died and turned to ashes, would she be free of disturbances forevermore?
Nora shook her head and abandoned the thought. Then, she led Pete out of the house and sent him to school.
On the way, Tanya asked, “Has hell frozen over today, Nora? Even though I’m at home, you actually took the initiative to take us to school! And you even woke up early in the morning!”
“… Oh, I’m going to the New York University School of Medicine for a preoperative medical consultation later, so I need the car. It just so happens that the school is on the way.”
Tanya, “…”
The corners of her lips spasmed and she held Pete as she cried out, “Look at your Mommy, Cherry! She practically has no self-awareness at all! Even though she woke up so early, it isn’t for our sakes at all!”
Pete was silent for a moment before he replied, “… God-mom, why must you humiliate yourself by asking something like that?”
Tanya, “???”
She took a long while before she finally realized what Pete meant. After that, she coughed and remarked, “That does seem to be the case, huh!”
“…”
Pete heaved a silent sigh. He suddenly asked, “Will Mia be in school today?”
A dejected look appeared on Tanya’s face at the mention of the name. She shook her head and replied, “I don’t know.”
Pete couldn’t help but ask, “Can you give them a call and ask about it?”
Tanya’s jaw tensed up and she replied, “Let’s talk about it the next time instead.”
After sending the pair to the kindergarten, Nora then drove to the New York University School of Medicine. The child’s brain operation was a classic case of conditions like his, so a lot of people had come to attend the meeting, including all the teachers and directors from the neurosurgery department.
She parked the car outside the conference room. She was about to go upstairs when she happened to see Tina.
With a small notebook in her hand, Tina’s back was straightened, and she was about to head upstairs.
She was extremely happy today.
Although she hadn’t managed to make Nora get her just desserts during the live-stream, there was, after all, an old but true saying—those who encountered frustrations in love, flourished in their careers!
She had finally ushered in a new lease of life in her career—
Her request to prepare for the operation together with Anti and Director Shaw had been approved!
Although Anti had also performed an operation when Tina was helping to take care of the elderly Mrs. Hunt the other time, she had brought her own team, so Tina hadn’t been authorized to enter the operating room at all.
She had wanted to observe the operation and learn from it that time, but Justin hadn’t agreed to it.
But now, her chance was finally here again!
In addition, she had also obtained the right to personally participate in the operation herself!
In other words, she could assist Anti in the operation now! Even if all she did was just a simple suture, having it known to everyone would still elevate her position in the medical field.
However, while she was walking, she suddenly caught a glimpse of a certain loathsome person.
Tina stopped in her tracks. Sure enough, she saw a sloppy figure walking over leisurely from the car park—it was none other than Nora.
She broke into a frown and walked to the conference room. However, after she took a few steps, she realized that Nora had actually also come over. The two of them were even right at the entrance of the conference room.
Seeing that she was about to enter, Tina immediately asked, “What are you doing here?”
Nora glanced at her but didn’t say anything. Tina, however, suddenly stretched out her arm and stopped her. She said, “Sorry, but we have an important meeting with Director Shaw today. If you’re here for Director Shaw, I’d advise you to go to his office and wait over there. This isn’t a place that unrelated personnel can enter so casually!”
Nora, “?”
The half-amused woman looked at Tina, finding her awfully laughable. “Unrelated personnel?” She asked.
Tina nodded and looked at her. She said, “Ms. Smith, I’d advise you not to be so greedy and insatiable. You were already very lucky to be able to enter Anti’s operating room because of Mr. Hunt the last time. Are you going to follow us into the operating room to observe again this time? You can’t just have a single person hogging all the good things, right?”