After Curtis escorted Leanne out, Maddox called in his executive assistant, who had worked for over two decades. Seasoned in reading his boss' moods, the assistant reported the tour he'd given Leanne. When Maddox raised an eyebrow upon hearing Leanne had inquired about the banking system, his assistant pondered before speaking. "I think Mrs. Richardson was just curious. It wasn't like she made a beeline for our IT department. She visited that floor and ran into Farrell, who, bless his heart, can't help but run his mouth."
After a long silence, Maddox's voice was neutral, betraying no emotion. "Give Farrell a paid leave."
When Leanne called Farrell, she was told he was on vacation, traveling abroad.
Despite the risk of seeking him out, it seemed her only option. Farrell appeared both savvy and not. And a few drinks might loosen his tongue.
But even that slim lead had vanished.
Leanne wasn't sure if it was coincidence or Maddox's keen intuition that had nipped her plan in the bud. Her schemes seemed transparent to the seasoned businessman.
The information that had eluded the police seemed more out of reach for Leanne alone.
Her only hope was to dig into anything related to Joseph and the information system he developed for Vector Vista Bank.
Two decades ago, the internet wasn't what it is now. Almost everything online about Joseph was related to his kidnapping case from those years.
After days of fruitless searching, Leanne stumbled upon an outdated piece of news about an upgrade to the VectorVista Bank system on a seedy website bombarded with pop-up ads.
The website was a mess, but she gleaned that the upgrade boasted enhanced security features and mentioned a technical consultant, Chuck, who had been a significant figure in the original development
team.
He might have worked under her father if he had worked on the system.
As Leanne sensed a breakthrough and tried to exit the site to look up Chuck, the website redirected her, and suddenly, her computer blared with a woman's sultry voice. Startled, Leanne frantically clicked to close the page.
Just as the bizarre noises ceased, she heard a voice behind her. "Bad timing?"
Turning around, she saw Curtis standing in the doorway.
Having returned home to find Leanne missing, Curtis heard from Laura that Leanne was in the study. Loosening his tie, he hadn't expected to walk in on such a scene.
His gaze lingered meaningfully on the computer screen before settling on Leanne's flustered face. "Quite the student," he remarked in a tone that was mockingly approving. "Not satisfied with my lessons, so you're taking extra classes online?"
Leanne's initial panic eased into embarrassment under his teasing, her face flushing red. "That just popped up. I wasn't watching it."
"There's no harm in watching."
Curtis stepped closer, leaning down to encircle her in his arms, his voice suggestively close to her ear. "Shall we watch together?"
Feeling her ears heat up, Leanne pushed him away. "You watch it by yourself."
Unoffended by her push, Curtis teased further. "After I'm done, should I teach you personally?"
As Leanne, flustered, moved to leave, Curtis gently pulled her back, his laughter low. "Laura made you chamomile tea with honey. Go have some. You've been having trouble sleeping."
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