From Julian's words, Joanna could tell that Moran Group was in trouble this time. Ace had gone missing at such a critical moment, and his fate was unknown. Even if Ace were alive, he would probably be in a difficult situation.
Even so, what did it have to do with her?
The rise and fall of an empire was normal. Besides, Moran Group was the industry leader for many years. It was only normal for Moran Group to decline after so long.
Even if she promised Julian to run the business in Ace's stead, she could not restore the declining business.
However, Joanna was curious to know who had the guts to plot against the heir to the Moran family twice in a row. As she thought of that, she opened her laptop and looked for information about Dylan's murder years ago.
Unfortunately, there was very little information about Dylan on the internet. There was almost nothing.
Joanna thought the Moran family might have specifically restricted public information to keep Dylan's death from the public eye.
Dylan's case happened five years ago and took place in Newrest.
Joanna thought the local police might have a detailed case record, so she planned to hack into the local police's records.
The Newrest police file system was notoriously complex and used the most primitive binary key code, which was Joanna's weakness.
Years ago, Joanna lost to Vernom in a global hacking competition because of this oversight. Vernom happened to be an expert in this area.
Joanna wondered if she had to ask for Vernom's help again. However, it was not fun to engage with Vernom. Vernom had been very quiet lately and did not bother her. Approaching Vernom at this time was just asking for trouble!
After thinking about it, Joanna decided to take matters into her own hands. She wanted to try and hack into the system herself.
Joanna tapped her fingers on the keyboard and tried breaking in multiple times but failed each time. At last, her numerous attempts had alerted the local police, and they were targeting her IP address.
-Sh*t!"
Joanna had to quit first just to be safe. She decided to forget about it. After all, these had nothing to do with her. It was not worth wasting her time.
If she had the time, she might as well check on Adie's whereabouts. She wondered how Clara was doing and whether Willian got rescued. If William survived, would he tell them where Adie was?
Joanna became worried about Adie's situation again.
At the same time, the doorbell rang.
"Who's here at this time of the night?"
Joanna shut her laptop impatiently and went to the door
Joanna opened the door and was overjoyed to see who had arrived at her doorsteps. It was none other than Adie!
'Mommy, it's been a long time. I miss you so much! Hug me!"
The handsome little Adie opened his arms towards Joanna calmly. He was neat and clean. He seemed save and did not fall into the wrong hands earlier.
Adie's arrival took Joanna by surprise, but soon anger filled her. She crossed her arms and began to lecture Adie with a stern face. ' Adie. Did you have a lot of fun before coming to me?"
"I was only away from Sun Island for a short moment. How dare you? Do you think we won't be worried? Are you trying to make me angry?"
"Hey, Mommy. Calm down. I'm back now…"
Little Adie shrugged indifferently. He expertly jumped into Joanna's arms and put on the most innocent and cute look on his face. He looked at Joanna with his big, shiny eyes and blinked adorably. "Mommy, you know me well. What's there to worry about? You're getting too worked up… But I know that's because you love me too much. Mommy is the best. You're the best in the world. I love you the most!"
Adie knew Joanna well, after all. He knew Joanna was soft-hearted and easy to persuade. Whenever he got into trouble, he would sweet talk and act adorably to have her forgiveness. However, it was not so easy to fool Joanna this time.
Joanna resisted the urge to pinch little Adie's chubby little face. She said sternly, "Aiden Pierce, stop giving me that face. I wont fall for it. So tell me honestly. What are you planning to do with all this commotion?"
Acting cute did not work this time. Seeing that, Adie stopped pretending and reverted to his usual cold and arrogant look. He explained, "Well, I was worried about you. I'm afraid you might get hurt in the City alone, so I'm here to protect you!'
Joanna was lost for words. She held her palm to her forehead and felt an immense headache. Just listen to that. Had a four-year-old child really said that?
There were many times when Joanna felt that Adie was the better version of her and Ace. Adie was only a young child, but he was not easy to deal with. Joanna frequently lost to Adie in their long battle of wits!
"You're just a child. Staying safe is the greatest protection for you. How could you leave Sun Island without a word? You had no adult to accompany you. If you run into thugs, who'll save you? You're so small.
Anyone could easily capture you and kidnap you!"
'No way." Adie was full of confidence. "I'm smart. Thugs only rely on brute force. Those who try to hurt me are already with the police. Mommy, it's not the first time. You should know that."
Joanna fell silent. Adie had such a good point and left her speechless.
'Mommy, don't be so worried! I came to protect you. You shouldn't be angry. Instead, you should reward me well!" Adie proposed in a logical and unhurried manner.
"Reward you?"
Joanna was pissed off and laughed. Adie was indeed amazing. He could easily trick her with his logical explanation. It was as if staying angry was simply unreasonable.
Joanna responded to Adie with a kind smile. She said gently, "You want a reward, right? Be a good boy and wait for me. I'll get it for you now!"
Adie instantly let out a sigh of relief. He nodded with a bright smile, "Okay, Mommy. I know you're the best and most understanding Mommy.'
Shortly after, Joanna took out a ruler. She raised her eyebrows and snapped at Adie, "Get down on your knees and hold out your hands!"