Chapter 1414

"You never expected that, did you?" Austin was pleased with himself, feeling he could finally best her at something. "I restored the data you destroyed, and the lab is running as before—no, better than when you were there. I believe all experiments will soon succeed."

"You…" Lily wanted to call him an idiot for his self-righteous, foolish actions. On second thought, scolding him was pointless; he had recovered the data. Instead, she laughed coldly. "Then I wish you good luck."

Austin, convinced Lily was upset by his success, felt even prouder. "You have no idea I learned from a hacker for a while, do you? I could restore the data even if you destroyed the database and only smashed the hardware."

"Really?" Lily's gaze lifted, a smile playing on her lips. Austin had given her a new idea. He's right; I only destroyed the hardware. What if I hack into the database and destroy all the lab data? It seems like a good idea, doesn't it? Her gaze softened as the thought took hold.

Lily lowered her head to tend to the plant in her bag, then cleaned her hands before turning to her son. "Galen, let's go home." She clapped, but the little boy, having too much fun, scurried into a corner, bottom in the air.

"No, no—"

"No? Look how messy you've made Grandpa's place! How many strands of Grandpa's beard have you pulled? He'll lose his beard if you keep this up! You can't do that." Lily chided her son softly. Dominic subconsciously touched his beard. It's not gone yet, is it? Even Austin glanced at Dominic, noticing his usually immaculate beard appeared somewhat disheveled.

"Ahem…" Dominic cleared his throat, concealing his embarrassment. "If he'd like to play a while longer, let him. You always rush in and out, treating this place like a hotel—no, a shopping mall, where you just leave after shopping. Take a seat. What's the hurry?"

Lily turned at his words. "Then how about Galen stays here for a few days? I'll only pick him up when he wants to go home."

The boy's eyes widened; he clapped his hands. "Okay, okay!"

Dominic, however, looked terrified. "Okay, my ass!" He saw Galen's disappointment, regretted his outburst, and continued, "I mean, I don't mind him staying, but his mom will worry."

"I won't!" Lily insisted.

Dominic shot her a look. Can you not sabotage me? He added, "Then his dad will worry!"

His dad… Lily's faint smile faltered. She thought of Alexander, overseas and unreachable, and a wave of longing washed over her. "Old man…" she said quietly, "Have you heard of the pandemic in Burnwken?"

Her voice was light and casual, but Dominic, knowing her well, sensed otherwise. "Why?"