The CEO's Mischievous Little Bride

The whole family was huddled in the living room around Theodore. "Vera, what's up with Theodore? Why's he upset again?" Vera glanced at Theodore in her arms, clearly not a happy camper.

"Well, when I was changing his diaper, I gave his little butt a wash. Look at him, all grumpy. He doesn't even get how dirty and smelly it was. I swear, he's gonna have a temper just like his dad," Vera grumbled. Theodore turned his face away, not wanting to look at Vera.

Shawn, acting like Theodore could understand him, started lecturing, "Teddy, we gotta be a sweet-smelling baby, not a stinky one."

Randall chimed in, "Shawn, you really think he gets what you're saying?"

Shawn raised his cane, ready to swat Randall. Randall, being no stranger to this, dodged to the side as soon as the cane went up.

Susan, on the other hand, was used to Randall's cheeky remarks and the occasional swat. In her mind, as long as Randall wasn't getting whacked by Patrick, she wasn't too worried.

Cindy just felt annoyed looking at Theodore. She couldn't figure out why Patrick wanted to keep him around.

The lively living room went quiet when they heard an engine shutting off in the front yard.

Everyone turned to look at Vera, knowing that sound meant Patrick's car had arrived.

Vera, more familiar with the sound of Patrick's car than anyone else, also fell silent.

After a bit, Patrick pushed open the living room door with one hand. He stepped in, changed his shoes at the entrance, and saw the whole family staring at him. "What's going on?" Patrick asked, confused.

Theodore, hearing Patrick's voice, immediately turned his head, looking around for him.

In Vera's arms, Theodore started making noises to get Patrick's attention.

Patrick, wearing a dark trench coat, looked stern and unapproachable.

But hearing Theodore's calls and seeing Vera's back, he couldn't help but smile. He took off his black trench coat, hung it up, and walked into the living room. He sat next to Vera, looking at Theodore, who was squirming to find him. He bent down and took the soft, boneless Theodore from Vera's arms. Theodore turned his face, looking at Patrick, who he had missed all day. His little face was soft and tender, and lying in Patrick's arms, he was finally happy. "Randall, how's it going?" Patrick asked.

Randall, suddenly put on the spot, answered, "I've already started."

Vera asked, "Honey, what did you ask Randall to do?"

Randall explained, "Patrick asked Susan's friend to help check something a couple of days ago and made me the middleman to contact him."

Vera, sometimes quick on the uptake, said, "Susan's hacker friend, right? Did he agree so quickly?"

Randall nodded, not saying more.

He suddenly realized he had messed up earlier. The Dark Web wasn't something any hacker could just hack into. If it were an insignificant person asking, the hacker would most likely refuse, or at least take a few days to decide. But just now, after only a day, he had said Susan's 'friend' had already started.

Sure enough, Patrick asked, "How did you convince him?"

Randall swallowed and tried to come up with an excuse, "Well..."

"Patrick, I convinced him. He has a crush on me, so he'll do anything I ask," Susan interjected.