You're Out, Daddy novel (Natasha and Kenneth)

After laying Anthony on the bed, Kenneth pulled over the quilt to cover the former.

Anthony lay neatly on the bed, his palm-sized face looking soft and rosy. At times, others might even mistake him for a girl.

Anthony's appearance was undoubtedly a complete inheritance of all Kenneth's features.

Looking at him, Kenneth felt as if he was seeing his own childhood self. He reached out, almost instinctively wanting to stroke his son's hair. Anthony was sleeping deeply. Upon closer inspection of his long eyelashes, there were tear stains on his face, evidence of recent crying. Seeing this, Kenneth's gaze instantly darkened, his hand stopping mid-air.

Kenneth simply watched him for an indeterminate amount of time. Eventually, he withdrew his hand, lowered his gaze, and turned to leave the room.

Only after the door had closed and the room had fallen into complete silence did the person lying on the bed slowly open his eyes.

Anthony's gaze shifted toward the door, his eyes filled with complexity and conflict.

In fact, from the moment Dave carried Anthony into the living room, the latter had already woken up. Of course, he had heard their conversation, too. It was just that his feelings were quite complicated at the moment, and he genuinely didn't know how to face them, so he simply pretended to be asleep.

Looking at the entrance, Anthony's mind was filled with their conversations and the way Kenneth had looked at him just now. Even though he hadn't seen it, he could still feel it.

At that moment, his eyes expressed an indescribable melancholy.

When Kenneth walked into the study, Dave was already there, sitting and drinking wine.

Seeing that Kenneth had entered the room, Dave raised his eyebrows slightly and asked, "Care for a drink?"

Kenneth didn't say a word. He just walked over, picked up Dave's glass, and drank it.

Dave looked at him, seemingly perceiving his anger. Without a word, he picked up another glass and poured some more.

"What's wrong?" Dave asked.

Kenneth was a man of great self-control. A single drink was enough for him to vent his feelings. He quickly composed himself and then looked up at Dave. "What do you need from me?" Dave said, "I think we might have to bring forward our plans!"

"Huh?" Kenneth squinted, then looked at him. "Although I'd like that too, I'm curious why."

Dave took out something that resembled a strip of paper and placed it on the table, sliding it toward him.

"What?" asked Kenneth.

"Take a look," Dave said.

Kenneth picked it up and examined it closely, then narrowed his eyes. "Is this a number?"

Dave was pouring a drink when he heard his words and couldn't help but laugh. "Kenneth, even a fool can tell it's a number!"

Unperturbed, Kenneth glanced at him once before turning his attention back to the string of numbers. After a long pause, he asked, "Time?"

Dave paused at his actions, turning back to look at Kenneth. At first, there was surprise, but it soon gave way to calmness. Indeed, this is the Kenneth I know.

Dave held the glass and gently swirled it in his hand.

"Why have you gone silent?" Kenneth asked him. "Was I right?"

Dave nodded. "That's right." With that, he walked around the table and sat across from Kenneth. "This number is from a person at DX Group. The entire dark web system spent an entire afternoon analyzing it. It's a time!"

Kenneth narrowed his eyes. "So, what exactly are you trying to say?"

"This is what I was talking about today. Anthony helped me out," Dave said.

Kenneth casually placed the note on the table, picked up the red wine in front of him, and said, "Continue!"

"This is a set of numbers from the dark web... No. To be precise, it's a set of numbers someone deliberately placed on the dark web. If it reaches the time indicated here, it will start to automatically delete some important things from the inside. When that happens, it's easy for outsiders to break in. If it's attacked by a skilled hacker, then the entire dark web system and DX Group's financial system will have problems. What do you think will happen then?" Dave asked him in a low voice.

"You're suggesting someone deliberately put it there?" Kenneth asked.

Dave nodded and answered, "That's right. If we hadn't agreed to let Anthony use the dark web today, we probably wouldn't have discovered this issue. So, we should thank him!"

Kenneth listened, his brows slightly furrowed. "So what?"

"This matter was orchestrated by Vermillion Base behind the scenes, back when you guys hadn't arrived last month."

A grim look appeared in Kenneth's dark eyes when he heard that. "Are you suggesting that they've been targeting DX Group for a while now?"

"That's right," Dave replied. He then enunciated, "So, as I've been saying, this isn't just about you anymore. You don't need to constantly feel burdened by me because if I don't take action, they will be the ones to strike first!"

Kenneth looked at him, wanting to say something, but his deep, dark eyes were filled with complexity.

"I'm not trying to get you to do something. If you don't believe me, you can ask Anthony. He's the one who discovered the issue. He was involved throughout!" Dave said.

Kenneth composed his thoughts and stared fixedly at Dave. "I'm not doubting you. I'm just wondering why they would set it at this particular time? Why not earlier, or a bit later?"

Dave looked at him. "Your question is also something I've been trying to understand, but the question itself isn't important. What's important is how to solve it. As long as we catch Boss, everything will become clear!"

Kenneth lifted his gaze to look at him.

"Kenneth, Boss must be taken down!" Dave said to him, emphasizing each word.

Just as Dave said, the problem itself isn't what matters. What's crucial is how to eradicate this issue from its roots. Narrowing his eyes, Kenneth looked at Dave and asked, "So, what do you want to do?"

"The time indicates we have three days. This is only what has been discovered. As for what hasn't been discovered, I'm not sure. If we can bring forward the plan, even if something unpredictable happens, we I will still hold absolute power!"

Kenneth nodded when he heard that. "All right!"

"So, you're agreeing, then?"

"Why wouldn't I agree if it means Nat can suffer one less day of pain by starting a day earlier?" Kenneth queried.

When Kenneth recalled the tear stains he saw on Anthony's face, the former realized something. We always thought we were stronger than we imagined. Now, I know we aren't that strong. We were just pretending to be strong. Nat has already suffered enough. I can't let the kids endure the same pain.

With that thought in mind, Kenneth's gaze became incredibly resolute. "Since we're doing it earlier, why don't we start tomorrow night?"

Dave looked at him and nodded. "Sure!"

The two reached an agreement. Kenneth raised his glass, his eyes unfathomably deep and resolute. "In that case, let's toast in advance to our resounding victory!"

Dave also raised his glass. "Cheers."

The sound of clinking glass echoed in the room as the two individuals gazed at each other firmly. This time around, we fight to protect.