A Journey from Bitterness to Truth (Matilda and Yvan) novel Chapter 325

Matilda was downright flabbergasted. It reminded her of an episode from "The Big Bang Theory," where a duo of nerdy scientists rigged up a bunch of programs, sent out a command that bounced off satellites around the globe, and managed to control a floor lamp in their house. From that point on, they could just type a code into their computer and control any electronic device in their house. Despite the signal taking a round trip around the planet, it all happened in the blink of an eye—a few seconds, to be precise.

Who would have thought Matilda would one day pull off the same trick?

Meanwhile, in another city, Yvan was lounging at home, looking every bit the genteel scholar behind his glasses. It was hard to imagine someone of his refined appearance could turn so vicious in Matilda's presence. His fingers danced over a static-charged keyboard, tapping out a rapid symphony until, with a decisive strike of the Enter key, he let out a sigh of relief and ambled over to his fridge to grab a can of Coke.

Yvan hadn't been home tonight, preferring the solitude of his own villa, a retreat from the bustling household due to some pressing business matters. His phone buzzed—a new email from Carl. Cracking open his Coke, Yvan returned to his computer, swapping screens to send Carl a video call request. Carl popped up on the screen, but before Yvan could see his face, he was greeted with the rustling sound of instant noodles.

Carl, slurping a steaming bowl of spicy beef noodles right into the webcam, greeted, "Hey, Mr. Boyd."

The spicy aroma seemed to waft through the screen. Yvan, pushing his glasses up his nose, couldn't help but roll his eyes, "Finish your food, then we'll talk."

"Come on, Mr. Boyd." Carl sucked in a spicy strand, "I've been digging into those foreign IP addresses, got no time to eat, you know?" Carl was always all-in when it came to Matilda.

Sometimes Yvan wondered if Carl stuck around just for Matilda's sake.

"So, what's the scoop?"

"Both numbers trace back to the same source."

Carl glanced at Yvan and continued, "And about Ella being tormented like that, I don't think it's Matilda's revenge. You got that text while Matilda had an alibi." Frankly, Carl couldn't imagine Matilda resorting to such measures. She was too proud for such lowly tactics.

"So, you're saying someone overseas is targeting Ella?"

"That's right." Carl adjusted his thick glasses, "And this person, they know everything about you and Matilda."

Know everything?

"How else would they know exactly when Ella got caught by you? You only learned about Ella's guilt through Logan's recording, which led you to capture her. So, how could someone overseas be clued in?"

"This mystery person must have insiders, keeping tabs on our every move."

Yvan pondered, "Who could it be? Friend or foe?"

"So far, they haven't made any moves against us. It seems their only motive is revenge. So, we need to figure out—what's the nature of this revenge? And why?"

For some reason, Yvan's thoughts drifted back five years.