Don't Mess with the Girl with Candy novel Chapter 1088

The moment Juniper and Shanley stepped through the reinforced doors of the Cybernetic Shadows base, every single hacker in the room shot to their feet in absolute unison.

"Ms. Payne."

"Boss."

"At ease," Shanley replied smoothly. He slipped Juniper's jacket off her shoulders, adjusted the ergonomic settings on a premium gaming chair, and murmured softly, "Have a seat."

"Thanks." Juniper didn't even bother looking behind her, trusting him completely as she sank into the plush leather.

Within seconds, a subordinate hurried over, carrying a tray loaded with premium fruits and artisanal snacks—all exactly to Juniper's specific tastes.

She blinked, glancing at the spread in surprise. The hacker quickly chimed in, "Since the boss mentioned you'd be visiting frequently, Ms. Payne, we made sure to stock up on all your favorites."

"Even this chair was specially ordered precisely to the boss's specifications."

"Is that so?" Juniper tilted her head, looking up at Shanley. The man was already looking down at her, a ridiculously smug, handsome smile plastered across his face.

His expression practically screamed: *Just admit it, you're entirely obsessed with me.*

"Well, thank you, Mr. Schwartz." Juniper offered him a playful wink.

"You're very welcome, Mrs. Schwartz." Shanley fired back a devastatingly victorious grin.

He really loved pushing his luck.

Juniper snorted softly but didn't correct him. Shifting gears, her tone turned strictly business. "Any news on my parents?"

"Nothing solid yet, unfortunately." The hacker answered with utter reverence. "Whoever wiped their files did an incredibly thorough job. We haven't been able to recover anything actionable in our domestic sweeps."

Juniper listened in silence for a few seconds before looking up. "Have you expanded the search internationally?"

The hacker froze, realizing their massive oversight. They had poured all their resources into scanning domestic intelligence networks. Was it possible the answers lay overseas?

"Understood, Ms. Payne," the hacker quickly nodded. "Rest assured, we will aggressively expand the investigation."

"Good." Juniper swallowed her disappointment, quickly reigning in her emotions. "What about the photo I gave you? Have you managed to restore it?"

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