The tracking process wasn't easy. Though she was once in the military, it took more than she expected to track him down.
Eventually, they had to rely on a tracking chip to lead them to who planned the explosion, and they did find out.
"So who is it?" Liam asked, standing beside Sera, who was operating the laptop like she knew backend coding.
"From the signals and continuous movements of Carl, I can boldly say he's working for whoever owns this company," she said, pointing at a building he recognized.
"Maddox Industries," he said slowly, feigning an angry expression. "I know who's behind this, and I know how to send him a warning."
"Who is it? Seems like they're someone close, from your reaction," she said, turning the chair toward him.
"It's a friend I thought wouldn't notice I was still alive," he said, briefly sitting down on the stool opposite where she sat.
"What do you mean, he wouldn't notice you were still alive? Are you supposed to be dead or something?" she asked intently, looking at his expression to decipher whether he would lie or tell the truth.
"It's complicated, and it's not what I'm paying you for," he answered, folding his palms together.
"Right," she sighed.
"I need you to do a little something for me," he requested, slowly looking up to meet her smiling expression. "You seem excited, though I haven't said anything yet."
"I just love anything that makes my adrenaline rise," she smirked, briefly sitting up to listen to his request.
He smiled, then continued, "I want you to sabotage one of his deals—fake a document or anything you can."
"And what's in it for me, in case I get caught?" she asked.
"So you're sloppy then?" he responded, giving off a faint smirk.
"Not what I meant, a**hole," she smiled. "Mistakes happen, and I could get caught. So what's in it for me if that happens?" she said.
"Well, obviously, I would bail you out, and you get a thousand dollars if this works out fine without any complications," he said, staring at her for a response.
"Fine then. Just do well to keep your own end of the bargain, or I know how to deal with you if you don't," she responded, standing up and walking out the door.
"Smart lady. I'm glad I hired her," he said briefly as she shut the door, then he followed suit.
■■■■■■■■■
One week had passed, and the bakery was all ready for reopening again.
Though the crowd was not as much as the first reopening, there were enough people to draw attention from passersby.
"I'm so sorry for the inconvenience I caused you all," Mia said, standing strictly, staring at everyone.
"I will do my very best to ensure it doesn't occur under my guidance again," she said, before turning to the door and opening it.
"Please patronize me as I serve you my very best," she said, then stepped aside for everyone to enter.
The enthusiasm was less than last time, but people were still happy about the reopening, and so there were sales like the first reopening.
Mia smiled at Liam as he walked into the bakery. "Good to see you here, Liam."
"Why wouldn't I be? It's the grand opening of the White Bunny's Bakery—of course, I'd come," he smiled back, patting her head briefly.
"Thanks again," she said, then took his hand as they walked into the bakery.
As Liam walked by, he overheard someone talking:
"Have you seen this guy? He calls himself Investor Panda, and he's looking for sole proprietors who need help in their business. You can DM him and inquire for more," one said.
"You sure? Most of these guys hardly reply to DMs, you know, or they're usually fake accounts looking for people to scam."
"You wouldn't know until you try. Though he hasn't done much, he sure has money, so just give it a try."
"If you say so then, bro," the other responded.
Liam smirked briefly. "It's Investor SleepyPanda, though," he whispered.
They reached the counter.
"Liam, meet the new head chef," Mia said, introducing Mika.
"Hi, nice to work with you, Sir Liam," Mika said, extending a hand for a handshake.
Liam took the handshake in response. "Same here, Mika."
Then he turned to Mia. "What happened to the former one, though?" he asked.
"He left out of fear, so someone recommended Mika to me," she responded.
He nodded at her response, then proceeded to sit down on his usual seat at the counter.
Mia went behind the counter, though there was less for her to do now that she had people taking care of the baking.
"So now you're practically a supervisor," he said, looking at the menu board.
"I don't really have a choice. Still have to make sure they're doing things right," she responded, staring at the entrance.
Sera waltzed into the bakery and stumbled toward Liam out of excitement. "I did it."
Liam turned to her and immediately gave her a sign that Mia was here.
Then she gestured for Liam to come to table twelve.
"Excuse me, Mia, I've got to attend to someone," he said, standing up and walking to table twelve.
Mia watched him leave, and faint emotion was displayed on her face. Was it jealousy?
"So what's up? What did you do?" he asked, sitting down on the chair directly opposite her.
"Well, I did sabotage his deal—and now it's all over the news," she said, pointing at the TV that was newly installed in the middle of the bakery.
He smiled. "Did you get caught?"
"Of course not. What do I look like? A noob?" she responded, tapping Liam on the shoulder. "You know my account details. I'll be expecting the transfer."
He turned toward the TV and saw the headline:
KIERAN MADDOX LOST A BILLION-DOLLAR DEAL BECAUSE HE GAVE FAKE COMPANY DOCUMENTS
Liam smirked. "That's what you get for messing with the wrong Maddox."
■■■■■■■■■
♧ Kieran's POV ♧
"How did we lose that deal, Jerry?!" he shouted over the board meeting.
"I don't know, sir. I checked the documents the night before, and nothing was wrong with the quotations, sir," Jerry responded in haste.
"If not for one thing, you would've been fired right this instant!" Kieran shouted, pointing at Jerry.
"I need names right now, Jerry. I don't know how you'll do it, but I need the names of the people who were involved in this conspiracy in a week's time!" he commanded before walking out the office door.
"Carl!" he said over the phone. "I want him dead by all means. Even though there isn't any proof, I know it's him who did this."
"Yes, boss. I'll get right to it after I'm done recovering."
"I'll send you straight to hell in a week's time if I don't hear the news of his death!" he shouted before ending the call.
He sighed heavily. "Ohhh, you picked the wrong time to fight back, cousin. You messed up and now I'm coming for you with everything I've got," he smirked, staring out the window of the company's skyscraper.