Sweet Mischief’s Rollercoaster Romance

"Can you believe the in-laws actually gave their blessing?"

Chad thought of his little nephew. "I've got an insider in the Cedillo family. From now on, I've got my nephew's back."

...

Back at the sprawling Maplewood Estates, no matter where Mia tried to hide with the baby at night, Andre had an uncanny knack for finding them. And then, without hesitation, he'd scoop them both up and carry them out.

It had taken Leo several days to gather the necessary intel. That afternoon, he brought Anya along to Maplewood Estates.

In the living room, Andre was the picture of domesticity. By day, he was a doting father, lavishing love on his son, carrying him around the house. He patiently bottle-fed the baby, coaxing him to get used to the formula one sip at a time.

But at night, Andre turned into the stern patriarch, tossing the toddler into the next room to ensure his evenings remained undisturbed.

Anya had come over too, and upon arrival, she squatted in front of Andre, eager to catch up with the little one she hadn't seen in days. "Uncle, where's Auntie?"

Andre, realizing his wife had slept enough, called out to the housekeeper, "Mrs. Hughes, would you wake the lady of the house, please?"

When both Mia and Anya joined him, Andre knew Leo must have news. Mia came downstairs, yawning, and Andre handed over the baby. "Play with Anya in the living room. Leo and I need to talk in the study."

Leo stood and followed Andre to the study of Maplewood Estates, which was far more spacious and imposing than their home office, complete with a grand conference room.

Maplewood Estates combined Andre's personal and professional spaces into one colossal domain, so vast he seldom needed to visit the company's office. "Got something for me?"

Leo nodded, having stayed up nights and narrowly escaping detection and pursuit to unlock all the Walker family's records. "Uncle, this is what Anya's friend passed to me. I've skimmed through it. They've hired a hitman twice, tracked us three times. Their chat logs show they've been probing the Cedillo family's internal affairs and our brotherly bonds. They've even looked into my profile, but of course, they found nothing.

The year you married Mia, the Cedillo Group came under their scrutiny.

Their edge over us in the last bid was due to a price war-they had more volume. This has records of illegal purchases through the dark web, intending to push our family out of the international market.

them check on Tom, but

English text, and asked

shook his head. "All clear, managed to shake them

eyes. The boy's audacity to hack the dark web and evade its 'watchers' had

"What's the plan, uncle?"

"I'll take it

friend again, will you? Pay him a little extra. Noah will transfer the funds directly

who was struggling with her sleep schedule. "How

"I'll

one, missing him after

man had been furious when they left, but now he longed for the little

grumble every day, "Why doesn't Mia come to

them, trying to coax a smile. Upstairs, Andre reviewed all the information Leo had given him. He called the head of the international division, "How much did the

280," the division head replied, his voice taut with the pressure of a direct call from the CEO, not a comfortable conference call. He

relayed the reasons discussed in the last meeting. "First, the Walker family undercut our prices, stealing our customers. Second, being a local company, they've been promoting a rivalry with us. Also, old Walker lured away one of our core teams. We're currently in litigation over

and get close to the

dispatch from headquarters meant someone in the division might get the sack, a

can't go anywhere but the Walker family's own businesses. No

division head nervously cautioned, "Sir, such a drastic price cut

was

"Yes, sir."

for dinner. He had to join his wife and little boy at the

prepared to leave, but the hosts insisted

some time off. Entertain Anya for a few days. Once she's

But Leo remained noncommittal.

uncle

his father's arms, asleep and