The richest man's parents were kidnapped, and his adorable son captivated the entire family.

So he replied in a low voice, "Understood."

Ruolan gently closed the notebook, her eyes cold and indifferent.

On Xie Yumin's floor, she was writing furiously in her notebook, trying to reconstruct as much of the document's keywords and key information as she could remember.

Suddenly, hurried footsteps came from outside the office.

Immediately afterwards, several heavy knocks on the door were particularly jarring in the night.

She looked up abruptly, her heart clenching instantly.

"Ms. Xie, please come with us." Two security guards stood at the door, their attitude "polite" but devoid of warmth. "We received a report that you illegally accessed the system backend, and we need your cooperation in the investigation."

Xie Yumin's face turned deathly pale instantly, and her mind went blank.

How could this be? How could he have been caught so quickly?

Could it be that someone has been watching him all along?

However, at this moment, her first thought was not what would happen to her, but whether Mengmeng would be implicated.

Almost instinctively, she lunged at her desk, grabbed her phone, and her fingers flew across the screen, her thumbs furiously typing away, oblivious to the scrambled spelling: "Aunt Zhang! Watch over Mengmeng! Lock the door! Don't open it for anyone! Wait for my message! Please!"

"drop!"

The moment the message was successfully sent, her phone was snatched away by the security guard behind her: "Excuse me, Ms. Xie. Please cooperate by turning off your communication device."

She suddenly became breathless, her face turned pale, and cold sweat dripped down her back before they took her away.

The security room was dimly lit, and the desk was cold and hard.

She was forced into a chair, and Captain Zhao, with a businesslike expression, unfolded a folder in front of her: "Ms. Xie Yumin, these are screenshots of your unauthorized access to the company's core database last night, and surveillance footage shows you were near a sensitive area in the middle of the night. Were you aware of this?"

She gritted her teeth and retorted in a trembling voice, "I haven't been there... I was just working overtime, checking data."

“You made a mistake in the data report,” another security guard said coldly. “You might have tried to alter the original records to cover up your error?”

"No!" Her voice suddenly rose. "I discovered that someone tampered with the reports! I... I just wanted to find out!"

"You say you saw an encrypted file?" Captain Zhao crossed his arms, his face showing impatience. "What right do you have to enter the encrypted area? Why didn't you report it immediately?"

"I...I was writing a report when my computer screen suddenly went black..." Her voice trailed off, because she knew that every word she uttered sounded like an excuse to them.

The way they looked at her was cold and wary, as if they had already accepted that she was the one with "ulterior motives".

She had absolutely no evidence to refute this.

Her jaw was clenched so tightly that her nails almost dug into her palms, her heart filled with grievance and helplessness.

On a quiet floor, the elevator doors opened with a "ding," and Gu Yinshen's footsteps echoed in the empty corridor.

A few minutes later, the interrogation room door was pushed open forcefully.

He walked in, his eyes as cold as ice, his figure upright.

The security guard immediately stood up and saluted: "Mr. Gu."

"No need for further explanation." He interrupted them, his gaze indifferent. "I'm taking her with me."

Everyone fell silent. Xie Yumin suddenly looked up, her eyes flashing with complex emotions—shock, confusion, and even a glimmer of hope.

But when she met Gu Yinshen's gaze, her heart sank.

That gaze was so unfamiliar, so cold, carrying an unfathomable scrutiny and suppressed doubt. There was even a hint of disdain, one she dared not confirm?

He offered no comfort or explanation, but simply led her away from that suffocating room as if escorting a prisoner.

Since that night, Xie Yumin has become even more taciturn at the company.

She almost never initiates conversations with anyone anymore, as if afraid of causing any trouble. She focuses on her work, ensuring perfect processes, accurate reports, and precise emails down to the last punctuation mark.

But in the dead of night, when no one knew, she continued her investigation.

She used her time after get off work and during lunch breaks to secretly check the company's database operation logs, collect data segments that might have been tampered with, and silently record the time points when Ruolan contacted the IT department and when she worked overtime.

To this end, she specifically learned how to use basic encrypted document recovery tools, started browsing technical forums, looked up methods for repairing file fragments, and even spent money to buy a cracking tutorial course.

In front of the computer screen, she practiced step by step how to track hidden files and how to identify data reconstruction traces.

She knew the chances of all this succeeding were extremely slim.

But as long as there is a sliver of hope, she will never give up.

Because she wanted to clear her name.

More importantly, she wanted to protect Mengmeng, that forever innocent, pure, and adorable child.

As night deepened, Xie Yumin sat on the edge of the bed, the faint light from her phone illuminating her face, outlining a tired yet focused expression.

She was operating an old-fashioned feature phone that looked somewhat worn out, with a disposable SIM card that had just been inserted.

She cautiously dialed a secret number that belonged only to Aunt Zhang. She had personally bought it and given it to the nanny. The card and the machine were registered anonymously, and there was no tracking information.

"Aunt Zhang, it's me."

The voice on the other end of the phone immediately lowered: "Ms. Xie, why aren't you resting so late?"

Xie Yumin's voice was soft, but her tone was unusually firm: "I must confirm that Mengmeng is alright."

"She's doing well. Her appetite is a little better today than yesterday. I made rice porridge with chicken broth as you suggested, and she ate half a bowl."

Xie Yumin breathed a slight sigh of relief, but remained uneasy: "Remember the following points for the next few days. Do not reveal any information about her, no one is allowed to ask, do not answer calls from strangers, do not take photos and post them on social media, and do not see anyone who comes to visit Mengmeng."

She paused, then emphasized, "Remember to change the door lock? It must be locked from the inside at night. I'll add two more sets of surveillance cameras, and don't overlook any blind spots."

"I've got it." Aunt Zhang also realized the seriousness of the situation. "I'll definitely keep a close eye on her."

Xie Yumin hung up the phone, bent down, pulled out the SIM card from the phone, broke it in half, and threw it into a small tin box she had prepared beforehand. Then she lit a lighter and burned the broken card completely.

Her eyelashes fluttered slightly, and she murmured softly, "I'm sorry, Mengmeng... I can't let anyone hurt you anymore."

After that, he devoted all his energy to that secret business, and for that, he no longer maintained his previous relationships.

Whether chatting casually in the break room or jokingly asking her colleagues if she had a date after get off work or if she had children at home, she would just smile and avoid answering.