After that, they sat down on the sofa, relaxed. Ellie, Lena, Maya, and Amy were still silent, still trying to process what had just happened, and it clearly wasn't making sense to them. Dylan sat back casually, looking at his smartphone, then he turned to look at Ellie.
"Ellie, just cancel the listing now. Take it off the web," Dylan said.
"I'm... still confused... did you really not transfer the money just now?" Ellie asked.
"Me too. I clearly saw you sitting in the chair, making the transfer, and showing the proof... I didn't see wrong, right?" Maya asked Amy and Lena.
"No, I saw it too," Amy replied briefly.
"I saw it, too... but it's weird... how could a guy as smart as Ellie's dad be fooled? I'm genuinely confused," Lena muttered.
Dylan saw the faces of Ellie, Maya, Lena, and Amy, who were clearly doubting him, as well as their own sight and memory. Finally, he stood up and sat down right in the middle of them, making them jump.
"Okay, I was messing with Ellie's dad... but I didn't actually transfer anything. Alex is greedy... and he's desperate, that's why I could trick him. You guys get it, right?" Dylan explained slowly and casually.
"But how is that possible? No matter how desperate he is, how could he be fooled like that?" Maya asked.
Dylan showed them the financial data of several companies owned by Alex. After seeing it, they finally understood because almost all of Alex's companies were sinking, with more debt and expenses than income on the balance sheet.
"Dad's finances... are they this bad?" Ellie asked.
"Yes, they're this bad... your dad is almost bankrupt. That's why he came here: to stop you from selling this house because he needs it... but after he found out the house is in your name... he intended to frame you so you would be in trouble with the law. That's why he threw accusations at you with the agent as a witness, but you were upfront with the agent... so it didn't work. Understand?" Dylan asked.
"I see... you're right, honey," Ellie said slowly.
"So don't worry about it anymore. What you need to do now is pull the ad, change all the locks on this house so your dad can't get in, and install surveillance cameras," Dylan replied.
"Yeah, that's true... the deed is in your name, so you clearly have the right to change the locks," Maya added.
"Alright, I get it. How about we all stay the night here?" Ellie suggested.
"There's no way I'm leaving Aaron, Fiona, and Iris alone at home," Dylan replied.
"Oh, yeah... that's true," Ellie replied, looking down.
"How about we invite them over here?" Amy offered as her suggestion.
"Good idea. What do you think, babe?" Lena added.
Dylan thought for a moment, then he turned to look at Ellie, the homeowner, who was still confused while her friends were talking over her.
"What do you say, Ellie?" Dylan asked.
"It's fine. Just invite them over, Amy's right," Ellie replied.
"Alright, should I pick them up or what?" Dylan asked.
"You should pick them up, but is it far from their school here?" Ellie asked.
"It's doable. I can leave very early in the morning and take an online taxi. That's not a problem," Dylan answered.
"You go pick them up, then. We'll wait here and clean the house up, so it'll be spotless by the time they arrive," Ellie said.
"Hmm... okay, I'll go for a bit then," Dylan said.
"Eh... don't forget," Maya said, standing up and presenting her belly in front of Dylan with a smile.
Dylan immediately hugged Maya and kissed her stomach. After that, Lena, Amy, and even Ellie followed Maya, and Dylan kissed each of their stomachs one by one. After that, Dylan left to pick up his younger siblings. Meanwhile, inside, Ellie, Lena, Maya, and Amy sat back down and started thinking again. Ellie picked up her smartphone, deleted the ad, and searched for a competent locksmith.
"I'm grateful to Dylan... but he's... strange," Ellie said, looking at her smartphone.
"I know... but he did all that for you... and if any of us had a problem, I'm sure he'd treat us the same way," Lena added.
"I trust him... I'm actually falling even more in love with him," Amy added.
"That's so true. I was inside a bank once, and the bank I was at happened to be robbed... he helped me, even though he wasn't visible, and stopped the bank robbery... I seriously fell in love with him again," Maya said casually, not realizing she had just said something that should have been kept secret.
Immediately, Ellie, Lena, and Amy turned to look at Maya, staring at her with highly suspicious looks. When she saw her three friends looking at her, Maya realized that what she had just said was supposed to be a secret between her and Dylan. Maya's face instantly changed, and she became tense, sweating profusely, accompanied by a strained smile.
"Um... never mind, that was just a novel I read once, haha," Maya stammered, making up a lie.
"Since when do you read novels?" Amy asked, moving closer to Maya.
"It sounds like there's something you haven't told us, Maya?" Lena asked, also shifting to flank Maya.
"We all promised no secrets between the four of us, since we decided to share Dylan, even though we initially fought over wanting him all to ourselves. So, could you tell us everything you just said?" Ellie asked, standing in front of Maya in her aristocratic pose and staring at Maya with a cold look.
Maya immediately fell silent. She glanced to her left to see Amy staring at her up close with a cold face, then she glanced to her right to see Lena smiling, but she knew it was an angry face, then she looked at Ellie standing in front of her with her arms crossed over her chest, staring coldly, like a queen looking at a subordinate who had committed a grave offense against the queen.
Then Maya remembered her promise to Dylan, and if she told them, she felt like she was betraying Dylan. Heavy sweat increasingly drenched her body, and her forced smile grew wider. Then she attempted to stand up, but Amy and Lena immediately held her shoulders, completely preventing her from moving.
"Um... shouldn't... shouldn't we be cleaning the house?" Maya asked.
"That can wait," Ellie replied.
"Right. Please tell us everything. The three of us are ready to listen," Lena said.
"Come on... don't delay any longer," Amy added.
"Um... is it okay if the story waits for Dylan?" Maya asked one more time.
"Absolutely not," Ellie, Lena, and Amy replied simultaneously.
"Ugh," Maya leaned back again. She truly wished the sofa she was sitting on would swallow her up to save her, but that was no longer possible. Finally, she sighed.
"Fine, I'll tell you," Maya said resignedly. "Forgive me, Dylan, I didn't mean to betray you... I was forced... hic... forgive me. I love you, don't be mad at me," Maya muttered in her heart before she began to tell the story.
***
Meanwhile, in the ride-share taxi, Dylan opened his banking app again and brought up his holographic screen. Then he transferred a sum of money to Sarah, the real estate agent he had just worked with Alex on, for his own purposes.
[Hmm... you're actually quite kind, too.]
"Just giving $500 to Ms. Sarah. Poor thing, she came full of hope only to be messed with by Alex," Dylan said.
[By you too, sir.]
"Yeah... that's why I feel a little guilty and gave her money, so be quiet, don't complain," Dylan replied.
[Very well, sir.]