The Double or more Life of the Fake Heiress (Mirabella)

Watching Mirabella stride away, James couldn't help but lift an eyebrow in amusement at her salty tone. With a chuckle and a shake of his head, he turned his attention back to the pile of disassembled parts on the table. After a brief pause, he started fiddling with them, eventually pulling up a chair and settling in to get serious.

About fifteen minutes later, he had a sleek, black portable handgun fully assembled. Unlike the usual models circulating in the underground market, this one was clearly more compact and user-friendly.

James gave the trigger a light squeeze. Even unloaded, the gun operated without a sound, and it was obvious it had minimal recoil-—a sign of some pretty crafty engineering.

A playful smile tugged at James's lips as he grabbed his phone and dialed a number.

The call connected quickly.

"Hey, Uncle, where'd you get that piece you sent me?" James casually spun the handgun under the light, his features cloaked in a thin layer of intrigue.

On the other end, Sam lit a cigarette, sounding surprised, "You figured it out already?"

Nodding, James's gaze lingered on a tiny pinhole at the barrel, "Yeah, it's quite an interesting weapon."

Sam explained, "That came from the black market. Rumor has it, its power surpasses even the top-grade K9 models. It's silent and has even lower recoil. But no one's managed to assemble it until now."

James, reclining lazily, quipped, "Guess they hadn't met me yet."

Sam chuckled, "I see you're getting more shameless by the day."

"Thanks for the compliment," James hummed, then asked, "Any idea who made this thing?"

"That's the kicker; we've got no clue. It's like it appeared out of thin air," Sam admitted, sounding frustrated.

The intelligence department prided themselves on their expertise, rarely hitting dead ends, yet this weapon had them all stumped.

James's eyes narrowed thoughtfully for a second before he said, "I'll have Curtis send it over to you in a couple of days."

Sam's eyebrows shot up in anticipation, "Good, I'm curious to see if it lives up to the hype."

James wasn't particularly interested in the weapon, and soon after, the call ended. Fingering his phone, James remembered Emily had called earlier. Deciding to return the call, he dialed her number only to get a message saying the call couldn't be connected.

With a slight frown, he tried a few more times, each attempt ending the same way. James: "..."

Did she block me?

**

Meanwhile, Mirabella returned home, holding a medicine box and still thinking about the parts she saw at James's place. After slipping into her house slippers, she noticed an extra pair of shoes in the shoe cabinet.

With a slight raise of her eyebrows, she made her way to the living room.

Nick was sitting on the sofa with a laptop on his knees. After clicking on the touchpad, he closed the laptop and looked up, his expression neutral, "You're back."

Mirabella gave him a brief nod after sizing him up.

"Had dinner yet?" Nick asked.noveldrama

Admitting to mooching off someone might be a bit embarrassing, so Mirabella thought for a moment before replying, "Just grabbed a quick bite outside."