Mi marido accidental es ¡un billonario!

This comment made old Mr. Sims pause briefly before he chuckled, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

1

Keira cut straight to the point, “I know the truth.”

Old Mr. Sims looked at her, momentarily startled. “What do you

know?”

Keira replied, “I know Barry Brandt isn’t a traitor, and I also know

you’re not a spy.”

Old Mr. Sims hesitated, then gave a wry smile. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Keira stepped closer and said, “Everyone says Professor Brandt is a traitor, that he betrayed his country and will never come back. But in reality, only a few people know that he’s been nurturing talent for the country all along, and he’ll return home one day.”

She looked at him intently. “That day might be far off, or it could be

tomorrow.”

Old Mr. Sims’s expression changed immediately. He eyed Keira with suspicion and asked, “Who are you? How do you know these things?”

Keira responded, “It doesn’t matter, nor does how I know. What’s important is… I’m sorry that you’ve suffered.”

Old Mr. Sims fell silent.

Keira continued, “I know you’re just playing a part in his plan. If the act isn’t convincing enough, it could attract the attention of

Country M, making his return even more difficult. So, you had no choice but to accept this blame!”

Old Mr. Sims clenched his jaw, momentarily at a loss for words, but finally sighed. “I really don’t know what you’re talking about. If this were true, the higher–ups wouldn’t have imprisoned me…”

Seeing that he wouldn’t admit anything without more details, Keira sighed. “A friend told me he met Professor Brandt. Although it seems like he betrayed his country, his heart is actually with his nation. When he recruits students abroad, he might say they won’t return home, but privately, he’s very selective. His students are required to sign an agreement to come back.”

Old Mr. Sims’s brow furrowed deeply.

Keira then revealed, “The friend who told me this is my husband.”

When Holly mentioned Barry Brandt, Lewis had whispered this exact information to her.

When she finally met old Mr. Sims again, she understood.

Old Mr. Sims knew Barry Brandt’s intentions and was his collaborator within the country.

If Brandt wanted to establish himself abroad, he would need technological support; the information old Mr. Sims provided was likely not related to national security.

The money Brandt sent was probably a facade for trading technology, but in reality, it might have been Brandt returning the money he had earned over the years to his country.

That was why all that money remained untouched in Old Mr.

Sims’s account.

A true miser would never be able to do that.

Seeing Keira speak with such certainty, old Mr. Sims knew he could no longer hide the truth.

He stared intensely at her and asked, “Can I trust you?”

Keira responded, “Yes.”

“Even if I don’t trust you, I must, mustn’t I?” Old Mr. Sims spoke gravely. “As a member of the Freeman Sect, you must be patriotic deep down. So, I beg you, please don’t let this get out…”

He continued, “Barry Brandt’s research abroad is extremely important for our country’s development. We are at a critical juncture; once this research is complete, he can lead his students back home! Therefore, at this stage, I must be a spy! I can only be a

spy!”

Keira asked, “How long will this critical juncture last?”

Old Mr. Sims was taken aback. “Not long.”

“How soon is ‘not long‘?”

Old Mr. Sims clenched his jaw and stayed silent.

Keira turned to him. “I’m also a scientist, so I understand that ‘very soon‘ could mean two years, five years, or even longer. Each scientific breakthrough at a critical point is the toughest phase. You can be imprisoned for a week, a month, but what if it’s ten years?”

Old Mr. Sims laughed. “Then it’s ten years.”

<

“Your imprisonment, your son’s house arrest, and your

granddaughter’s struggle with accusations–don’t you care at all?”

Old Mr. Sims looked ahead. “Some of what I told Holly earlier was true. Years ago, when her grandmother was seriously ill, only Country M could treat her, but they demanded a hundred million. After her grandmother passed away, I was devastated.”

He faced Keira. “It hurt me to see our country lagging behind in technology, including in medical science. We’ve been catching up slowly, but it’s still not enough. We need to be at the forefront, making others plead with us, not the other way around…”

Old Mr. Sims’s gaze was resolute and righteous, commanding Keira’s respectful silence as he spoke. “I don’t want Holly or any Creran to be at the mercy of foreign countries when they’re ill, subject to their whims and harsh conditions.”

Keira looked at the eighty–year–old, gray–haired man before her and realized all of this was for the prosperity of Crera.

She thought of her ancestors‘ painful history, their words echoing in her memory, “I have endured these hardships so my descendants won’t have to suffer.”

Tears welled up in Keira’s eyes as she looked at old Mr. Sims. “So, you never stepped down because this situation needed a scapegoat, and you didn’t want Brian to become that scapegoat? You did it to protect him?”

Old Mr. Sims laughed. “After all, I am his elder. Now that I’ve been captured, he can take over the Special Division with a clean slate.” Keira was deeply moved.

She stared in shock at old Mr. Sims. “You sacrificed yourself for the benefit of everyone, but what about Uncle Sims? What about Holly? They are your son and granddaughter!”

Old Mr. Sims laughed. “There always have to be sacrifices. I believe that when the day comes for my innocence to be proven, my son and Holly will forgive me. It will be soon, very soon…”

A tear suddenly trickled down his cheek as he looked at Keira. “You don’t need to help Holly. Her surname is Sims, and the Sims family creed is patriotism–sacrificing personal matters for the nation. So, this is also her duty.”