Three days have passed since Anneliese wrote a letter to her father and received a letter from him. She was too busy trying to find more hidden evidence to even check for a letter in her mailbox. When she finally noticed, she thought maybe her father was busy with work just like her, so she left it at that.

She met with Archer multiple times during those three days to figure out how to find the rest of the documents her parents hid. They had two places in mind, which were their bedroom and the office at the company. Although they knew about the possibility of the documents actually being in either of those places, they haven't discussed what to do about it.

It was obvious to her that she'd search the bedroom since it wouldn't be as suspicious as letting a stranger into their home and setting a distraction so that he could search the place. Then, Archer would be the one to search the office since he worked there, but he was not an employee with a high enough position to even be near the office, so that'd be a problem because he'd look suspicious.

Either way, him being in either place would be too suspicious and would get them busted. The thought of doing it by herself came across her mind, and she was willing to carry it out whether he agreed on it or not. "Hey, what's on your mind?" Clarissa asked her as they walked out of their class. "You've been spacing out since the start of the class."

"I just have a lot on my mind right now," she answered.

"You do, but I don't even know half of what we're going to do about the issue. You guys haven't been letting me in on the situation for a while now."

"Clare..." she started.

"I know I have no right to say any of this because it doesn't concern me, but since I'm your best friend, I deserve to know too." Clarissa frowned.

"I know, but there's just a lot that you don't really need to know. However, when the time comes, I'll need you, and that's when I'll spill the important information to you because I don't want to bore you with stuff that doesn't really matter," she remarked with a sad smile.

"Anne, it would never bore me because I know how important this is to you! Anything that concerns my best friend is concerned with me! I will always have your back no matter what. Just let me know, and I'll help you to the best of my abilities." Anneliese looked like she wanted to cry, so she pulled her into a hug and comforted her.

"Did I come at a bad time?" Archer asked them, and they pulled away from each other.

"No, we were just talking," Anneliese replied.

"Are you here to talk about the thing?" asked Clarissa, and he nodded. "I guess I'll have to walk away for now. I'll come back in a few minutes."

"No, Clare. You can stay. You need to hear this part," Anneliese remarked, and she stayed in place.

"So, as we discussed last time, the two possible places where they're hiding the evidence are their bedroom and the office at the company," said Archer. "However, we need to discuss how we'll investigate without getting caught."

"Yeah, that's something we definitely need to make a plan for," Clarissa remarked.

"I was thinking the safest option is I take the office, and Anneliese takes the bedroom. That way, it'll be easier."

"Yeah, but how are you going to get into the office? Are you a janitor or something?"

"That's what I want to know too. You told me you're just a regular employee who works on the second floor, and the office is on the fifth. You have no reason to be up there. It'd be suspicious if you just go up," Anneliese remarked.

"I'll just say I want to talk to Mr. Mormont about my pay or quitting," he said.

"I'm sure there are people assigned just for that. The lower level employees talk to the higher-ups, and they pass it to the head then they pass it to the boss, or quite possibly even settle it without needing the boss' consent. You can't just demand to see the boss thinking they'll let you. They have an organized system for these kinds of things since it's a huge company."

"Yeah, Anne is right. I thought you'd have already thought it through since you're intelligent, Archer. No offense," Clarissa commented.

"None taken because you're absolutely right," he responded.

"That's why I should take the office. I have a better reason since I'm his daughter. They won't question me," Anneliese stated.

"No, it's too risky. Plus, I can't search their bedroom."

"You don't have to! I'll go to both places."

"That's even worse, Anneliese! It's too risky! I won't let you do it," he said sternly.

"Sorry, Anne. I'm going to have to side with Archer on this one," Clarissa commented.

"Guys, I'll be fine! I can do it!" exclaimed Anneliese.

"No, we'll just have to look for another way. I'm sorry, Anneliese, but I'm doing this for both of us." He looked at her, and she stared right back into his eyes and sighed.

"Fine. There's another way, but I don't know if it'll work because other people might affect it."

"What is it?" asked Clarissa.

"My father is terrible with names and faces. Archer can pretend to be one of the higher-level employees to go see him. He can sabotage something then report it to him for him to check it out. While he's gone, you can search his office; however, there might be cameras in there."

"Yes, I have put that into consideration. I'll hack into the system to make the camera in the office freeze to give me some time," Archer remarked.

"I guess that's settled. Clare, for my task, I need your help to distract my parents while I search their bedroom."

"No problem!" exclaimed Clarissa. "It's time to return to our classes," she said, and they went to their next class.

. . .

Anneliese gripped the steering wheel tightly as she remembered Archer disagreeing with her idea to take on both tasks. 'I'm doing it for both of us too!' she thought. Suddenly, her phone rang. She accepted it and put it on the speaker in the car. "Hello?"

"Hi, Anneliese."

"What's up, Archer?"

"Look, I'm sorry about what happened a while ago."

"No, I understand. I'd mess it up if I went instead of you."

"No, Anneliese. It's not like that. I would've helped you succeed because I'm on your side. I want to solve this too."

"Then why didn't you support me? You could've helped me as you said."

"Anne..."

'It's the first time he's called me Anne..." she thought. 'Why? Is he becoming serious?'

"I don't want you to be at risk, okay? Your parents are already suspicious of you, and this issue has already caused a slight rift between you guys. I don't want to worsen it. I... I care for your safety and well being as well..."

'He's being so sincere and caring, and he's trying so hard. He really doesn't want anything to happen to me..." thought Anneliese. "Archer, when I decided to send a letter to my father, I already created a gap between my mother and I. It was my decision to get involved because it concerns me, but if you don't want me to do it then I won't."

"Thank you for understanding. I'll make it up to you somehow."

"I accept check or cash," she remarked, and he chuckled.

"How about I buy you a meal instead?"

"Hm, make it three."

"Alright, deal... Um, I'll talk to you later then. I have work."

"Okay, bye."

"Bye, Anneliese."

She hung up and turned off her phone. "I'm sorry, Archer, but I'm going to have to take back my words on backing off. I'm going to the office, but I'll have to find a day to do it that's before his, so I'll need to know when he's carrying it out."

When she reached her apartment, she checked the cluster mailbox to see if she got any mail, and there was one from her father. She went to her apartment room and sat down on the couch to read it.

Dear Anneliese,

I'm sorry for not sending you any letters the past few days. I had to ask your stepmom on how to deal with boy problems and take notes, so this is more like you're getting advice from your stepmom rather than me, which was supposed to be my responsibility. But I'm a male, so I'm not an expert in this area. Besides, I have two sons, so it doesn't really come up. However, I got something of my own to say to you after listening to your stepmom's advice. Here goes!
         When it comes to feelings, nobody is ever completely sure about them. Emotions are like being on a rollercoaster sometimes, which means it applies to other situations as well and not only love. One day you'd be starstruck by this guy because of his looks and personality, and the next you're down in the dumps because you found out his true nature. There are also times when you feel like he's the one for you, but he's not. Dating and love is not something you can calculate and find the results of beforehand; they're not mathematics. It comes eventually as time passes, and it may come at an unexpected time with an unexpected person.
          So, if this guy you feel like you're crushing on has your heart, go for it because you never know. As long as both of you value each other as human beings with flaws that can or cannot be fixed, time will help love sprout between the two of you, and if you find out you're not right for each other then just know there's plenty more fish in the sea, and the options are unlimited. If you're happy then I'm happy no matter what. Your father will always be on your side, Anneliese.

Sincerely,
your father

P.S. Did I do good? Also, I've decided I'll wait for when we meet up in person to tell you the story of how I met your stepmom.

She teared up when she read the letter. Suddenly feeling the support and love through a letter from the father she missed for sixteen years was quite emotional for her. "Imagine how I'd react if this was in person. I'd be sobbing uncontrollably while he cradled me in his arms as if it was sixteen years ago," said Anneliese. She had not much to say to her father in return but to just thank him for giving her support, so her letter was short.

Dear father,

          I don't know what to say. Your words really moved me. So to answer your question, yes, you did spectacular! I appreciate the support and love you're giving to me. I just want you to know how much I love you, father. Also, I'm sorry if this letter is short. I just don't know what to say as I said at the beginning. Just know your letter was everything to me.

Your daughter,
Anneliese

P.S. I can't wait to hear the story then!

She sent the letter and returned home. "Now, how will I execute the mission and when?" she asked herself. "Ah, I'm talking like some spy agent or something." Then, she looked at her calendar and realized it was almost Christmas. "One and a half more weeks until Christmas... Time sure went by fast..."