Chapter 730 - Investigation of the incident in LA Medical Center

Sarah shared her thoughts: "The logical conclusion I have is that someone is watching that hospital, probably because of Anna. And that someone is probably working in the hospital and providing information to others. Those four we captured are definitely not medical staff."

Aiden agreed with what Sarah said. He was also thinking about it and his conclusions are almost the same. There is one question that is almost stuck in his throat: "Do you think that this was caused by one of those… Eastern European families?"

As much as Sarah wanted any other assumption, there was only one which matched what they know: "Who else would watch a hospital where Anna is working and target Sophia? You saw them fight. If it's a US gang, they would come with guns or tasers… I hear that taser guns are recently popular. You heard them talk… that is a Russian accent. So, yes. I believe it's related to those families. And it's probably my maternal family. That is the only thing that makes sense in this whole story, but we will know for sure when Anna comes and brings the truth serum."

Sarah paused for few seconds and then continued: "There is one thing we can check before that… Eve said that she can't erase security footage because someone is streaming it…"

A minute later, on the big screen, Sarah and Aiden were looking at the data that Eve retrieved before removing video surveillance from LA Medical Center.

Both of them were surprised by what they found out.

"Three streamers? I'm on it." Aiden claimed this as his task.

It is unusual to have one person streaming. That person would need to know when and where to hack into in order to see something useful… and this is not one, this is three. It only confirmed that there are people out there who are watching them. And those people knew that they will be there, and that there will be trouble. The questions now are: WHO was watching and HOW did they know when to watch?

It didn't take long for Aiden to identify physical locations based on the IP addresses where video was streamed. Both Sarah and Aiden looked at the data in disbelief. Three locations are with zip codes in: Seattle, Reno, and New York.

Of course, Sarah is very familiar with the address from Seattle, and Aiden knows who lives on that address in Reno.

Sarah was rubbing her temples: "Now we know why our parents came here… they watched us and probably got worried that we are in trouble. They came to check on us."

Aiden looked at timestamps of connections. "First connection was opened from your parent's house, three minutes later my parents watched the feed… and about at that time, the connection from New York was established. New York connection has different protocols than other two, which means that it's originating from a different party. However, Seattle and Reno connections have a lot in common."

Aiden's eyes shifted from the screen to Sarah. "Who is this person watching us from New York? And who in your family's house has the capability to know that at that exact time there will be a show to watch? Not to mention skills necessary to hack into hospital security system and to start a stream like watching a home video."

"Your parents also watched." Sarah reminded him.

"My parents know how to use computers, but their skills are not more than of an average home user.", Aiden reluctantly added.

Sarah caught onto his hint: "You are implying that one of my parents initiated this security surveillance stream and shared information with your parents? They are collaborating in watching us?"

"Why is that so difficult to accept? I have more difficulties accepting how well they hit it off as soon as they met. Only people with common interests and goals create bonds so quickly." Aiden was slightly irritated with Sarah's determination to deny the facts in front of her.

"Yes, they have plenty in common. Aren't we engaged? And our siblings are about to get married in few days?" Sarah saw that Aiden is giving her a cynical look. "OK. I must admit that it seems it's more than that…" Sarah sighed and continued: "Let's assume that you are correct. They are collaborating. From my parents… Looking at the skillsets needed for hacking, the only person that can come close to it is my dad…"

Sarah has difficulty believing that Edward can do all that. He is a regular developer, right? She knows him her whole life as a developer who can immerse himself in his projects, and nothing more than that.

Suddenly Sarah remembered what Aiden and her sisters said about Edward: inconsistencies in his behavior, owning things which are way above his paygrade… and then there is the fact that he disabled Eve in his study. Why would he disable Eve if he has nothing to hide?

Aiden observed changes in Sarah's expression, and he can see that she is struggling. It is difficult to accept that for your whole life you were wrong about someone. Wrong about who your father is, a person with whom you grew up with. Aiden approached Sarah and hugged her.

He spoke in soft voice: "I think you reached a point where you need to acknowledge that your father is not just a software developer."

Sarah closed her eyes and took a deep breath, inhaling his scent. "There are so many questions…" After some time, she looked at Aiden. "Let's analyze this. Piece by piece… Assuming that my dad hacked into LA Medical Center surveillance… How did he know WHEN to look? This was not random. Sophia said that the checkup was not planned or scheduled in advance, and no one knew that she is going there besides her and Felix."

Aiden agreed that this can't be random. Edward knew when to hack into that video surveillance. "There are two possibilities: someone tipped him off that Sophia arrived, or he had triggers planted within the system itself so that if someone specific checks-in he gets a notification."

"Triggers within a hospital system… which were undetected… that is advanced… at the same time, that is something we can verify." Sarah was happy that there is at least something they can verify and not rely on guessing. If she is to believe that her father is deceiving her for twenty years, she needs a proof and not only guesswork.

And they were back in business (or in hacking) …

"Let's assume that trigger is for Anna, because she is a regular there…" Aiden analyzed while his fingers flew over the keyboard. "…but she would check-in as an employee not as a patient, so trigger needs to be for the whole system and not just for patients. And because it worked for Sophia and you, it probably works for last name…"

Sarah admires Aiden's focus when he analyzes things. Having skills is one thing but knowing where to look for information based on the events and putting pieces together is different. His mind is brilliant, and she loves it. His exquisite face illuminated by the icy-blue light from the keyboard in front of him is mesmerizing.

It took her some time to get out of her daze and to busy herself: "While you look into that, I will see what I can find about that New York address…"

They stayed in that room until late. Surrounded with large monitors and various devices while finding out clues and connecting them to form deductions which make sense.