LOGINSharon had only been gone for a day, and almost no one knew she had gone to Leistre.The first thing she did when she got to the studio was check her diffuser.She knew nothing about pharmacology, let alone poisons, and she couldn't see anything wrong with it.Yesterday, Carmen had told her that the catalyst in this diffuser wouldn't affect her at all on its own, so she didn't need to worry too much.As for the original diffuser, they had already swapped it out.They needed to analyze its ingredients to develop an antidote, so they had taken it for now.While Sharon was looking at the diffuser, Wendy walked in.Seeing Sharon, Wendy asked curiously, "Sharon, where were you yesterday? Why didn't you come to the studio?"Sharon put the diffuser back where it had been and answered with a question of her own."Wendy, are you the one who always replaces the diffuser on schedule?"Wendy didn't know why she was asking, so she answered, "Yeah, why?"Sharon lowered her eyes. "Has anyo
The next day, the female bodyguard assigned to escort Sharon to the airport handed Sharon's ID documents back to her.Sharon took them and looked them over. She quietly said "Thank you," then boarded the plane.When she landed back in Marcentine, everything felt dreamlike and unreal.The moment she turned on her phone, a flood of missed calls and messages popped up.Before she could look through them, a call from Julliard came in."Sharon, why has your phone been off this whole time? Nothing happened to you, did it?"Sharon held the phone to her ear and walked out of the airport."I'm fine. Julliard, what's so urgent?""Nothing," Julliard said. "I just couldn't get through to you, so I got a little worried..."Before he could finish, Sharon calmly cut him off."If it's nothing, I'll hang up, then."Seeing that she was about to hang up, Julliard hurried to stop her."Sharon, there is something, actually... Remember what we talked about with Grant? Did you ask Thomas? What di
"You flew all the way here from Marcentine, so Thomas must matter a great deal to you too," Carmen said."Don't you think it was stupid of me to fly over on impulse and fall for Vince's trick?" Sharon asked.Carmen shook her head. "Vince only told you so he could use you to find out how Thomas is really doing."Thomas has been drifting in and out these past few days. He's barely been awake long enough to arrange anything in detail."If I were Thomas, I'd think it was stupid. But I'm not Thomas."Thomas will only be happy to know you came to see him."Since you gave him something he wanted, it isn't stupid."Sharon looked at her. "Thank you for trying to make me feel better."Carmen shook her head. "Come on. I'll take you to change into a sterile gown, and then you can go see Thomas."After she had changed into the gown, Sharon saw Carmen talking with an older-looking doctor.A moment later, Carmen turned to her. "You can go in now."Sharon gave a small nod.She pushed open
"The diffuser?" Sharon was clearly stunned.She had always used diffusers. The habit went back to long before she ever met Thomas.She had stuck with the same brand the whole time.So that was the opening someone had exploited?"Thomas's senses are very sharp," Carmen said. "Anything he eats or drinks, even if it's colorless and odorless, he can detect. A diffuser is different."To make a diffuser colorless, odorless, and hard to detect, the dose of the catalyst has to be extremely small."So unless someone spends a long time in that environment, it's hard for it to have any effect."Even back when you first met, when Thomas came to your studio for treatment once a week, it would have been hard for it to work."But you're in the studio all the time, so your exposure was much longer."The diffuser doesn't have a scent, but its active compound clung to you. Your skin, your clothes, your hair."Later, once you two got together, you were with each other almost every day."He did
Sharon's phone still held the last texts she and Thomas had exchanged. The timestamp stopped three days ago.After that, every time she called him, the call wouldn't go through.Looking back now, something must have already happened to Thomas by then.By the time she landed in Leistre, it was early the next morning.The foreign air was humid and stifling. Sharon turned on her phone, hesitated for a moment, then called Carmen.This time, Carmen picked up."Sharon?" Carmen sounded clearly surprised. "Calling me this late? Did something happen?""I'm at the airport in Leistre," Sharon said bluntly. "Which hospital is Thomas in?"The line went silent for a few seconds."Who told you?" Carmen's voice turned wary. "Vince?"Sharon didn't answer."Sharon, listen to me." Carmen lowered her voice. "Go back right now. It's not safe here. Once things are handled, I'll tell you about Thomas.""How is he?"Carmen hesitated. "He isn't out of the woods yet."Sharon's heart sank."Let me
Marcentine.Sharon held her phone, staring at the call that still hadn't gone through.It had been three full days since Thomas last picked up.An inexplicable unease settled over her. "Why isn't he answering? Did something happen?"Just then, her screen lit up. She snatched up the phone, but it was a text from an unknown number.Unknown number: [Thomas is injured and hanging by a thread. Do you want to know where he is?]Sharon shot to her feet.She called the number back on instinct. When the call connected, a deep and familiar voice came through."Sharon, it's been a while."It was Vince Ferrero.Sharon took a deep breath and forced herself to stay calm."What did you mean by that text?""I want to help you." Vince chuckled. "None of the people around Thomas are taking your calls, are they? Carmen, Chris, Marcus... You've called every one of them, and not one has told you how Thomas is doing, right?"Sharon said nothing."See? They don't think of you as one of their ow
Rick's heart ached deeply for Victoria.He was someone who truly valued talent, and Victoria was someone he had watched grow up. He saw firsthand how exceptional she was.Though Victoria wasn't born of his mother, she had been obedient and sensible since childhood—never demanding what wasn't hers,
Broad shoulders, long legs, a figure as upright as a pine—he moved with a natural authority, every gesture carrying the weight of presence. He was like an unsheathed sword: dangerous, yet noble in his restraint.Sharon's eyes flickered slightly.It was Lex, the guy Uriah had introduced to her as a
Back then, Sharon was just a novice behind the wheel. Her driving was so terrible it was painful to watch.Cole had only accompanied her a few times before losing interest and refusing to go along anymore.Instead, he urged his friends to push Sharon to the limit. From them, he heard only that she
Sensing her pain, Lex smirked in amusement. He relished this—watching his prey suffer, powerless to fight back.In a flash, Sharon raised her free hand and swung it hard toward his face.But Lex had anticipated the move. He caught her wrist mid-air with unsettling ease.Sharon's pupils contracted







