Someone standing at the side reminded Amara, "Amara, she's made many people suffer. Why are you trying to provoke her? She's the true Carver heiress!" "That's exactly why we must handle her this way." Amara sneered once she was alone. "We might not match her in business, but she's naïve about how to deal with people. "Sure, I do want to please the Carvers. But she's treating me like an enemy. The Hendricks family may not be as wealthy as the Carvers, but we have connections. With Don's position, does she think she can just push us around?" "Money doesn't justify bullying." Amara smiled darkly. "She'll learn at the courthouse. She's just encouraging divorce over some texts. The judge won't grant it, especially with the mandatory reconciliation period." Indeed, it was not simple to get a divorce these days. With her legal studies, Aria knew this as well as Amara did. Her first move after leaving with Lettie was to find a comfortable café and call her brother Percy. "Yes, I hav
Having seen plenty in Southbury, Aria knew this world well. As the Nightshade Queen, she had frequented nightclubs for information. She would see drunk students outside, with some of them being heartbroken and confused. Others were picked up from campus. They were willingly accompanying executives and businessmen. There were many such cases at art schools. Some were just drinking, while others were desperately seeking to seduce someone else's husband. In those kinds of venues, one would see everything. All kinds of cars could often be seen at the campuses at night. People called modern life materialistic, and indeed it was. After seeing so much, Aria understood people's differences. And this had nothing to do with the level of education they had received at school. Morals would only constrain those with morals anyway. "I don't understand." Lettie frowned. "She's wealthy, and her parents are lawyers. Her future's bright. Why choose a married man?" Aria zoomed in on her phone
Aria's eyebrow arched. "That's her?" "Do you know her?" Lettie asked. Aria's eyes settled on a photo of the mistress in a traditional Krowonian outfit. Slowly, she said, "I've seen her posts before." "She's a cosplayer, right?" Lettie set down her milk. "At first, I was shocked too. I thought I was imagining things until she confronted me personally. That was when I confirmed that she's the one." Aria's eyes darkened. "Some people need harsher lessons." Lettie agreed, "I was too cautious before and not confident enough." "Lettie, I wasn't talking about you. I meant myself." Looking down, Aria's fingers flew across the keyboard while typing something. She had not expected one trip through the manifestation to change someone's personality. In the end, the selfish ones would remain selfish. But something caught her attention. The chosen ones in the manifestation might not be what she had thought. If each person there corresponded to those with vengefulness from the present
"A divorce trial is the quickest way there is." Aria scanned her phone. "I've seen your browser history. You've been researching divorce for a while. But you held back because people might gossip about Daisy for having to choose sides in court. "She doesn't understand you, but I do." Aria's smile was genuine. "You remind me of my mother. You're both remarkable women. "You'd never give up despite circumstances, nor would you pass negative values to your children. You'd fight for even the slimmest chance." Aria turned the laptop back to Lettie after preparing the content to post. "The choice is yours. You can keep this as leverage for more power in the Hendricks family or let them have a taste of what you've experienced." Lettie had never expected to regain control. She had thought Aria would judge her weak for not divorcing. But instead, Aria completely respected her choice. Lettie smiled and hit the spacebar. It was then posted on all platforms. "I don't want revenge. I just
Paxton received a call from Amara. Puzzled, he answered. Amara screeched, "Your ungrateful wife wants a divorce!" "Really? Did she say this herself?" Paxton was not stupid—something just felt off. Amara put her hand on her hip. "She's gotten bold and somehow managed to latch onto the Carvers! Not just divorce, she's claiming she wrote those novels too!" Alone at home, Amara dropped her usual façade. "Ridiculous! Everyone knows that's your work. This little tramp needs a lesson. Call her! "Stop asking me to play nice for appearances. Make her beg for my forgiveness on her knees. Paxton, you should see how arrogant she's gotten with that Carver girl backing her." Of everything said, only one thing caught Paxton's attention. "Carver girl? Isn't that the richest family in Janovin?" "Yes, Lettie's left with her." Amara fumed. "They showed me zero respect! You should just divorce her outright. Since you and Celestia are so good together, just let her give the Hendricks family a
"You'd handle it? You promised to confront her last month, but did you?" Celestia scrolled through her phone. "I'm an influencer with two million followers! What will happen to my job if people find out about my complicated love life?" Her eyes reddened. "My parents keep asking about this too. My family's well-off, and I'm an art school graduate. We could go back to my home if we don't want to stay in Janovin. But you still won't divorce her. What am I supposed to tell my parents?" Hearing that, Paxton pulled her close. "I know you've suffered a lot. Let's buy you another bag. It's not that I don't want to divorce. Something's odd here. Lettie's not the concern, but I don't want to offend the Carvers." Celestia dabbed her barely wet eyes. "The Carvers wouldn't care about things like this, would they? It's got nothing to do with them. But you're right to worry. Maybe you should ask around." "My thoughts exactly." Paxton's face hardened. "And the novel must be credited as mine. I
Aria might as well say Landon had period cramps! Percy's features were naturally mischievous. Whenever he raised his gold-rimmed glasses, he looked refined yet roguish. It felt like he had not said anything when he actually had. Though he had heard from Leon that Aria really liked Landon, as her brother, Percy's feelings about her love life were complicated. Landon chuckled softly before letting out a few coughs. "I've been in poor health. I hope you'll understand, Percy." Percy was speechless as he thought, "Stop pretending! Did you forget I was there when you devoured those companies? You didn't look sick then! Taking a deep breath, Percy remembered his purpose here. He turned to the pregnant Lettie. "Generally, I would advise against divorce trials. Both parties should discuss it together if possible. An out-of-court settlement is best." He added, "It's for your benefit. Given your pregnancy, judges might deny the divorce or mandate a cooling period. Based on current evi
"Actually, I've rarely seen Don. Even when he came back just recently, he only stayed for three or four days before he moved to the dorms. He hates being disturbed, especially while researching history. The university library is his favorite place, and he never involves himself in family matters." "Does he never involve himself, or is he ignoring them on purpose?" Landon's precise question came in a smooth tone. Aria had wondered the same thing. Lettie was never one to complain. "He's really someone who would avoid mundane matters. Not just with me—he rarely sees any relatives. Amara handles all that. He's not sociable, but he always tells Paxton to take me to visit my family more whenever he visits." Percy looked up. "Have you told Don about your husband's affair?" "No." Lettie's lips pursed bitterly. "I haven't had the chance." Aria tapped her phone screen while considering her next moves. Just then, Lettie's phone rang. She frowned at the display. "It's Paxton." "Record
Aliya had never heard of the Special Missions Unit until today. But after seeing Pedro's panicked reaction, it didn't take long for her to realize that this was a group with more authority than even her father.Still, some people lived so long in privilege that they convinced themselves they were untouchable. Logic no longer applied to them.Aria was done entertaining Aliya's ignorance. With a flick of her wrist, she signaled someone to silence her. Then, she turned to Aliya with icy disdain."Don't worry," Aria said. "I'll take you with me when I pay your father a visit. Then we can ask him together what his name truly means in this state."Her voice was calm but sharp."You seem to have forgotten that his power—any power—comes from the people. And now, you're using that power to treat their lives like currency. To buy yourself a life of superiority."She stepped closer. "Organ trafficking is illegal here. That's the crime we've confirmed so far. But don't worry. We'll find the
When Pedro heard that it was the Special Missions Unit, his forehead was covered in sweat immediately. Even his mind had gone blank. At that moment, all he could think about was how doomed they were!Others might not have heard of the unit before. However, as a state official, there was no way Pedro wouldn't know them. In fact, the Special Missions Unit was something they had no control over.Technically, the Special Missions Unit had way more clearance than they did. After all, they were in charge of big cases. Sometimes, they would even work with the special troops.The Special Missions Unit belonged to the country, and they were extremely mysterious. Even people with high clearance wouldn't know who they were in real life.Pedro only managed to find his voice after a long time. As he wiped the sweat off his forehead, he chuckled awkwardly."Oh, this is all a misunderstanding. May I know who I am speaking to? I never expected the Special Missions Unit to be carrying out a missio
Aliya had never met Aria before, but this was the first time she'd seen a young woman more poised—and far more arrogant—than herself. That only fueled her rage. And the fact that Aria was stunningly beautiful didn't help either.Scoffing, she snapped, "Do you dare let us make our calls? Let's see if you still look so smug after that."The other wealthy attendees stiffened. None of them moved. With Aria in the room, they had the sinking feeling that calling in favors wouldn't end well.Aria merely tilted her head and smiled. "Of course," she said, then turned to her team. "Please hand this lady her phone. Let her make her call."The members of the Special Missions Unit didn't question her. They knew Aria well enough to understand what she was doing—she wanted the bigger fish. The call would be recorded, and with any luck, it would lead them straight to someone higher up the chain.Aliya was momentarily thrown off by Aria's easy agreement. But she quickly chalked it up to ignorance.
Aliya squinted at the unmasked man beside Aria. Now that his face was fully visible, something about him sparked a flicker of recognition. She lowered her gaze, trying to recall where she'd seen him before.Then a sharp gasp cut through the air."He's from the York family… Janovin's York family! Wait—was he Mr. Crow? Were they working together the whole time?"Even though they were all wealthy people, they weren't in the same ranks. No one dared to mess with the York family at all.If the circumstances were different, the arrogant, wealthy people from earlier would've tried to exchange contacts with Landon. That way, they could've partnered up in the future. However, with what had happened that day, those people were in a daze.Meanwhile, Aria knew those people still had no idea what was going on. So, she just removed her disguise and showed them who she really was.Aliya was stunned by what Aria had done. When she saw who the latter truly was, her gaze was filled with jealousy.
The wealthy clients that were left behind at the auction had connections to powerful people, and Dave didn't think Aria was capable enough to deal with every one of them. Although Farshya was well-developed, it had always been a country that focused on connections.Power meant everything, and Dave wanted to see how Aria and her team would deal with his guests. If he remembered correctly, Aliya was the daughter of a great leader in the state. She wanted a womb from a young lady because she wanted to have children.Before the clients got what they wanted, Aria had offended a lot of big shots. Dave thought about it for a second and hoped Aria would suffer as much as he did.Dave was right about one thing. Aliya wasn't anxious at all when someone infiltrated the auction and took control of the event. She was only stunned for a moment at first. Once everything had settled down, she calmed down and even looked a little proud."I suggest you talk to your leader first before deciding to cu
Dave had escaped, but just barely.He'd saved his life, nothing more. The documents he needed to destroy were still intact. Everything had gone completely off script.Every exit had been sealed. If he hadn't killed a villager and disguised himself with a spell, he would've died at the auction. He didn't receive any news about the ambush and was caught entirely off guard.He wasn't in Janovin, and security was that tight there. With his connections, he could've found out what was going to happen in advance. However, that wasn't the case at all.Slipping into a grimy back alley, Dave cursed his luck. Most of his men had been rounded up in the village. He could only hope a few had managed to slip through. But with sirens wailing in the distance, he knew hope was thin."Who the hell was that?" he muttered, wiping dirt off his face with a shaking hand. Normally a stickler for cleanliness, Dave was too rattled to care. "And where's the real Eden?"His mind snapped into action. The scho
Landon's sudden appearance wasn't just a coincidence. With Aria's intelligence, she would figure something out soon—he knew that. He hadn't planned on revealing himself like this. But something that belonged to him was here, and the demonic energy in this place… Aria couldn't face it alone.She studied him from head to toe, her hand still in his. His grip was firm, protective."There's a lot of mist ahead," he said quietly. "We'll need to tread carefully."Aria tilted her head. "You speak like you know this place well.""I do," Landon replied with a calm honesty. "I was deathly ill once. My soul wandered into a place just like this. Homer pulled me back."His voice made it sound like a distant memory, and Aria gave a soft laugh, tightening her hold on his hand. "You really are full of surprises. I guess it's true—handsome men are the most dangerous."But Aria's thoughts were racing. Why had he come after her like this, knowing it would reveal parts of himself he'd tried to keep h
Landon was still handling the stragglers behind Aria when he paused, his gaze flicking upward. Cameras were mounted in every corner—too many eyes. Vanishing without a trace wasn't an option.He glanced in Aria's direction, then lowered his head. His lips moved in a whisper, but the sounds were incomprehensible—something rhythmic, otherworldly. It was less like a speech and more like a chant—an exorcism.Meanwhile, Dave descended into the underground, calm and unrushed. That place reeked of foul energy, dense and suffocating. His master had cast a spell over it—one designed to kill anyone who dared to enter, no matter their strength. Dave wasn't afraid. He had more pressing priorities—destroying documents, erasing traces, minimizing damage.His bodyguard stayed close, watching for anyone who might try to stop them.Aria, moving swiftly, reached the lower floor—only to halt. Mist curled along the ground, thickening with every step. The air turned icy. And the corridor behind her…
"Why would there be people outside?" asked Dave. He had been disguising himself as a doctor for years, and that was the first time he looked so anxious. After all, if someone did approach their building, the villagers would have informed them about it. However, they received no news this time.Dave wondered what was going on."Dr. Dave, what should we do now? I think we're surrounded!"He was still in his coat as he slightly clenched his fists. "Let's move out. Bring the girls in the basement with us.""T-They're not in the basement."When Dave heard that, he looked furious. "What do you mean they're not in the basement?""Someone took them away, and I'm guessing it was her fault!" The bodyguard pointed at Aria, who was standing on the highest point, showing off her skills. With swift, lethal kicks and a taser turned weapon, no one dared get close.Whoever touched Aria would die, and no one dared to approach her at all.As for Landon, he still had his mask on as he stood behind