Amara stood next to Don with tears in her eyes. After what had transpired, she thought he would divorce her. After all, she came from a rural area. He could've done it any time he wanted. In fact, Amara had felt inferior in her heart. That was the exact reason all of this happened. She lacked love and a sense of security. What was more, she felt the constant need to prove her self-worth. All of these contributed to her inferiority complex. That was how she came to raise someone like Paxton. Lettie saw the change in Amara. Although it didn't mean that she could forgive the latter, she didn't intend to make things difficult for Amara either. Lettie had exacted her revenge. More importantly, Aria showed her that justice would prevail in this world. That was enough for her. Now, it was time for Lettie to forge her own future. From here on out, she and the Hendricks family would never cross paths again. Now that everything had come to a close, Aria should've been happy about it.
No one understood what Aria was talking about, except Landon. "You're suspecting that someone was orchestrating the whole thing and setting up a trap for you.""It's not just for me. That mastermind used the same tricks on the Carver family and the Hendricks family. They sought the incompetent sons in both families and worked their angles there."Aria lowered her voice. "If my grandpa hadn't been a tough man, my brothers might've met the same fate as Daisy. Just look at how closely Paxton and Owen resemble each other. Although they weren't similarly aged, they could've been poker buddies if they got together."Landon's lips couldn't help but curl into a grin when he heard what she said. It looked like a clue had just made itself seen. "You're right. We have to think about this carefully. I think everything's settled here. How about I ask Sam to come back and make sense of the situation? It'll be a little troublesome, though. He's still recovering at Mount Dracotigris."Such as th
"Follow me to the underground parking lot," Aria said briefly, but she didn't specify who she was talking to. Landon was very self-conscious. He didn't feel safe with someone who reeked of bad karma. However, Aria always had a tendency to forget the lessons she learned. He had told her that she couldn't keep saving people like this.It wasn't as if Aria listened to Landon, though. Instead, she was more focused on finding a lover. In fact, Landon couldn't care less about the others. He merely showed up here because he had a bad feeling about the whole thing. By the time Percy turned around, Aria and Landon were gone. Jeez. Landon would just follow wherever Aria went, wouldn't he?Landon was very different from his old self. Now, he was the furthest thing from cold and aloof. Back in the parking lot, Paxton was already having a meltdown. His phone kept ringing, and his information was exposed. More importantly, he couldn't believe that Celestia had been playing him for a fool.
"Stop badgering my daughter, and I'll pay you however much you want. It's not like things are unsalvageable at this point, are they? You still haven't found the person who leaked your information online—they're the ones at fault, not Celestia. Venting your hatred on her is pointless.""Pointless, how?" Paxton said what all men would say, "She seduced me first! If she hadn't latched onto me, I wouldn't have had that massive row with my wife! I supported her career and spent so much money on her because I thought she was pure and innocent, but it turns out she's a slut any man could sleep with!"Audriana's eyes turned red with rage. "You're not to talk about my daughter like that!""I'm not to, you say? Ha, funny." Paxton stomped on Celestia's leg. "As if you could stop me! You should read up on what they're saying online. And you claim to be a noble family in Ludwiten while you're already rotten to the core!"Celestia almost passed out from the sharp pain; cold sweat ran down her ba
Aria said expressionlessly, "Weren't you two still lovey-dovey mere moments before? Why did he become a pervert all of a sudden?"Celestia froze. She looked at Aria in disbelief. "W-Why do you—""I'm from the Carver family," Aria suddenly introduced herself. "I'm managing Lettie's affairs."Celestia's gaze wavered. It turned out that the other woman was the daughter of the Carver family, a hot topic of conversation in her social circles now.She almost struggled to catch her breath as she thought of what she had done. Aria had just told her that she was managing Lettie's affairs, which was scary because Celestia had witnessed for herself what Aria was capable of—she was so brave she could even fly a fighter jet!How on earth did Lettie meet her? "It was you who exposed what's between Paxton and I!" Celestia suddenly had a realization. She took a heavy step back, eyes on Aria. She'd been thinking of how she'd take her revenge before meeting Aria, but now she felt nothing but
Aria gave the leader of the SMU a casual look as she said to Paxton, "Someone like you deserves a heavy sentence."The leader wanted to say, "Yes, boss." However, he noticed that something wasn't right—Celestia was watching them. Landon was here, too, as well as the young boy Aria had saved in the square.And so the leader yanked Paxton up from the floor without a hitch. The men also escorted Celestia to the car. According to Aria, Celestia knew some things that would help their investigation, so they had to inspect her thoroughly. From the beginning, Aria acted like a cooperative passerby. Paxton screamed and yelled, but it all was pointless.Celestia said she wanted to call a lawyer, and she wouldn't say anything before the lawyer came. Her mother had taught her this since she was little. However, the SMU didn't follow the usual flow. Paxton was sent to an ordinary holding cell, while Celestia was subjected to a tightly confined investigation. Audriana hung up, feeli
At this moment, Audriana still had no idea about the severity of Celestia's crimes.Those coded messages in the fan groups and the buyers behind the scenes came together to form a tangled web.This might not be obvious to the average person, but Aria, the founder of the Dark Web forum, was very aware of certain phrases. Celestia readily denied that there was anything wrong with the chat groups at first. "I can't really refuse when my fans want to support me, can I?"She was so confident because she was backed up by her family. The interrogator withdrew a copy of the messages in the chat group and pointed at the dolls with numbers labeled on them as Aria had instructed. "What does '13 years old' mean?"Celestia's gaze wavered. "I like to label ages on my dolls.""You like your dolls so much you're even giving them blood types?" the interrogator asked sharply. "If not for the photo behind this doll, we would've been fooled."The 'goods', as you call them, are not dolls, but peopl
Celestia's words weren't completely truthful. She glanced around as she spoke. Aria chuckled. She picked up her pendant and made to leave. Celestia knew that she would be done for if Aria left just like that, so she shouted, "Some of them are from families that got rich early. They'd visit Ludwiten and Chershia from time to time, and many of them had properties overseas. They're capitalists, the real deal! They were the ones who asked for the goods!"You know how men are—some of them are obsessed with children of this age. They also tend to prefer Ignisian faces over Glacian ones."Celestia glanced at the camera subconsciously after saying that, as if worried about something. When she noticed that Aria had stopped in her tracks and was currently looking at her, she continued, not brave enough to lie this time, "I'm not the only one they recruited—there are also other influencers. One of them is a famous influencer with some of the highest traffic on the site, I heard. "This isn
Aria had once told Sam to avoid chaos if he could—but she'd also said that when desperation knocked, rules could bend.Now was one of those moments.Sam hesitated only briefly before diving in.He had to know who was behind this. Who kept targeting Aria? Who was pulling the strings in the dark? And once Sam decided on something, there was no turning back.Without Aria by his side, he breached the system, knowing full well the other side had already alerted the police.The firewall he faced wasn't just tough—it was nearly impenetrable. It filtered everything, controlling access with surgical precision. But Sam wasn't interested in the broader network. He narrowed his focus and cut straight to the source, filtering out all the noise to lock onto the actual IP.The auction raged on aboveground. The man behind the screen, confident in his usual routine, remained calm and unaware that the mask he'd worn for years was finally slipping. He'd always stayed out of sight, appearing only
While Aria discreetly signaled to move, the auction hall was buzzing with excitement. Laughter echoed, wine glasses clinked, and the room pulsed with greed.Sasha's voice came through the mic, smooth and cheerful. "While everyone's enjoying themselves, let's welcome our latest arrival of the evening."She glanced at the man beside her—her bodyguard—who immediately stiffened under her gaze.To the crowd, it looked like he was escorting Aria to the stage under control. In truth, Aria's hand was already pressed lightly against his chest, right over a poisoned pressure point. He knew better than to resist—he'd seen what she was capable of.And she'd made her warning crystal clear—if she was exposed or captured, he wouldn't live to see morning.The guests didn't notice a thing. All eyes were on Aria, their expressions hungry. They saw value in her—fresh, young, healthy. To them, she wasn't a person. She was premium merchandise.She was brought to stand beside a young woman who had alr
Eamon and Waymond had just been thrown out of the Chamber of Commerce. Waymond's face was flushed with fury, his eyes red. "Eamon, why didn't you let me speak earlier? Mr. Lincoln was being unreasonable!"Eamon, ever perceptive, shook his head. "Mr. Lincoln's been bribed. He was never going to take our side."Wise and strategic, Eamon had always been top of his class—but now, he was even sharper when it came to reading a room."I'm guessing Aria found something during her investigation that made them nervous," he continued. "Durand couldn't have controlled Lincoln on his own. There's more to it."Waymond frowned, still struggling to piece things together. "But who could bribe Mr. Lincoln? Not even the mayor has that kind of sway. He's—""What if it's someone from the state?" Eamon cut in, eyes flicking back toward the building. "We need to tell Dad. There's no point in staying here, but there is someone we can talk to.""Who?" Waymond asked quickly. "Lucas Murray—the new secr
Durand's expression darkened; Eamon was right. Amos and the official from the state had originally wanted to work with the Grishams, especially Eamon. That was why they used the Fitzroys as a bridge to approach him. Unfortunately, Magdalene had failed to establish any rapport with the Grishams.Instead, she kept criticizing Eamon, claiming he followed Laura's every word, and insisted they had plenty of ways to manipulate the Grishams. In the end, the divorce erupted into a scandal, and the entire Fitzroy family was imprisoned.Ironically, Eamon's actions only impressed the state official more. Durand had even heard Amos say that their leader hoped Eamon would continue working with them as his involvement would ensure their plans progressed smoothly.That knowledge burned Durand with frustration. No matter what he did, he could never measure up to Eamon."It looks like you still haven't grasped the situation, Mr. Grishman. Mr. Grisham Senior has begged everyone, but where did it le
"I'm happy to take over the Grishams' responsibilities," Durand said.Waymond scoffed coldly. "You're not worthy of it.""Mr. Lincoln, it seems someone's not too happy with you."Durand, dressed like a gentleman as always, adjusted his glasses and replied calmly, "Waymond, you've been in this business long enough to know how things work. The Grishams have gained a lot over the years. It's not up to you to decide whether to hold on to it."Leonardo stood, trying to ease the tension. "There's no point in arguing. Let's settle this the traditional way—with an anonymous vote. Everyone, write down whether you think the Grishams should step down. Let the vote speak for itself. That way, it'll be fair."He instructed someone to bring in a box, paper, and pens. Each member was handed a set. It was more for show than anything else; everyone already knew how the vote would go.Eamon saw right through their performance, his gaze turning cold as he sat silently. The votes were quickly cast an
"Mr. Grisham, how long your niece stays locked up isn't up to us—it depends on the severity of her crime," Durand said. "As a member of the Chamber of Commerce, you should understand how serious the situation she's stirred up really is. Haven't you read any of the online news?"People are now hoping the Grisham family goes bankrupt. They're even demanding that we, the Chamber, investigate this matter ourselves!"His words made those who had previously wanted to side with the Grishams start to hesitate. With the Draycotts and Fitzroys already doomed, the Grishams had seemed like the next best option. But no one had expected Aria to make such a critical mistake.Public sentiment had turned sharply. The Chamber of Commerce was now being blamed for enabling an economic disaster. What angered the public most was Aria's carefully crafted image. If she'd shown her true colors from the start, they might have ignored her. But pretending to be righteous, only to betray the common people—that w
Dave smiled, clearly enjoying the desperation on Lewis' face. "Also, you won't be getting any more orders. Your supervisor is going to help us delete every report you've ever submitted. What a shame, Lewis. You risked your life on the front lines, only for someone else to reap the rewards behind your back. If I were you, I'd stop being so loyal. Wouldn't it be better to join us?"He was trying to manipulate Lewis, planting doubt and betrayal like poison. As Aria listened, her fists clenched slowly. Nothing crushed a person's spirit more than destroying their belief in what they stood for. They had exposed Lewis on purpose—to break his faith in the uniform he wore.The masked clients settled back into their seats, returning to their arrogant ease. They were reminded that they were above the law within these walls. No one from the outside could enter the premises, and if someone did, they wouldn't leave intact.These people had powerful connections. To them, the undercover cop was a
Aside from Aria, who had initially refused the food, everything had seemed normal to Stephanie. After all, Aria eventually accepted a drink, and nothing else appeared out of the ordinary.But the more Stephanie thought about it, the deeper her frown became. A sense of unease crept in, and she instinctively lowered her microphone, ready to rush to the basement to check things for herself. Seeing her reaction, the wealthy clients began to panic.The woman in the fox mask stood up, clutching her bag tightly, and made for the exit. She feared she would actually be arrested if she stayed any longer. She had no intention of ending up in jail just for attending an auction, especially one like this. Most importantly, she couldn't afford to have her reputation tarnished.Like her, the rest of the crowd shared the same instinct—flee.Meanwhile, Aria narrowed her eyes as she subdued a bodyguard with one hand. She maintained firm but measured pressure with her left hand, ready to act the moment
When Sasha heard the man mention the rare gem, her eyes narrowed slightly. Very few people knew about it. Only Dave and a handful of higher-ups were aware. She immediately wondered who had leaked the news.But the man's words had already ignited excitement across the auction floor."What? A rare gem?""It's been ages since we've seen one! I can't believe there's actually one today!"To these people, a rare gem referred to someone whose body was considered exceptionally valuable, blessed with natural fortune, vitality, and unmatched physical condition. It was believed that such a person couldn't fully harness the luck they were born with. But if someone else could acquire it...Not only could they preserve their youth and beauty, but their careers and fortunes could be transformed. The idea sent a thrill through the room, and their greed quickly became impossible to hide.Sasha realized the situation was slipping out of her control. She reached for her communicator to contact Dave,