Laura said, "Mom, the Land Planning Department just announced which land will be developed. The winning bid wasn't the piece the Draycott family acquired—it was the piece you schemed to have Aria buy!" With a loud crash, Magdalene's teacup fell from her hand. Fragments of the cup scattered across the floor. Her body was shaking, unable to accept this reality. "That's impossible! Apollo assured me it was worthless land. And wasn't Bellebrook the land Aria was interested in? How could it be developed? This can't be true!" "It's all over the news!" Laura tapped open something on her phone screen to show Magdalene. Magdalene trembled as she snatched the phone. Laura clenched her fists. "And you just announced to everyone that Jett was withdrawing his investment and wouldn't be involved with this land! Then immediately after, they had a meeting and announced that this land would be developed. "Mom, you're not the only one embarrassed—so am I! How am I supposed to explain this to
Magdalene continued, "Eamon can't afford to divorce you either. Don't forget how much his net worth is. If he agreed to divorce, he'd have to give you half his assets. "Money aside, he'd need to give you half his shares too. That would be a significant blow to the Grisham family. Even if he agreed, someone as clever as Clyde wouldn't allow it." Magdalene had studied this area thoroughly, and the tactics she used were sneaky as well. Given Eamon's circumstances back then, he never would have chosen to marry Laura, so Magdalene had to do something about it. The Grishams valued their reputation, and Eamon had a strong sense of responsibility. That was why Laura naturally ended up marrying him. After all these years, the facts proved her methods were effective. How else would she have a grandson who was completely devoted to her? As for what those methods were, anyone who reads novels would be familiar—when a woman admired a man, she would come up with schemes to get him into bed
The lines displayed on the screen all hit Orion like a punch to the gut. The smile on his face vanished in an instant. One line stood out dramatically. It was gold—which they had expected to plummet! "What? How can gold stock prices rise?" Orion's eyes looked like they were about to shoot flames. They had been promised that as soon as the afternoon market opened, the price difference would appear! The price difference was there alright, but in just one morning, gold had risen by ten dollars per share! What did a ten-dollar increase per share mean? For perspective, some listed companies during hard times opened at just a few dollars per share. They could barely maintain their basic shareholders, and investors certainly weren't interested in these companies. If a stock could survive at a few dollars per share, imagine what it meant to rise by ten dollars per share at market opening. Without a doubt, those who bought gold certainly did not lose money. Not only that, but thos
So what if gold prices were skyrocketing? A stock rising so abnormally was never a good thing. Anyone who traded stocks would know this was a sign of an impending crash. Aria could celebrate all she wanted today. But by tomorrow, Orion's three stocks would soar together and crush the Carvers! Orion was too used to being arrogant since he had powerful backing. He did not believe Aria could really beat him. After all, once his capital started rolling, it would be five times what the Grisham family had! When Arlo heard that Orion wanted to continue pouring huge amounts of money into the stock market. his first reaction was to find Harlan Wexford, the Draycott Group's financial officer. Harlan shook his head. "No way. Mr. Draycott can continue to increase his position, but if he wants to divert funds from my department, it will likely cause a shortage in the company's finances. "If relevant authorities find out about this, it will be very troublesome. They'll issue external warni
The other Chamber of Commerce members had already completed their additional investments. This caused Orion to feel extremely displeased.Thankfully, he had hired a professional trader who was quick on his feet. The trader had successfully added the investment half an hour before the stock market closed.Orion finally heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness I made it in time. It's all the financial officer's fault. Does he think he's the boss just because he handles the money?"The Chamber of Commerce had heard the argument just now. "Mr. Draycott, do you have any personal connections with the financial officer?"Orion took a drag from his cigarette. "He used to be one of my underlings. He's just a country bumpkin. I hired him because he was smart and used to have good grades in school. He even got a scholarship to study abroad."If he wasn't good with numbers, I wouldn't have hired him.""You'll need to be careful, Mr. Draycott. Financial officers can be very ruthless when gett
The bodyguard's smile was quite unsettling. "Don't worry, Mr. Draycott. I'll take care of this. I remember Mr. Wexford has a daughter in junior high…"Orion glanced at him. "Don't make a scene. Do it quietly.""Of course." Despite his answer, the idea he had in mind differed from that. He planned to screw Harlan over. After all, he had heard that Harlan was in the process of resigning.Orion didn't bother with the further details. After all, nothing of that was important to him. He only cared about his stocks.…Meanwhile, Aria averted her gaze from the computer when the stock market finally closed. Not only was she tired, but she was also starving. She felt like she could eat a cow right now!"Let's find a place to eat some stew." Aria placed her laptop down and started to navigate for nearby restaurants.Landon sat in the passenger seat and arched an eyebrow. "You earned so much, but you only want to eat stew?""Yup. Stew is enough for me. I like eating it." Aria started to
Aria's thoughts were all over the place. Perhaps she was too tired, or maybe it was Landon's scent. She furrowed her brows as black mist curled around her, even her gaze shifting with it.Sensing the growing surge of bad karma, Landon chose not to push forward. Instead, he reached out and covered her eyes. "It's been a while since you asked for consultation fees from me."This time, he didn't pull her toward his neck. Instead, he bit his finger and pressed his lips to hers.With her vision blocked, Aria's consciousness wavered, slipping toward drowsiness. She only snapped out of it when the phone she'd dropped under the car seat started ringing. Blinking away the haze, she grabbed Landon's wrist and twisted it in a swift reversal.Her hair brushed against his face as she loomed over him, eyes tinged with red beneath her cool demeanor. "My phone is ringing."Landon turned his head slightly, revealing his sharp side profile, his elegance undisturbed.Retrieving her phone, she s
Laura's voice dripped with resentment as she confronted Aria. Aria, unfazed, twirled the blade she had whisked out of nowhere. Her tone was indifferent. "Yes, Aunt Laura. Are you saying all this just to get me to share some profit with the Fitzroy family? Or do you want me to secure a spot for your family in the project bidding?"Laura stiffened. She hadn't expected Aria to catch on so quickly. She was much sharper than she had assumed.It brought Laura back to the first time she met Aria—a baby lying in a crib, wearing a tiger hat, smiling at everyone—everyone except Laura.Back then, Laura had just married into the Grisham family and given birth to Jett. She had felt an inexplicable sense of rejection from the child, and it displeased her. But there was nothing she could do about it. Eamon doted on Aria because of Fiona, showering her with the best things in Janovin. Clyde and his wife treated Aria like a precious jewel, calling her a blessing—cheerful, dominant, and full of l
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