Magdalene thought they were being taken to an interrogation room. Instead, they were led somewhere not far from Fitzroy Group. After being handcuffed, they were blindfolded. When the blindfolds were removed, harsh lights greeted them. Magdalene's son and daughter sat on either side of her.Dorian was the first to react, his voice sharp with panic. "Lawyer! I want a lawyer!"Laura, in contrast, remained silent, the weight of remorse pressing down on her.A lazy voice cut through the tension. "I don't have a lawyer for you, but I can arrange a lifetime sentence."Laura stiffened instantly. Magdalene turned toward the voice in disbelief. Dorian, though unfamiliar with Aria, recognized her face. Her presence was unforgettable, and the tattoo on her neck had been seared into his memory."Aria?" Laura's voice cracked. "Why is it you?"Aria met her gaze with cool indifference. "Why shouldn't it be me?"Magdalene's experience gave her a sharp intuition. She narrowed her eyes. "How can
Dorian had always been timid, never having faced real hardships. The thought of spending the rest of his life in jail was unbearable. "This is all because of your greed," he spat, his voice trembling with resentment. "You and your obsession with the Grisham family—you always thought they were better than us. That's why you were so desperate to outdo them."His eyes burned with anger as he continued, "You were beyond saving from the start, yet you still dragged me and Laura down with you. Mom, you can't be this selfish."Magdalene staggered, nearly collapsing from the sheer weight of his words. Rage and betrayal clawed at her chest, but before she could succumb, Aria intervened, keeping her upright. Magdalene had to hear everything."Aria," Dorian pressed on, his desperation mounting. "You don't know half of what my mother has done. It's about Fiona. I know everything. You'll want to hear this."He had never been this frantic before. He was willing to reveal any secret if it meant
Dorian furrowed his brows, lost in thought. "There was someone… I think he was a low-level official handling Ludwiten's economy at the time.""Take a look. Is it him?" Aria slid her phone across the table, revealing a picture. Dorian immediately nodded. "That's him, but why does he look younger? He doesn't seem like the timid man I remember.""Power changes people," Aria said knowingly. "It's understandable you don't recognize him. But look," she said, pointing to the webpage with a smile. "Do you recognize him?"The man in the photo wore glasses and a suit, exuding an air of authority. Something about him felt eerily familiar.Dorian paused for a moment. "H-He is…""He's the third-in-command of the city, Amos Lune." Aria's gaze flicked between the two images. "It's indeed hard to believe. With a simple name change, he's a completely different person. But someone must have worked hard to push a minor official this high."Dorian had never considered how deep the web of influence
Aria turned to leave without hesitation. She couldn't afford to linger. Dorian's words had been recorded. Sharing them with her uncles wouldn't violate any rules—it would clear up past misunderstandings.Just as she pushed the door open, Laura's voice rang out."Aria, I swear, I knew nothing about your mother! You wouldn't want Jett to have a mother with a criminal record, would you? I never meant to harm the Grisham family. Please, help me."Aria halted, but her voice was cold. "Help you? Uncle Eamon ignored your scheming for Jett's sake the first time. When you set your sights on the Grisham Group's shares, he still chose to let it go. And yet, what did you do?"You leaked information. You framed Uncle Eamon for betraying you."She despised women like Laura—greedy and manipulative. Worse, Laura had destroyed the marriage Eamon should have had.Because of her, Eamon had been forced into marriage at an age when he should have been free to live his life.Aria had never understo
Amos didn't want Aria to stay in Ludwiten, but she had no intention of leaving just yet. The case of the woman who jumped off the building might have been closed legally, but not in Aria's eyes. The lack of an official report didn't mean the incident was simple. Something was off.Nocturne's location was too strategic, and Aria was certain there was more hidden inside the bar—something she hadn't uncovered yet.And where was the Wagner family? They had disappeared the moment she arrived in Ludwiten. She couldn't shake the unease creeping in. She needed to find Yonah.Once she secured the key information she was after, she immediately instructed her subordinates to investigate how Amos had managed to rise to power so quickly.Exposing the mastermind behind him required careful strategy. Aria knew they were calculated and composed, considering they had remained silent even after the downfall of the Draycott and Fitzroy families.To the mastermind, those families were nothing more
Nisa had no idea how complicated things truly were. Durand had made his choice years ago—opting for someone in the state government over the Draycott family. But he had never once confided in his wife, Nisa, about it. Even so, he now found it wise to apologize to the Grisham family. At the very least, it would set them apart from the Draycott and Fitzroy families. They had simply made the wrong decision at a critical moment.Durand sighed. "Alright, honey, I'll take your advice. I'm relying on you to smooth things over with the Fitzroys. Ultimately, I'm placing my trust in you, my darling wife, to fix this."Nisa took a slow sip of her coffee. "I'm glad you understand. This is a crucial moment, so make sure you clean up any messy relationships you have outside."Durand's smile faltered briefly, but he said nothing.Nisa studied him. "I'm only worried something might happen. The deceased girl's parents were easy to deal with, but others won't be. Who knows what might come up?"Th
With Amos' assurance, Durand finally felt at ease. If Amos was taking action, it meant the mastermind behind the scenes was also displeased with Aria. Others might only be all talk and no action, but Durand knew better than anyone how capable Amos was. No one could detect the flaws in Amos' plans. After all, he had been the one to handle Fiona's incident back then. The fact that he had managed to pull off such a massive deception in front of the Grisham brothers spoke volumes about his abilities. And now, he was even more formidable than before.As the third most powerful figure in Ludwiten, backed by the governor, Amos' influence extended far beyond what ordinary businessmen could fathom.The Guetta family was finally saved. Just moments ago, Durand had regretted provoking Aria, but now, he was certain—this outsider who had disrupted the Chamber of Commerce's operations was destined for a steep downfall.Otherwise, the Grisham family might actually seize control of all of Ludwi
"Now that the Draycotts are done for, the Fitzroys won't be far behind," Amos said, letting the bitterness linger before offering a glimmer of hope. "The Guetta family will take over the scholarship program."Durand barely managed to contain his excitement. Greed twisted across his face. "Don't worry. I'll manage it properly."Amos remained composed. "It's not your competence I doubt, but let's avoid another situation like that girl's. Her parents may have signed a waiver and dropped the case, but the higher-ups aren't brushing it off."You know how seriously Mr. Kelsall takes the scholarship program. You've worked with Orion on a few deliveries, so you should know."Mr. Kelsall's been in poor health lately. Start lining up some new faces. As for Aria, leave her to me."Durand's eyes lit up with opportunity. "Of course, Mr. Lune. I've been watching the Chamber of Commerce closely and have a few candidates in mind."I can take over Orion's responsibilities—and do better. As long a
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,