Logan nodded. "I doubt anyone could accept such sudden news so easily."However, Philip didn't share the same opinion. "Kenny, the Carver family is only sponsoring her because she's an orphan. Are they responsible for adopting every child they sponsor? Mindy should leave now that their biological daughter has returned.""Shut up," Kenny spat.Logan wanted to smooth things over. "The Carver family is quite odd, though. There's barely any news about them finding their biological daughter. Could it be a false alarm?""I doubt they'll want anyone to know they found her deep in the mountains. I even heard she's illiterate," Kenny said with disgust despite maintaining a straight face. "We don't know what she looks like, but the Carver family will probably make her go through some etiquette lessons before showing her to the world. Otherwise, she'll be a laughingstock."Logan rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "If that's the case, she's completely different from Mindy.""There's no competit
Aria's striking beauty and assertive demeanor embodied the Carver spirit. The staff, intimidated, didn't question her identity. They couldn't help but be captivated by her.From the moment she strode into the courtyard toward the study, the staff couldn't help but murmur about her beauty.Aria never thought she could win over the staff members just by her looks. After all, she was more worried about Warren's condition than anything.Warren stood up when the study door was pushed open. He couldn't seem to conceal the smile on his face. "Rainbow, come here. Let me have a good look at you. Are you cold?"I wanted to send a car to pick you up, but that brat Landon insisted it would be safer if he brought you himself. By the way, where's your grandmother?""She'll visit next time," Aria replied as she checked his pulse. "Grandpa, how are you feeling now?"Warren felt fine. "Perhaps I got a little too worked up just now."Aria paused before opening her black bag. She retrieved a silve
"Grandpa, who designed this house?" Aria asked as she approached the lily pond. The miniature landscape was designed with flair, containing some greenery and water features to it.Warren thought she found the landscape pretty. Thus, he smiled and said, "Your eldest brother hired an overseas designer. If you like the design, I can ask him for the contact." A smile curled on Aria's thin lips. "Sure. The design seems to incorporate many elements from our country. The turquoise pebbles symbolize good fortune, right?" Warren's eyes lit up. "Rainbow, you even have knowledge about this?"Aria smiled. "I read some books here and there. Grandpa, the design is lovely, but I think there's a clash of elements. For example, the direction of the flowing water could signify financial loss."Then, she pointed at the corner skylight. "Additionally, the skylight creates a missing corner in the house. This can be detrimental to health and business, and its effects will worsen over time. It needs t
Despite Warren being concerned about the many problems in the house, he was pleased that Aria was so knowledgeable. After all, she even knew a thing or two about interior design. Aria was way more accomplished than his friends' grandchildren, whose knowledge was gained from textbooks. After surveying Warren's bedroom, she ordered all the plants to be removed. Only a chamomile plant was left behind to improve sleep quality. Her primary goal was to locate the source of the poison, but she ended up uncovering numerous design flaws in the room.Aria would have disregarded it if it had only been a few problems. After all, people nowadays wouldn't take this concept into consideration when designing their houses.However, it struck Aria as odd that issues were everywhere in the room. If she hadn't looked closely, she might have missed them.Aria's expression turned grim as she stood in the middle of the room. It was difficult for her to believe such a layout was a coincidence.Prestig
Although Keith was in his late 30s, he had been working for the Carver family for a long time. His father had been Warren's secretary before him, and Keith now served Warren. Warren was the only person he would willingly work for; otherwise, he would have left for another job.Many headhunters had offered him other job opportunities, but Keith decided he would only leave when Warren no longer needed him. With Aria's return, Keith solidified his decision even further."Ms. Carver bears a resemblance to you and Mrs. Carver Senior. Like you, she's very polite to us staffers." Keith rarely spoke his mind so openly.Warren sighed. "If only my health didn't cause such inconvenience to you all."Keith immediately replied, "It's not your fault! With Ms. Carver around, she'll definitely treat us with respect."Aria was unsure why she became the center of the conversation again.Warren beamed with pride. "Don't you think her kindness reflects mine from when I was younger?""That's for sur
The person who spoke wore a hood that covered his features. "Yes. I followed your instructions and set the traps. They're so subtle that nobody would notice. Besides, Warren is arrogant and scoffs at fortune tellers. The Carver family will crumble within two years, tops."The old man seated on the chair began slowly, "I've told you repeatedly, our goal isn't to eradicate the entire Carver family."The old man rose to his feet. "There are many of them in the Carver family, so let's deal with them one by one. It won't take long till the old one dies. Those who don't usually come home will be hard to deal with, but I have my eyes on the youngest son. The entertainment industry is ruthless, after all."The hooded man slowly smiled. "You're right. I almost forgot about him. He's much easier to deal with than the others."The old man fiddled with his beads. "Don't make it too obvious. Go on.""Yes, sir."It took them more than a decade to set up a trap in the Carver residence's layout.
"What happened?" Aria raised an eyebrow at Sam as she set down her black bag. Sam pointed at Landon, trying to shift the blame onto him.Landon glanced at the aquarium and smiled meaningfully. "I don't think we can go to the aquarium tomorrow with Sam's special ability."Aria also noticed the dead fish and knew she couldn't hide Sam's condition any longer. Thus, she popped a piece of candy in her mouth and smiled. "Let's go downstairs and talk."Georgina was just peeling an apple for her. "Why can't you talk here?""It's about the Carver family, which Landon is more familiar with. Plus, it's confidential," Aria explained. Upon hearing that, Georgina didn't object further. Landon approached Aria and casually said, "Okay. We can also discuss meeting my parents while we're down there."Sam's eyes widened in horror, and Aria stopped chewing her candy.Georgina was the only one who smiled. "That's quite thoughtful of you, Landon. There's no rush, though. You guys haven't been da
Landon slid the plate of steak he had cut to Aria. "Mindy really wants to get married to me, but I rejected her."Aria was quite taken aback."I wanted to tell you early to avoid any misunderstanding," he explained wearily. "As my supposed girlfriend, you seem unfazed by all the gossip."Aria took a bite of the steak he had cut up for her. "I do care. It's just that I haven't caught wind of it yet. Stay away from her, though.""Okay," Landon replied, amused. He wondered if Aria was jealous of Mindy.The answer, however, was far from it. "She has an unusual scent that might be harmful to your health," Aria said."That's it?" Landon asked with a low voice.As the saxophonist was just nearby, Aria couldn't hear Landon clearly. "What did you say?""Nothing important. Did you suspect Mindy of having bad intentions towards the Carvers? What have you discovered now?" Landon's smile was pleasant.Aria couldn't help but think that he was way too smart for his own good. He always saw th
In that moment, Cormac couldn't afford to care about pride or appearances. His survival depended on severing all ties, especially with a traitor."I don't have a daughter like you!" he snapped, slapping Aliya again. "Do you even realize what you've done? Trafficking human organs—do you think that's something you can walk away from?"Aliya collapsed to the floor, stunned. A chill unlike any she'd ever felt seeped into her bones. She stared up at her father in disbelief, watching as he bowed his head respectfully toward Aria, the very woman she had just mocked.In Aliya's world, her father was the state government. She had grown up believing that their family controlled everything, that Cormac Windham's influence extended far beyond his office, even as retirement loomed.But all of it was crumbling before her eyes.Outside his office, word had already begun to spread. Though muffled, the sharp sound of a slap echoed faintly through the corridor.Everyone understood what that meant—
The group dared to be reckless as Amos was Ludwiten's lieutenant governor. They were peas in a pod and did corruption together.However, they didn't know that their support had already collapsed. Aria was not in a rush to capture Amos' lackeys as her target was in the state government. She didn't go alone either, for Aliya also went with her.Shortly after, Aria issued a new command. "Seal the premises. No one is to leave. Tell everyone to remain in their seats."A request like that, especially directed at the state level, would typically require an exhaustive process—dozens of forms, layers of red tape. Even in cases involving fatalities, senior officials were rarely detained on the spot.But Aria followed with a second message, one that sent chills down spines. "This case involves foreign infiltration. Someone has betrayed the country."Those words landed like a thunderclap. No one dared raise an objection. No one wanted to be associated with treason—not ordinary citizens, and
"Grandpa, it's not convenient for me to get in touch with all of you right now. Remember to take your medicine on time. I have to pretend that I'm locked up. Uncle Eamon and Uncle Waymond have to seem fretful so that the enemy wouldn't be alerted. I'm sorry, Grandpa."Aria didn't reveal what she had encountered in the message. This was because the Special Missions Unit was bound to a confidentiality contract when making decisions. What Aria said was almost pushing the limits.Aria only agreed to get locked up just to see how people would react when the Grisham family was in trouble.When the opponent placed their attention on this incident, they would let their guard down and give Aria a chance to secure evidence of their crimes.If the Grisham family retained its usual influence, the mastermind wouldn't show himself so easily. As Aria felt sorry for her family and worried about Clyde's health, she immediately sent a message to apologize after the auction. However, she couldn't s
There was no way Aria didn't know that the conviction was unfair. Furthermore, Percy specialized in handling economic cases. He knew there was no way Aria would be locked up so quickly. Yet, her crime had been publicly declared without prior warning. Percy was absolutely furious. He tugged his tie and declared the system was corrupted. While Fergus was also helping to find connections, Warren had just landed from Janovin.Clyde had sought out all sorts of connections, even his ex-colleagues in the education field.Fiona clenched his hands. "They promised to help Dad look into it." "They're just trying to fool Mr. Grisham Senior. Their higher-ups have already warned them about it." Nisa suddenly lowered her voice. "They're trying to make his health relapse again. If that happens, the Grisham family is done for."At this moment, a low voice sounded from the door. "So that's what happened. I was wondering why there was no progress with Aria's side after a whole day."It was Eamon.
Because Amos' arrest was part of a covert operation, the news didn't reach anyone outside the circle. That meant Durand remained completely unaware. He was still riding high on the thrill of his plan, blinded by the pleasure of watching the Grisham family fall.That night, he raised a glass of wine in early celebration, his mistress seated beside him. He didn't know that the move he'd made would become the greatest regret of his life.Elsewhere, Nisa couldn't bring herself to be as heartless. That was why, under the quiet cover of night, she made her way to the Grisham residence—not to see Clyde, but to speak with Fiona. She knew Clyde would shut her out immediately, but Fiona… Fiona might just listen.They weren't close. Not the way Fiona was with Priscilla. But they had once shared a few polite meals, floated in the same social circles. Enough to warrant a conversation—barely.When they sat down, Fiona's expression was cool, even distant. She hadn't forgotten the things Nisa had
Lucas could hear the pride in his mentor's voice for Aria. After all, his mentor had taken Aria in Southbury and even owed her his life. Lucas didn't dare to inform his mentor that Aria was being suppressed in the political world. He understood his mentor well. He was devoted to the country and couldn't stand such injustice.Therefore, Lucas didn't tell the truth to prevent his mentor from worrying. If someone with his position made a move, it would become a huge issue. That was why Lucas hid the truth from him. The former had to play along with the other politicians and endure them spouting empty promises. Before Lucas set out, his mentor stood on top of Old City and looked at the vast mountains. "Do whatever you need to, just like what you had done in Southbury. I'll be waiting for you and Aria's return at Janovin."These people didn't deserve his mercy at all!"You used your authority to disregard people's lives." It was the first time Lucas had shown his emotions so open
Amos was too stunned to react. One side of his face throbbed with pain, and fish oil clung to his hair, glistening from the dish he had been slammed into.He had always eaten fish a particular way—only one side. No matter how expensive the fish, he refused to flip it over, believing that leaving it untouched brought good fortune.But today, that superstition had been smashed—along with his pride. Pinned to the table, Amos hadn't even found the time to get angry. Confusion flickered in his eyes as he struggled to rise.Then Lucas spoke, his words crashing down like a stone wall."Amos Lune, you conspired with the Draycott and Fitzroy families to crush honest entrepreneurs. You've abused your position shamelessly."Lucas didn't stop. His tone cut sharper with each sentence."We also have evidence linking you to a human organ trafficking ring in Bellebrook. You've disgraced the people who supported your rise—and the country that invested in you."Lucas had been suppressing his ange
Lucas shook his head steadily. "Not yet."Amos, still basking in the glow of his "victory", had no idea what was coming. He answered Durand's call with a smug smile. On the other end, Durand's laughter rang out loud and triumphant."Mr. Lune, you should've seen the Grisham brothers' faces! I bet they never expected to be abandoned like that!"You played it brilliantly. One quiet move, and boom—the Grisham family's out of the Chamber of Commerce. From here, it's just a slow bleed. They'll lose everything."Amos kept his tone cool. "This isn't enough. Keep pushing the online chatter. The narrative needs to focus on how their precious granddaughter cost so many investors their savings. And don't forget her carefully crafted persona—it's about to unravel."He paused, voice crisp. "Reach out to the other businessmen. Now that the Grishams can't offer any benefits, it's time for everyone to take a bite. You understand, don't you, Durand?"Durand took a moment, then replied, "Right. Got
Cormac even thought of leaving some of his influence behind after retiring. This way, he could still have some power over decisions. He thought he could remind Lucas that not just anyone could do his job well. Therefore, Cormac remained calm after receiving the note. He was already so used to handling his daughter's troubles.Cormac strode into his lounge and asked Pedro, "Is it drunk driving again? Don't you know how to handle it?""It's not drunk driving." Pedro still seemed out of it.Cormac's expression darkened. "It's not drunk driving? Was she on drugs again? I already reminded you numerous times to get someone to keep an eye on her. Which stage of the process is she at right now? Call the people from the drug-testing institution.""No. That's not it." Pedro took off his glasses and his badge.Cormac finally realized that Pedro seemed off. "What happened? Just tell me. I doubt she'll kill someone. Although my daughter is troublesome, she won't do something like that. I kno