"Let's discuss this later, after we've resolved the issue. Get the press release ready quickly," Owen said before hanging up the phone.Mindy's eyes flashed with anger as she glared down the hallway from her room.When a nurse arrived, Mindy laid back down and reached for her phone.The social circle's group chat wasn't as lively as when Moses and Philip were around, but news about the hotel was still being discussed. Someone tagged her."Mindy, is this your family's hotel?""Why use such a bad marketing strategy? If I hadn't already been at your hotel, I would've believed it.""Who is the new person in charge? Tell Uncle Owen to fire them now. This is so humiliating!"Mindy couldn't contain her grin, but the answer she typed out was more modest. "Don't be so harsh. My sister just came back and isn't familiar with the market yet. It's understandable that she might make some mistakes."The group chat lit up with responses."Sister? You mean the one who just returned to the Carv
"You can't say that! Leon's stage performances are excellent. If you take a picture with him and upload it, it will become viral in minutes.""Well, the Carver family is viral now. Leon only cares about his biological sister and never cares about Mindy. Sooner or later, that bumpkin will take him down as well."Mindy, seeing this, said, "Kylie, it's no surprise Leon doesn't care about me. After all, I'm just someone the Carver family sponsored.""What do you mean just a sponsee? You were there for the Carvers when Mrs. Carver lost her mind. Who knows where they'd be now if it weren't for you? Now that this bumpkin has returned, the Carvers want to disown you, and she's even making the hotel ratings drop.""Kylie, Dad has always been kind to me. He's trying to mend things now. Let's not discuss Aria's situation anymore."Kylie Wagner was Philip's cousin. She had been close to Mindy since they were little. They were also schoolmates. Despite different courses, they were well-known o
Philip understood what Landon meant. However, he'd already explained himself.Aria skimmed the chat history. She had no intention of throwing Philip under the bus. "It's not a good look for you to defend me while still hanging out with them. Put your phone away."With that, she tossed his phone back.Philip, eager to prove his loyalty, said, "I was immature before, thinking that kind of circle was cool. Now I understand gossiping and ostracizing others is wrong. Aria, I'm not just on your side because you're powerful, but because I learned a lot today."Having lost his mother young, Philip always cherished companionship and a lively atmosphere. This led him to constantly surround himself with friends, even if it meant doing things he disliked because his friends did them.But true friends wouldn't hold him back or pressure him into danger. Just because they had more money, they disrespected others. This was something Philip couldn't tolerate."If you need me to, I'll speak up. Wo
The video went viral, sparking outrage in the online community."What's happening? Is he really the leader of Mount Dracotigris and a genuine sage?""Let me clarify. Mr. Homer is the last guardian of Mount Dracotigris, skilled in fortune-telling.""Wow! I know him. He's a national astronomy and geography expert, according to Wikipedia.""Furthermore, Mr. Bond never performs divination or works for private clients. He recently left the mountain for a conference.""So, staying at Q Hotel really boosts lottery chances?"Nobody anticipated such a turn of events. An apprentice from Mount Dracotigris personally vouched for Homer, proving the hotel's legitimacy.The official account of Carver Group's subsidiary was flooded with comments."Why did Mr. Carver apologize for the new manager when she didn't make any claims?""It's obvious that this is an internal strife. They're trying to get rid of the new management.""I'm a guest at Q Hotel. I'm the lottery winner. The hotel accused m
"That's enough!" Owen roared, his emotions spiraling out of control. "If you want to keep your job, fix this mess immediately! Find a way to minimize the damage!"But minimizing the damage was impossible. The statement was already plastered online. Even if the PR team scrambled to delete it, the online community had captured screenshots and spread them like wildfire.When Warren declared his intention to disown Owen, he wasn't bluffing. Keith, unwilling to further upset Warren, had left certain things unsaid. However, Warren wasn't oblivious. He wasn't senile yet. Owen's ruthless attempt to control the hotel by putting Aria on the spot deeply disappointed Warren.Keith understood how much of this was bothering him. "Mr. Carver Senior, the PR department is requesting permission to intervene and leverage mainstream media to mitigate the situation.""No intervention," Warren countered sternly. "Owen created this chaos, and it's his responsibility to clean it up. This wouldn't have h
Owen may have played along in the past. However, he was too preoccupied with saving himself to care whether Mindy was fine. "I should never have listened to you!"With that, he stormed out of the hospital.Upon seeing this, Mindy immediately grabbed her phone and saw the shift in public opinion. Her group chat buzzed with activity, her name pinging incessantly."Mindy, why didn't you tell us Mr. Bond was the sage?""Mr. Bond is notoriously difficult to reach. Dad visited Mount Dracotigris countless times but never secured an audience.""I had no idea Mr. Bond would be at your family's hotel. Had I known, I would have stayed there too!"Mindy, my dad asked if you could help contact Mr. Bond. Money is not a problem."The conversation pivoted abruptly. Philip remained silent, but Ignatius couldn't hold back. "This is absurd! You shouldn't be asking Mindy for help contacting Mr. Bond. Weren't you the same ones criticizing Ms. Carver for hiring actors and being incompetent? How can y
Ignatius left the group after that, humiliating Kylie and Mindy in the process.Mindy felt utterly mortified after being exposed as the insincere, two-faced person she was. Ignatius' strange behavior today reminded her that she couldn't be so forgiving. No matter how close she was to someone, she must still maintain a careful distance in her relationships. Leaving the group, Ignatius felt strangely invigorated, though he was unsure if it was an illusion. He immediately video-called Philip. "Where's Aria? Wow, she's incredible! She was so calm even when meeting Mr. Bond, and he even did an unsolicited fortune-telling for her. Grandpa said this was rare and couldn't praise her enough. He wants to meet her, too.""You didn't tell your grandpa about how Aria helped us with the wraithling, did you?" Philip asked, still worried. "The Laynes are still asking around, and I fear they might try to hurt her."Landon handed Philip a cup of hot tea. "Maybe you should add me to the group so t
Samuel turned to Blake, who was still recuperating by the side. Blake had been heavily injured, and Moses, the intended target of the attack, was far worse off.Miraculously, Moses had survived the attack. Whether he would recover remained to be seen.Samuel's dissatisfaction was evident. "Mr. Windsor," he addressed Blake, "what will happen to Moses?""Mr. Layne Senior," Blake coughed, his body swaying slightly. "You witnessed the wraithling. It came with the intent to kill. Mr. Philip is absent, and without him, we cannot exorcise it."Samuel narrowed his eyes. "We've paid you handsomely for years, Mr. Windsor. What kind of wraithling is this that you can't exorcise? Tell me, what needs to be done to save Moses?"Blake shook his head.Samuel's anger flared. "We've held you in high regard, Mr. Windsor. Are you saying you can't even handle this wraithling?""Mr. Layne Senior, this wraithling embodies the vengeful resentment of several past lives. It was on the verge of being rebo
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,