The other participants were dumbfounded. Lulu, who was standing in the corner, was the only one who seemed out of it.Aria raised a brow and asked a shocking question. "Is the person who had an abortion among us right now?"The comment section erupted as the audience reacted in disbelief."Now that you asked that question, I'm wide awake!""An abortion? Did I hear that right?""She's a famous female celebrity, my friends! There are only two of them in the show!"No one expected to hear something so shocking while watching a variety show."Is it the famous actress Lavender Erikson or Lulu Charters?""Lavender, definitely. I heard rumors about how she always met her directors at night.""No, it's Lulu! She was covering her tummy often."The audience watched everything from an outsider's perspective and saw everything clearly. Anthony and Chandler were still giving Lavender and Lulu looks when Aria asked the fourth question in succession, "This is just one of the stories. But
Aria fixed her gaze on Lulu and said, "Lulu, the fear of your pregnancy being exposed wasn't the only reason you turned down the role. You also thought the pay was inadequate and considered acting in a Netflix drama beneath you. No one anticipated it would become such a hit."Lulu shook her head vehemently with each of Aria's accusations. "No, that's not true!"She couldn't admit to those allegations. If she did, her life would be ruined once this went public. With such a tarnished reputation, she'd be barred from future projects.Aria slammed all the clue cards on the table. "You were the victim of a car crash, and the hospital has records of that. The doctor can keep your pregnancy secret, but not that. Anyone who wanted to look deeper into it would succeed. You can't get away from this unscathed, Lulu.""There's nothing between us, young lady, so why do you insist on hounding me? These are rumors without proof, yet you're trying to sway public opinion with them!" Lulu denied the
"Yes, sir!" Lysander scrambled up from the floor. "Someone's in that manifestation, Mr. Bond, we gotta save them!"Landon initially didn't care much about such affairs, and he didn't want to investigate what services the professionals at Mount Dracotigris typically offered.However, the Wrathborn Manifestation sounded particularly familiar. He paused and looked at Homer, frowning, "Is it 'Survival of the Fittest'?"Homer said immediately, "You know about it?""My company is one of its investors." Landon took Lysander's phone and zoomed in. "I have a friend who's a celebrity. He happens to be one of the show's guests."Leon was a guest on the show, so Landon had to take note of what was happening there.Homer seized Landon by his shoulders. "Have the crew call back all the drones and take me there immediately!""Certainly." Landon went about it efficiently as usual.…Kian started sweating the moment he heard that Landon was looking for him. "Mr. York, Leon's safe for now," K
Lulu insisted she had done nothing wrong. "Do you understand how cutthroat this industry is? How can I work if I'm pregnant? So many rivals want me to fail! They're just waiting for me to slip up so they can climb higher!"Lulu screamed, a complete departure from her image as a gentle, kind woman, "If it wanted to be born that badly, it should've tried harder! I managed to find out its sex through my connections, and of course, it had to be a girl!"No wealthy family would want a daughter! It was why I was cast out of the family!"Lulu's attitude made Lana laugh harder, causing the walls to tremble.No one knew who Lana was speaking to. "What did I just say? These adults are heartless!"All the cameras in the room cracked as Lana seized Lulu by the collar and lifted her into the air, her eyes blazing with hatred. "Seeing as you feel no remorse for your past actions, you deserve to die!"The audience was left in suspense, only aware of Lulu's confession about the abortion and her
"Abbie was in so much pain," Lana cried, her emotions raging as she looked at her trembling hands. "I screamed, but no one heard us."Her voice filled with bitterness, she continued, "No one wanted us to live. So why were we born?"Lana's voice dropped to a menacing whisper. "Tell us why! Tell us!"As if in response to her rage, the hospital trembled violently. Lulu was flung aside, and the shadows coiled behind Lana, seething with a dark, consuming hatred. The air grew heavy, though no wind stirred, and an unseen force began to draw everything toward Lana, threatening to engulf all within the room.Lavender and Helen fainted, overcome by shock. Anthony and Chandler, desperate to escape, flung open the door, only to be met with a gaping abyss. A black river churned at its depths, spectral figures drifting upward, their forms indistinguishable in the dark. "W-What's this?" Anthony stammered, collapsing to the floor, completely out of sorts. What should they do? There was no es
This gave Lana a start. She seemed to have recalled something that made her gaze falter. Meanwhile, Aria continued, "Too many aspects of this story aroused suspicion. It was inferred that the couple found their daughters burdensome after their son was born."Of course, this was not proven. After the incident, the couple quickly moved away from the city with their son, claiming that they didn't want to be disrupted by the media."Strangely, the father said no to an autopsy of their daughters, and the mother refused to talk about the matter entirely. Nothing else was out of place, so the family received a handsome sum from the washing machine company as compensation."The company ran tests and proved two young girls couldn't fit into the machine simultaneously. So, what is the truth? Perhaps you've already recalled it."Lana was shaking with anger. A murder case leading to the accumulation of such an overwhelming amount of vengefulness was surely extraordinary. Aria didn't believe
"I want to know too!""Attention to the crew! Please let them get revenge, or I'll cancel this show!"This was pure brutality. The twins were born into a world filled with hope, only to discover a hellish reality.A long time ago, an orphaned young girl wrote, "The world's nice, but I don't want to be born here again."…Instantly, search topics related to "Survival of the Fittest" flooded the trending list. Topics like "Favoring the Sons over the Daughters" and "Our First Step to Saving Ourselves: Admitting that Our Parents Don't Love Us That Much" also appeared.The crew grew increasingly anxious as they watched the chaos unfold. They wished to steer the narrative but found themselves powerless. Would the audience believe them if they claimed spirits haunted the site?At the mention of that, Pax Darwen, the on-set director, demanded more realism from the scriptwriters. "That's not the main problem. If you tell everyone that, the show will be canceled!""You need to figure o
In the hospital, Lana seemed to have sensed something. She looked up abruptly.Abbie exclaimed, "Someone's here!"Lana's face twisted with a fierce intensity. "A being of heavenly fortune has arrived. You summoned them.""You lied to us!" Lana lost control. "You, of all people!"Fury surged through Lana, and she lunged at Aria, intending to strangle her. However, she froze as her hands neared Aria's neck. Aria remained motionless."If you truly can't recall his face, then choose between Players No. 1 and Player No. 3," Aria suggested coolly."What?" Lana paused.Aria said, "Didn't I say that I'll teach you how to play an adult's game? Your father is definitely not one of the celebrity guests, so that leaves the others.""Between Player No. 1 and Player No. 3, Player No. 3 looks more threatening," Aria analyzed calmly, "He's middle-aged, fitting a profile for a father. I wasn't confident just now, but now that a certain person is here, I don't see why you can't take revenge."L
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,