Chapter 41 — Dangerous Partners

The ballroom shimmered beneath crystal chandeliers.Soft classical music floated through the air while waiters in black uniforms moved between guests carrying champagne and expensive wine. The entire venue smelled like luxury, perfume, and hidden intentions.Estella stood near the grand staircase, her fingers lightly wrapped around the stem of a champagne glass she had barely touched.Tonight, she wore black.Elegant.Dangerous.The silk dress hugged her body perfectly without trying too hard. Her hair fell softly behind her shoulders, exposing the silver earrings Devon had forced her to wear twenty minutes ago because, according to him:> “You already look lethal. The earrings just complete the crime.”Estella had rolled her eyes at him.Now she regretted not arguing harder.Because too many people were staring.Especially men.“You’re attracting attention again,” Devon murmured beside her.His dark suit fit him effortlessly. Young. Sharp. Annoyingly charming.Estella glanced sideway

Last Updated : 2026-05-19

Chapter 42 — The Things Hidden in Silence

The air inside the hidden room felt colder than the rest of the house.Not because of the temperature.But because of what they had just seen.Estella stood frozen in front of the monitor while the dim blue light from the hacked surveillance system reflected across her face. Beside her, Devon slowly leaned back in his chair, one hand rubbing his jaw as if his brain was trying to process everything at once.On the screen, the file remained open.> SUBJECT 07 — ESTELLA DUANThe words looked unreal.Like a mistake.Like someone else's name.But it was hers.Her chest tightened.For several seconds, nobody spoke.Only the faint hum of the hidden server room filled the silence around them.Devon finally broke it first.“…This is bad.”Estella swallowed hard but kept her expression steady.“How bad?”Devon looked at her this time. His usually relaxed face had completely changed.“I thought you were only connected because of your father.”His voice lowered.“But this…” He pointed at the scre

Last Updated : 2026-05-20

Chapter 43 — Things That Should Have Stayed Buried

Estella replayed the video three times.Then four.Then again.The room around her slowly became suffocating.The laptop screen illuminated her pale face while the city lights outside her apartment blurred behind the rain-covered windows. Her fingers trembled slightly against the keyboard, but she forced herself to stay still.To think.Not panic.Not yet.On the screen, the little girl curled inside the white room kept crying soundlessly.Twelve-year-old Estella.Small. Terrified. Alone.The image alone was enough to make her chest ache.But it was the voice behind the camera that destroyed her concentration completely.Charles Noir Deveraux.Aizen’s father.Estella paused the video again.Her breathing turned shallow.“No…”She whispered it softly to herself, almost like denial.But she knew what she heard.That voice was real.And suddenly, memories began connecting themselves inside her head one after another like sharp puzzle pieces finally finding their places.Aizen knowing abo

Last Updated : 2026-05-21

Chapter 44 — Half Truths

The hallway outside Estella’s apartment fell silent after her question.Too silent.The city lights outside the tall windows painted pale reflections across the polished marble floor. Somewhere far below, traffic moved like distant waves, but up here everything felt trapped inside a pressure chamber.Aizen stood a few steps away from her.Still.Unreadable.But Estella saw it.That tiny shift in his breathing. That almost invisible tightening of his jaw.For the first time since she met him, her instincts told her something terrifying.Aizen Deveraux was cornered.And dangerous people became even more dangerous when cornered.Estella slowly lowered her hand from the doorknob.Her pulse was steady on the outside.Inside, it wasn’t.The folder she had seen in his car earlier kept replaying in her head.Charles Noir Deveraux.Project Mionier.Her father’s name.Too many coincidences.Too many shadows connecting them together.She looked directly into his eyes.“Who exactly was your fathe

Last Updated : 2026-05-22

Chapter 45 — The Distance Between Us

Estella replayed the audio for the seventh time.The room stayed dark except for the pale light from her laptop screen reflecting against her tired face. Outside the apartment window, the city was still alive—cars moving, distant sirens, faint lights blinking endlessly across the skyline—but inside her apartment, everything felt suffocatingly quiet.Static crackled again.Then her father’s voice returned.“…if anything happens to me…”Estella’s fingers tightened around the edge of the desk.“…never trust the Deveraux family.”The recording ended.Again.This time, she didn’t replay it immediately.She just sat there in silence.Her chest felt tight.Not because she believed it completely.But because a part of her already feared it might be true.Slowly, she leaned back against the chair and closed her eyes.Her mind dragged her back to everything that had happened recently.The hidden files. Charles Noir Deveraux. Project Mionier. Aizen knowing too much. Aizen hiding too much.And wo

Last Updated : 2026-05-23

Chapter 46 — Ghosts Between Us

“That’s impossible…”Estella’s voice came out barely above a whisper.The glow from Devon’s monitor reflected against her pale face as she stared at the name on the screen again.Lionel Duan.Last known operation connected to the safehouse.Her chest tightened painfully.For a few seconds, the room felt too small. Too cold.Devon leaned back in his chair, watching her carefully while lines of encrypted files continued moving across the monitors behind him.“You recognize the location?” he asked quietly.Estella nodded slowly.“Yes.”Her throat suddenly felt dry.“That’s one of the intelligence safehouses connected to the operation where Lionel disappeared.”Devon’s expression darkened slightly.“That means your brother either tried to hide something there…”His fingers tapped lightly against the desk.“…or he was hiding from someone.”Estella immediately looked at him.“No.”The answer came too fast.Too defensive.Devon noticed.“Ella—”“Lionel would never hurt me.”Silence filled th

Last Updated : 2026-05-24