Nash met her gaze, understanding that she was giving him a heads-up. He chose to take a step back. "Penelope isn't one of our company's artists. If you're really interested, I can find some people to help you."Their conversation seemed to be on different wavelengths. Nash probably thought she was just dabbling in this out of curiosity, and that she would eventually lose interest and let it go. But Nina was determined. Once she set her mind to something, she would not stop until it was done well.She could not accept Nash's proposal. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Let's keep personal matters separate from business. My relationship with Penelope doesn't need your intervention."Nash asked, "Do you really need to team up with her?""I believe in her potential.""Are you sure this isn't just about having a problem with Miranda?" Nash pressed further.Nina hesitated, considering that her multiple kidnappings might have been orchestrated by Miranda. She was not sure wheth
The newcomer indeed came from a wealthy family. She had a close relationship with Miranda and had previously played a minor role in one of Miranda's dramas. Replacing Penelope with this girl was nothing short of an insult. Nina had already hinted to Penelope that when the news broke, she needed to create some buzz herself, even if it was just a temporary uproar. At least it would give the public something to talk about.Previously, Penelope would not have stooped to such tactics, which was why she quickly faded from the spotlight. Besides acting, she was not good at marketing herself. But now, Penelope had ended up in the hospital. People believed she was so upset by being replaced by the newcomer that she fell ill, which only fueled the public's outrage.Given Penelope's history of quietly enduring such slights, the internet exploded in her defense. While not everyone would cheer for success, many would speak up for the underdog. This created a wave of public pressure on the
Bella was not strong enough to handle the immense pressure of playing the lead role. She could already imagine the backlash when the show aired, with people criticizing her."Miranda, why don't you take the role instead?" Bella, once so confident, now felt deeply insecure. "If you play the role, no one will have anything to say!"Miranda grew angry. "Are you comparing me to Penelope?"Bella shrank back even more. "No, I know how amazing you are. You could play the lead role right from the start, and you’re definitely better than Penelope."Miranda liked hearing that. Controlling her anger, she asked, "How do you know about that reporter? Did you see them together?""The article was written by someone from Starry Sky TV station," Bella speculated. "That reporter must be involved."Miranda suspected the same but had not expected Nina to undermine her like this. Was Nina trying to declare war on her? But right now, Miranda did not have the energy for this battle. She could not und
Nina suddenly felt a wave of pity for Penelope. Growing up without parental love must have left her with a deep sense of insecurity, making her more likely to endure hardships silently. Unable to help herself, Nina linked her arm with Penelope's. "It's all in the past. Things will get better from now on. One day, you'll reach the pinnacle of your career."Penelope smiled. "You have high hopes for me.""If you could endure so much from a young age, there's nothing you can't achieve."Penelope felt a growing fondness for Nina. Perhaps it was the encouragement that stirred a renewed determination within her. She could not go back to the past. She had to escape poverty and hunger.Just then, Miranda arrived. She spotted Penelope and Nina together. Seeing Nina walking around energetically, showing no signs of weakness, confused her. But her sharp eyes noticed the beads on Nina's wrist, and her expression changed. She rushed over and grabbed Nina's arm."Where did you get these?" Mi
Seeing so many onlookers and Penelope looking so fragile, Miranda panicked. "Stop recording! She's faking it! I didn't touch her. She ran into me! I was just defending myself!"Nina quickly helped Penelope up and said, "You've already gotten everything you wanted. Why do you still bully her? Will you only be satisfied if she leaves the industry?""What nonsense are you spouting?" Miranda retorted, flustered by Nina's words.With so many people around, Miranda could not find a way to explain herself. She had been too careless. She had not expected them to change and become so cunning, daring to plot against her."You'll pay for this!" Miranda snapped before hastily leaving to avoid drawing more attention.After she left, Nina helped Penelope inside. To make it believable, Penelope clung to Nina's hand, but then she noticed something odd. "Does Miranda have such a strong grip? Your arm is bruised."Nina followed her gaze and saw the bruise on her arm. It was faint and not painful.
He quickly picked her up and rushed to find a doctor. Nina was taken into the emergency room, where the doctors began to examine her. Nash stood outside, feeling anxious. His deep eyes were fixed on her silhouette, unable to relax as his palms grew sweaty with worry. He could sense something was seriously wrong with Nina.After about ten minutes, the doctor came out and spoke to Nash. "I couldn't find anything wrong with the patient. All her tests came back healthy. There's no clear reason for her sudden fainting. However, I did notice several bruises on her body, which appeared rather suspicious. Also, there was a needle mark on the back of her neck."Hearing this made Nash's expression grow even grimmer. Not finding any symptoms was the most dangerous sign. He went into the room and looked at Nina's thin face. She had lost a lot of weight recently. Pregnancy was already hard on her, and now there were these additional symptoms. He could not help but feel a pang of sorrow.Nash
Nash realized that only one person had the potential to help. He looked at the increasingly frail Nina, knowing he could not afford to wait any longer."Stay here and keep an eye on her. I'm going to check something," Nash told Caleb before heading back to the apartment. Caleb, unsure of where Nash was heading, simply replied, "Okay."Nash knew that the kidnapping had left Nina harmed. Someone who could detect the poison so quickly and provide an antidote had to be extraordinary. He could not overlook any potential help.Nash arrived at the apartment and looked at the door next to Nina's. It was closed, and he knocked urgently. Within a minute, the door opened.Wilfred had been at home, seemingly expecting Nash. He showed no surprise and simply said, "Come in."Nash noticed Wilfred's pale complexion and weak body. "Did you give Nina those beads?"Wilfred poured a glass of water for Nash. "Those beads were originally hers."Nash's deep eyes fixed on Wilfred as he asked calmly,
Nash had heard of this name back in the military, but he could never track down the person."You've never seen him either?" Nash asked.Wilfred shook his head. "He's very secretive. He never shows himself to anyone. He's skilled in both virology and combat. That's all I know about him."Involving this criminal organization made things even more serious. It seemed that Nina might have been caught up in this long ago. This matched with her disappearance for an entire summer during high school, when a criminal gang was busted. Many were captured, and many died. Now, it seemed that one would be released soon, and this Pharaoh was still at large.Nash looked at Wilfred. "Aren't you afraid of the organization retaliating against you for telling me all this?"Wilfred smiled. "I've told you, my purpose for living is to protect her. Besides, I'm a healer. Creating a healer takes a lot of resources and effort. They won't harm me."Wilfred's willingness to risk his life for Nina surpris
And just like that, the conversation fell into a brief silence. Meanwhile, on the other side, Hunter received a call from Yelena. “What did you just say?” Yelena told him that her hand was broken, and on top of that, Liam seemed to be getting suspicious. She wasn’t sure what to do, so she called Hunter for advice. “I don’t really care what happens to you, but at the very least, take care of yourself.“Otherwise, if something else goes wrong later, I’ll have to step in and clean up the mess. Don’t you think so?” Hearing this, Yelena was a little taken aback. “It’s not just about my injury. The real problem is, I’m scared of what he might do now.” Sure, she had taken the two hundred thousand dollars, but she had to stay alive to spend it. At this rate, she wouldn’t even make it through in one piece. “I already told you—protect yourself. If you need anything else, I’ll try to provide it. But right now, I need you to do something for me.” Hunter had been look
“Yes, it’s in that mountain area. If you’re worried, you can go check it out yourself. But as for anything else, we don’t really have much more information.”Compared to everything else, this was the most baffling situation.“You make a good point. But given the current circumstances, I think it’ll be difficult to pull off.”Vera was speaking with the private investigator. Deep down, she was more worried than anything else.“Don’t worry,” the private investigator reassured her. “Aside from what we discussed earlier, nothing else seems too extreme. Plus, we’ve already looked into it pretty thoroughly.”By the time he finished speaking, his expression had grown more complicated.“Alright. I understand.”After hanging up, she anxiously looked straight ahead. If she had been mentally prepared before, now she was starting to feel uneasy. “What’s going on?” Caleb asked while driving, glancing at her. Vera hesitated, debating whether to tell him or not. But seeing the strange
“I only had one surgery today,” Caleb said as he drove, his voice calm but firm. “Now that it’s done, I want to know why this happened.” After that, he said nothing more. Vera sat in silence, her heart uneasy as the car pulled up in front of an upscale club. Even though her hand was already bandaged, she still felt a sting of pain every time Caleb showed concern. “So this is what it feels like to have someone care,” she thought to herself.Back when Vera had been stepped on, her only concern had been the contract—whether the deal would fall apart and if her suffering had been for nothing.If it had been anything else, she probably wouldn’t have cared as much.But Caleb’s concern made it impossible for her to brush aside.It kept lingering in her mind, refusing to let her feel indifferent.“Don’t overthink it,” Caleb said, his voice firm. “Whatever happened between Luna and me doesn’t change the fact that this concerns me too—and I owe it to you to make things right.”
“Oh? So this is the apology you wanted?” Vera’s forehead was covered in cold sweat from the pain, but the two women standing over her barely reacted. As if this was normal to them. As if humiliating her was just another game. “I asked you a question.” Vera remained half-crouched on the ground, her hand still pinned under Luna’s heel. Helena smirked. “Yeah, I’d say that’s good enough.” She hadn’t expected Vera to be this stubborn, but it didn’t matter. With an exaggerated sigh, she casually scribbled her signature onto the contract. The deal was officially secured. Vera didn’t waste another second. She cast one last glance at the two women. “I have no interest in getting involved in your personal drama. As for Caleb and me, that’s between us. We both made our choices.” Luna’s expression twisted slightly. “I won’t bother commenting on your relationship,” she said, voice dripping with disdain. “But don’t think for a second that this will ever earn
The moment Vera heard her assistant’s words, her expression darkened. Her previously calm tone turned firm. “If that’s the case, I understand. But I still have to go. This is my responsibility, and no one else can handle it.” If she didn’t take the lead, the other party would only grow bolder. However, the moment she glanced at the name on the negotiation list, she couldn’t help but frown. Because the person she was supposed to meet wasn’t just anyone. It was Helena Xander. Vera had encountered her before—back when her relationship with Caleb hadn’t yet escalated. Even then, Helena had openly mocked her, saying that since Caleb had been Luna’s devoted lapdog for years, he should know his place and never overstep. She had also thrown a few sharp words at Vera, telling her to recognize her own status—as if warning her that getting involved would only bring trouble. Back then, Vera hadn’t taken it seriously. She never thought she would cross paths with the
“Alright, enough of this. If you’re serious about investigating, you’ll need proper psychological evaluations,” Caleb said nonchalantly.“The best way to assess something like this is through clinical observation—watch for behavioral inconsistencies, memory gaps, or personality shifts. If you can, gather video footage of his daily life. That’s the only way to get a clearer picture. Otherwise, it’s just speculation.”Caleb made the remark casually, then swiftly issued a dismissal.“You came all the way here just to mess with me? What about your own situation? How’s that going?” Caleb’s sarcasm was dry and pointed. Hunter let out a long sigh. “What else could it be? Business as usual. Compared to others, I’m probably the only one with enough patience for this mess.” He was, of course, referring to his ongoing battle with Liam. Caleb gave him a small nod. “Alright, you should get going now. I need to rest. Don’t loiter around here.” Without hesitation, he waved his hand
Vera forced an awkward smile at Hunter before quickly retreating back into the bathroom to change. Hunter, watching her leave, couldn't help but smirk. “You’re really living the good life, huh?” he teased. “Didn’t expect you to have such luck.” Caleb rolled his eyes, clearly uninterested. “Enough with the nonsense. Why are you here? And who exactly were you talking about over the phone?” He didn’t want to entertain pointless banter, especially not about women. If he was being honest, even he couldn’t fully explain his feelings toward Luna. He wasn’t sure what was left between them—was it love, or just the remnants of something that had long turned sour? That pitiful look in her eyes earlier had shaken him. For a fleeting moment, he had wanted to pull her into his arms, to comfort her like he used to. But after so many years of being humiliated and pushed aside, he had forgotten how to even speak to her anymore. So instead, he did what was easiest—he change
Hunter spoke casually, his tone light. “Just someone, that’s all. Do you really need all these details?” Caleb was now certain of his suspicion. “Hunter, did you forget what I do for a living? I’m a doctor. If you’re asking me about this, I need to get a clear picture before I can give you an answer.” Hunter exhaled lightly. “That’s fair, but some things can’t be diagnosed right away.” Based on the information Yelena provided earlier, Hunter was only speculating about Liam. But Caleb was an expert in this area, so he specifically called to ask him.Still, explaining everything over the phone wasn’t going to work. “Forget it,” Hunter said. “This isn’t something I can explain over a call. Where are you? I’ll come over.” Caleb hesitated for a moment before glancing at Vera, who was still beside him. In the end, he gave Hunter the address to his villa. Hunter chuckled. “Haha. I’m surprised. You actually do go home to rest.” Caleb ignored the jab and tossed his p
“Call me Liam.” Before Yelena could finish speaking, Liam cut her off with a sharp, angry voice. She quickly nodded and corrected herself. “Liam, don’t worry. I’ll do exactly as you say. I’ll be good. I won’t make you angry again.” But Liam didn’t care. With a violent shove, he threw her to the ground. Yelena barely had time to brace herself before hitting the cold floor hard, pain radiating through her limbs. Liam, however, just looked down at her with a twisted grin, laughing like she was nothing more than a ridiculous joke. “You’d better learn fast,” he sneered. “And leave your hand broken for a few days—feel the pain properly.” “Alright.” Her voice was quiet, submissive. But Liam wasn’t listening. Without another glance, he turned and walked away. As she watched his retreating figure, Yelena felt a deep sense of dread rise in her throat. Liam wasn’t human. He was something far worse. Her future with him would be nothing short of hell.