Even though they were divorced, having such a dream still left Nina terrified. With that, she completely lost any desire to sleep. She turned on the light, struggled to sit up while holding her belly. She then got out of bed to drink a glass of water. She picked up her phone and started scrolling through the news online. At this moment, it seemed to be the fastest way for her to get updates from the outside world. There was no progress on the case of the murdered women, but her worries persisted. She thought of Wilfred. Since she last saw him in his studio, she had not seen him again. Busy with work, she had not noticed if there was any movement next door. She opened the door. Now, in the dead of night, even a pin dropping could be heard. Standing at Wilfred's door, she did not know how to face him. She knew her life was hanging by a thread and she did not want to drag them down, yet she could not help but worry. These conflicted feelings were hard to manage.It was as if Wi
Nina was still a bit groggy and she asked in a hoarse voice, "What made it?""The drama," Nelly said excitedly. "We've made a comeback!"Nina was instantly wide awake. She sat up quickly and grabbed her phone to check the news about their drama. Yesterday it was ranked second, but today it had climbed to first place. The viewership had multiplied several times overnight, and the reviews were getting better and better. It was breaking real-time popularity records.Nina could not help but feel a huge surge of joy. If the popularity continued to rise and the storyline held up, things would only get better. The worry that had been weighing on her lifted, and she felt a wave of happiness. Hard work did pay off. If one put in enough effort, dreams would indeed come true.She quickly got ready to meet up with the others. She ran into Wilfred downstairs, who was driving his car. He rolled down the window. "Where are you headed? I'll give you a ride."Nina, in a good mood, did not
Nina laughed and said, "Have these been authorized?""Yes, they have!" Nelly confirmed. "I can vouch for it. This isn’t a knockoff. It's an official release. These are just samples, and they're already selling well online!""It seems like this isn’t a dream. 'Glory' is actually doing well," Nina remarked. Just that morning, everything had seemed so uncertain, but now their drama's popularity was soaring."We’ve already hit over a hundred million views! I never thought I’d see this in my lifetime," Angel exclaimed.Nina glanced at the numbers. The view count had indeed surpassed a hundred million, with comments praising the thrilling and engaging plot. The positive feedback was overwhelming."My son’s formula milk money is covered!" Nina joked."I think we can surpass 'Demon Bone!'" Angel said excitedly. "'Glory' is trending nonstop, and everyone’s calling it the dark horse that came out of nowhere with minimal marketing.""I keep seeing fan edits with hundreds of thousands of
"Then go see him," Penelope suggested, "not for him, but for yourself. Knowing he's safe will give you peace of mind."---Meanwhile, Miranda had not slept all night, worrying about Nash's safety. She had called Seth for reassurance, but he insisted there was no danger. Still, her instincts would not let her rest.Early in the morning, exhausted and anxious, she stayed alert to every sound, hoping it was Nash returning. But there was no news of him.Miranda was so preoccupied with Nash's safety that she barely cared about the ratings of 'Demon Bone'. Yesterday's ratings were good, and she knew the ratings of 'Glory' had not met expectations and might even decline. This reassured her that she was finally winning against Nina, both in fame and love.Just as she was feeling a sense of accomplishment, she heard a noise at the door. Thinking it was Nash, she eagerly ran to open it. "Nash—" she started, but it was only her assistant with breakfast.The excitement faded from Miranda's
Miranda could not sit still any longer. It was not just Nina. Nash's absence was making her anxious as well."I need to go out," Miranda said, unable to stay put any longer.Her assistant quickly prepared breakfast for her. "Where are you going, Miranda?""Nash hasn't come back yet. I need to go find him."With that, Miranda hurried to change her clothes. "You're not having breakfast?" the assistant asked."No!"Gathering her things, Miranda grabbed her bag and rushed out the door, instructing the driver to take her to Nash's place. Waiting at his place made her feel more secure. She could see him the moment he arrived.On the way, she noticed a familiar car, one that Nina used to drive. As far as she knew, Nash had given it to her. However, this car was not included in the divorce settlement, which had only specified a villa and four million dollars. Compared to Nash's assets, four million plus a villa was a mere trifle. It felt like charity, so naturally, she did not say
"Miranda!"Her assistant finally arrived, holding an umbrella to shield her from the sun. But Miranda's dress was already dirty."Nina has no manners at all. Let me help you clean it," the assistant quickly knelt down, pulling out tissues to wipe the dress.Miranda glared in the direction Nina had left, her eyes wide with hatred. How dare she act so arrogantly when she was so sick! She would beg for mercy when her illness got worse.Miranda took a deep breath, trying to maintain her composure. "Let's go wait at Nash's villa."From the rearview mirror, Penelope saw Miranda's furious expression and could not help but smirk. "Give her an inch, and she'll take a mile. She's spoiled."Nina did not care about Miranda. Honestly, she did not even want to acknowledge her existence. It was Miranda who kept pushing, always trying to harm her."The weather is nice today. How about we set up a tent and go camping?" Nina suggested, noticing the bright sun."I think that's a great idea. Let's
The driver knocked Miranda unconscious, and slung her over his shoulder. He then got out of the car, and moved to another vehicle, disappearing from sight.---Nina was unconscious but vaguely felt the jostling, which almost made her vomit. When she woke up, she found her hands and feet bound and smelled a strong odor of gasoline. She was in a wooden house, and it seemed like there was someone else tied to the pillar behind her.Straining to turn her head, she saw the edge of the other person's clothes and recognized who it was.Miranda!Nina furrowed her brows. Why was she tied up with Miranda? Where were they? Despite her panic, Nina forced herself to stay calm.Since she and Miranda were both bound, it was clear that their captor was an enemy of them both, ruling out the possibility that Miranda had orchestrated this. If someone had a grudge against both of them, it was likely connected to Nash. Could it be related to the female corpse case?"Who is it? Who kidnapped
Miranda's face turned bright red from the slap, stunned into silence."Stop trying to intimidate me with his name. I've wanted to kill him for a long time!" Sawyer snarled. "If you don't want to die, keep your mouth shut, and maybe you'll live."This shut Miranda up completely.Nina's heart pounded, her hands slick with sweat. She was not alone in this. She had a child to think about, so she dared not make any rash moves."I'm surprised you're still alive," Sawyer sneered at Nina. "Looks like Nash has gone to great lengths for you."Nina responded with cold sarcasm, "Nash? What effort? Don't you know he dumped me? I'd love to kill him myself right now!"Sawyer glanced at Miranda again, laughing. "Looks like this woman has some tricks up her sleeve, just like her father!"Nina continued, "I don't understand why you kidnapped me. Even if you have a grudge against Nash, that has nothing to do with me. We have no conflict!""You and I have no conflict," Sawyer admitted, pacing in f
As Caleb spoke, he looked at Vera with a hint of helplessness. After all, her hand had been injured because of Luna. “Don’t feel guilty about this. Honestly, it’s nothing to me.“And I’m not the type to carry burdens over things like this.“Besides, it’s been so long. If this had happened back then, I might have cared. But now? I just don’t think it matters anymore.” Vera’s voice was steady and sincere. But Caleb’s expression darkened. “Why would you say that? Why do you think it doesn’t matter? Do you really see me as just the same as everyone else?” For some reason, at this moment, Caleb took it personally. Vera couldn’t help but laugh. “Of course not. You’re different from the rest—so obviously, I wouldn’t see it the same way.“You’ve helped me so much. The least I can do is acknowledge that, instead of stubbornly nitpicking about what’s right or wrong, don’t you think?“Besides, whatever happened between you and Luna, that’s none of my business. It’s in
“I didn’t mean to just now. Besides, you’ve been acting all sneaky lately—so really, who else is to blame?” Seeing Yelena in tears, Liam, who had been furious just moments ago, felt a small pang of guilt. He was never good at expressing emotions. But watching her like this made him a little uncomfortable. “Go get your hand treated. Otherwise, people who don’t know any better might think I’ve been abusing you.” With that, he turned and walked away. Yelena watched his retreating figure, feeling a bit helpless. This wasn’t something she could decide on her own. Installing surveillance? It wasn’t as easy as it sounded. Liam was naturally suspicious. If he caught wind of it, the consequences would be disastrous. But she had no choice. She had a mission to complete, and there was more at stake than just this moment. Letting out a deep sigh, she finally decided to head to a clinic to get her hand treated. *“What happened to you? That’s a serious injury. You
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