"Authorities? Which one? I'll go find them," Juan demanded.In Seamar City, there wasn't a soul Juan didn't know or couldn't influence.Pedro, already flustered from the recent events, felt a bead of sweat trickle down his temple.Ever since Debra had been imprisoned, his life had been a whirlwind of stress. He had just managed to deal with Erica, and now Juan was here, demanding answers he couldn't give."Mr. Nichols, don't worry," Pedro said, attempting to reassure him. "Ms. Frazier is very safe with us. There won't be any mistakes. We'll finish the process soon and release her."Juan cut him off sharply. "I'm asking who the authorities are."Pedro squirmed under Juan's intense gaze, sweat pouring down his face. He stepped closer to Juan and lowered his voice to a whisper. "Mr. Nichols, you know the person. Mrs. Nichols has been bailed out, so please make things difficult for me."Debra had already left, yet people kept asking him. Being a police chief was not that easy."Is
Debra, who had been observing from the sidelines, felt a sudden surge of nervousness.The silence on the other end of the phone was deafening, and she couldn't help but wonder how Juan would react to the news of her death.She had expected him to be pleased, as her demise would allow Shelia to legitimately take her place as Mrs. Nichols.As if on cue, Shelia's sweet voice filtered through the phone. "Juan, whose call was that?"The line disconnected, leaving Debra with a bitter taste in her mouth. Even if Juan knew she had died, he wouldn't show an ounce of emotion. Shelia was his true love, after all.As Debra prepared to leave this eerie dream, she was suddenly jolted by the sound of the doctor's angry voice. "Who moved the type A blood? Didn't you check beforehand? Do you even know who's lying here?"Debra's eyes fluttered open to find the doctor fuming. She looked down at her lifeless body, the baby she had been carrying now lost forever.She was Mrs. Nichols, and the child
"Alright, please wait here for a moment," said the nurse, leaving Shelia alone in the morgue.Shelia stepped forward and lifted the white cloth, revealing the lifeless body beneath. Debra's face was bloodless, with dark circles beneath her eyes. It was a far cry from the refined lady she used to be.Debra looked at her body with a wry smile. In her previous life, she had tortured herself for Juan, ending up in such a miserable state. It seemed all for nothing."Debra, don't blame me for this. Only by your death can I take the position of Mrs. Nichols," Shelia murmured, slipping the ring off the corpse's finger for a closer look.Debra remembered that ring. It was given to her by Melody after she got pregnant. Melody had said she was the only hostess of the Nichols family. Now, it all seemed like a cruel joke."I didn't expect Juan to give you the heirloom ring," Shelia mused, slipping the ring onto her own finger. "But it doesn't matter. From today on, this ring belongs to me."D
"Is Mr. Andrew Potter up?" Debra asked."Yes," the maid replied. "Do you want to meet him?""It's time for me to leave," Debra said, her grip tightening on the envelope in her hand.She held evidence of Ralph's crimes, and she could leave at any moment. But exposing Ralph would mean sending him to prison.Across town, Ralph had just risen from bed when he heard a knock at the door. The maid hurried to open it and was startled to see Debra standing outside."M-Ms. Frazier?"Ralph came downstairs, asking, "Who's it?"When he saw Debra at the door, his expression froze for a moment before he quickly composed himself. He hurried over to her, his face a mask of concern. "Debra, how did you get out? What happened? Did the police clear everything up?"Debra didn't answer any of his questions. Instead, she smiled faintly and said, "Uncle Ralph, you really care about me.""Of course. You're the only child of my elder brother. How could I not care?" he sighed. "I don't know who framed u
"You tell me, Uncle Ralph," Debra said, gesturing to the documents laid out on the table.Ralph reached for the papers with a trembling hand, his eyes scanning the first page. Soon enough, his legs buckled, and he collapsed to the ground.Debra watched him, her expression impassive, as she suppressed the surge of emotions threatening to overwhelm her. "You're my uncle, and I never imagined it was you."Ralph looked up at her, his aged face streaked with tears and cold sweat. "I had no choice. If I can't repay that money, they'll break my arms and legs, and I'll be dead.""So, you set me up?" Debra laughed coldly. "You should know, with charges like embezzlement and bribery, I'd spend the rest of my life in prison. But you still did this."Ralph's breath hitched, his words tumbling out in a rush. "I never wanted to harm you, but you were restless, insisting on divorcing Juan and running the Frazier family."He paused and added, "You don't know what my life was like. It was only af
"Debra, don't talk like that. I am your only family left in this world. If you agree with my request, I'll treat you well just like before," Ralph said.Debra snorted, "I used to think Rosalie had thick skin, but I didn't realize you were the same."Whether in her past life or this one, she had been blind to Ralph's true nature.She stood up, her chair scraping loudly against the floor. Ralph suddenly lunged forward with a raised ashtray in his hand.But before he could bring it down, several black-clad bodyguards burst into the room. Debra's eyes darkened as she looked back at Ralph, whose face contorted with rage and desperation. It was a mirror image of Stanley's twisted expression from before.She had once believed that Stanley had been corrupted by Rosalie, but it seemed they were all birds of a feather."Are you planning to kidnap me and extort Marion?"The bodyguards watched from the doorway, ready to intervene at the slightest sign of trouble. Ralph knew he had lost, dro
Rosalie rushed forward, her voice shrill and accusing. "Debra! Do you have any conscience left? Ralph was so kind to you, and what did you do in return? You made him take the blame for you."Stanley echoed her mother. "My dad must be blind to always favor you. Debra, you're an ungrateful wretch."His expression was fierce, but he dared not lay a hand on Debra, having learned his lesson from his previous encounter with Marion.Debra, however, didn't turn a hair. "Guards!"The security guards rushed into the room, their heads lowered in apology. "Madam, we're sorry. Ms. Rosalie Frazier insisted on coming in."Debra cut him off. "Ralph and she are already divorced. She is no longer a member of this family.""We see.""I hired you to guard the gate, not to let anyone in casually.""We'll get them out right away."They stepped forward to escort Rosalie and Stanley out."Hands off my mother!" Stanley shouted, holding up his phone. "Debra, you made my dad take the blame for you. You
The comments section was flooded with messages from numerous viewers.[Oh my god, Debra is even more beautiful in person. She looks way better than in the photos.][I almost think I've stumbled into a celebrity's livestream. Her looks are out of this world.][She's so pretty. She couldn't possibly be involved in any crime.]...The comments kept coming, each one more enthusiastic than the last.Debra opened the document directly on camera, revealing its contents to the eager viewers. People went wild, taking screenshots and commenting frantically.[So, Ralph Frazier is a gambler.][Wow, he owes so much money. No wonder he had to embezzle funds.][I knew it had nothing to do with Debra. By the way, why doesn't she enter showbiz with her looks?]...The comments annoyed Stanley, who snatched the document from Debra's hands and snapped after flipping a few pages, "These are all fake. You're despicable for using such dirty tricks to slander my dad. He treated you like his own da
Juan unconsciously twisted the ring on his finger."Found it!" Randy shouted.Everyone moved toward where he was pointing. There was an old iron chain. Below the chain was something indiscernible, but it looked creepy."Try your might," Garland said, stepping forward.Together with Randy, he tugged at the iron chain. The chain grew tauter, and the ground in front of them began to shift, revealing a hole about three square meters in size.Liza hid behind Debra, unsure of what was lying ahead. "What is that?"The place seemed untouched for ages and smelled ancient."Isn't it obvious? It's a pit," Erica said. "It's normal to have pits when digging mountains, but the Potter family isn't building a subway down there, so why this pit?"Debra said, "Let's go down and see.""Behind me," Marion said, taking her hand.He pulled out a flashlight and led the group to descend the old stairs. Debra noticed the stairs on both sides and a slide in the middle, with faint wheel tracks still vi
"It's fine. You just need to find the location of Fire."Garland asked, "What is that?""In the human body, the heart symbolizes fire," Debra explained. "This place is surrounded by mountains and water, making it an ideal location."Erica bent down to examine the diagram on the ground. "Is it here?"She pointed to the south, where the mountain range was gone, replaced by a clear, unobstructed mountain path.Evidently, the mountain moved by the Potter family was the Fire position."But that doesn't make sense," Liza muttered, feeling a chill run down her spine. "There's nothing but barren land. Could it really be underground?"The ground was in ruins. It was unlikely anything could be beneath it.Marion thought for a moment. "Let's go down and take a look.""How?" Randy shivered, afraid they'd ask him to go down first.Erica chimed in, "I don't think the Potters would be foolish enough to leave the treasure unguarded. There's no way they'd let us walk right in without resistan
"Sounded like mystical gibberish," Erica echoed.Debra strode to a nearby patch of grass, picked up a stone, and began drawing symbols on the ground.She explained, "Three solid lines represent Heaven, and three broken lines represent Earth."Immediately, two opposing symbols appeared on the ground.She continued to draw. "This solid line is the positive pole, and this broken line is the negative pole." "Is this a trigram?" Randy asked."Thunder rises like a bowl. Mountain inverts are like a cup. The lake is broken above, and the wind is broken below," Debra said as she drew the remaining trigrams.Marion quickly figured it out. "That's our true heiress of the Frazier family."The Frazier family was known for their scholarly wisdom and military strategy. A century ago, they were legendary figures.Debra looked at the trigrams and said, "When I was little, I had to learn everything. I wasn't an expert in ancient texts, but I had a basic understanding of them. The trigrams are
After half an hour of driving into the mountains, everyone was exhausted."Damn!" Randy yelped, his voice jolting everyone awake.The car made a sharp turn and came to a halt. Everyone screamed, and it took a while for them to calm down.Liza grumbled, "Can you even drive? If not, let me take over.""Did the tire blow out?" Erica wondered aloud.She opened the door and got out, followed by Randy and the others.Erica inspected the tires and frowned. "The car can't go any further. There's a huge rock. Quite dangerous."Randy grumbled, "Looks like Andrew doesn't even bother to maintain his property."Erica rolled her eyes. "Well, there is an iron gate. Only the Potter family members are allowed in. According to Andrew, no one has been here for years. Who would bother clearing the road?""True." Randy walked to the side and saw that the road ahead was covered in loose stones, probably fallen from the surrounding mountains."I thought they had leveled the mountains. Clearly, not
The journey into the mountains was unlikely to be peaceful.Marion sensed her unease and took her hand in his. "Don't worry. I'll bring enough people to ensure everyone's safety.""Alright." Debra nodded.Precaution was indeed necessary.That night, she knocked on Andrew's door."Come in," came his calm voice from inside.She pushed the door open and saw Andrew playing chess under the dim glow of a single lamp."Andrew," she started."I know." Andrew lifted his gaze and said, "You're eager to find out who's behind all this."Debra paused. "Is the treasure really hidden in that mountain?""I don't know.""You don't?""That mountain was leveled by my ancestors decades ago. They spent five years on the project, but after that, the land was left untended and eventually became overgrown. Now, it's nothing more than an ordinary mountain trail. I've sent people to search for it before, but they found nothing.""So, you suspected all along that this mountain might be hiding someth
Debra noticed everyone's eyes had settled on her.She asked, "Remember those ledgers?""Yeah. The ledgers only contained numbers alongside regular inventory records," Erica replied.Debra mused, "If those four ledgers truly hide a treasure map, could those numbers represent geographical coordinates?"Erica shook her head. "But there are so many numbers. How could it be..."Marion cut in, "It's possible."Randy tilted his head. "How so?"Marion explained, "31°N and 120°E mark Seamar City's position relative to the equator, but Seamar City has more precise coordinates."Debra said smoothly, "Seamar City spans from 120°52' to 122°12' east longitude and 30°40' to 31°53' north latitude. Don't the numbers 30 and 120 seem familiar?"Erica clapped her hands. "Those numbers appeared repeatedly in the ledgers. They were highlighted in red.""What if they correspond to coordinates centered around Seamar City's downtown?" Debra said."30... 120..." Erica murmured, her finger tracing the
While the others might not know Debra's uniqueness, Andrew certainly did."Sir, shouldn't we thank Mr. Nichols?" Barton said."It's best not to contact him at this time." Andrew shook his head. "The mastermind wants to reap the benefits without lifting a finger. Why not grant his wish and find the treasure?""But if we do that, won't Seamar City fall into chaos?""Seamar City is already in chaos. I'll set off another fire."...Debra and the others returned to the Potter Mansion.Barton greeted them, holding old scrolls covered in dust."Where are you going with all that?" Erica asked wonderingly.Barton glanced at the scrolls in his hand and said, "These are maps of the old city area from decades ago. Mr. Andrew Potter said they need to be aired out to remove the musty smell, so I took them out, planning to air them tomorrow morning.""Maps of the old city area?" Garland curiously remarked. "Can I take a look?""Come on. They're so dirty," Liza chimed in."You don't unders
In the office of Donaldson Corporation, Vickie was fuming.She complained, "Juan never intended to help me. He was just pretending to switch sides. Boss, this mess was all because of him."She pointed at Juan, who frowned with displeasure.Across from her was a man sitting behind the desk. His posture was straight in a sharp suit, but his face was covered with a white mask, making it impossible to read his emotions.He croaked, "Is that so?"Juan sneered, "Such a petty scheme was never going to shake Debra's standing. She has Marion and Andrew by her side. As long as those two are alive, the McKinney Group will remain untouchable, standing strong against us."He turned his gaze toward Vickie and added, "No offense, but she's useless. Aside from bearing a slight resemblance to Debra, she has nothing of value."Vickie glared at Juan, seething with rage. She wanted to lash out but dared not go out of line in front of the masked man."I think you're just hung up on Debra," she snor
On the big screen, a comparison of Vickie's before-and-after photos appeared. The details were thorough with her initial consultation, follow-up appointments, and the final results of her plastic surgery.It also included information about Vickie's so-called adoptive father. This proof was solid.A reporter stood up and asked, "A recent article from New Age has been accused of containing false information. Mrs. Houston, was this article published under your instruction?"Garland tried to get up and clarify, but Debra beat him to it.She replied calmly, "That article was written by a friend of mine. He was too eager to clear my name to verify the content. It was provided by a third party and later proved to be a trap. If anyone wishes to know the details, you may approach me after this press conference. I will provide you a copy and let you see their filthy tricks."Another journalist followed up, "Mrs. Houston, how can you prove that you are the real heiress?""Vickie claimed to