Debra glanced instinctively towards the kitchen. Marion stood at the stove, wearing a black apron. He looked quite relaxed, the spatula in his hand moving deftly as he fried eggs.Sensing her gaze, Marion looked up. Debra quickly averted her eyes, but it was too late. He had caught her staring."Breakfast's ready," Randy shouted from the kitchen, carrying three plates piled high with food.Marion placed a dish in front of Debra, the eggs cooked to perfection.Randy, setting the plates down, remarked with a playful pout, "Man, when will you ever be this considerate toward me?"Erica chimed in, "Maybe in your next life."As just Debra began to eat, her phone buzzed with an incoming message from Juan.She glanced at Marion to see if he had noticed, and seeing that he was engrossed in his own meal, she opened the message.Juan: [8 PM, Royal Grand Hotel.]Debra hesitated, her fingers hovering over the screen. She thought about the dream she'd had and typed her reply.Debra: [No ne
Erica rolled her eyes. "I think they're birds of a feather. Did you resolve the issue with Cathryn?"Debra shrugged. "Cathryn can't stir up any trouble. Marion wouldn't even bother looking at her."Erica's mood soured further, and she kicked Randy. "It'd better be that way."Randy yelped in pain, "Hey! Why did you kick me for no reason?"Debra's arrival at Nichols Group headquarters caused quite a stir."Isn't Ms. Frazier? What is she doing here?""Isn't it obvious? She was publicly at odds with Mr. Nichols before. Now that the Frazier Group is bankrupt, she's naturally here to seek his help.""I thought she had a lot of pride, but it turns out she's just here to beg Mr. Nichols to reconcile?"...The whispers reached Debra's ears, but she ignored them.The recent news about the Frazier and Nichols families had been quite unpleasant, and her visit to the Nichols Group was bound to spark gossip. But she wasn't focused on that right now.Joe, who had been waiting on the first
Juan's words carried a ring of truth that was hard to dismiss.Debra fell silent, contemplating the notion that perhaps people could indeed change.In this life, Juan had seen through Shelia's façade, which explained his withdrawal of affection for her."Do you have impressions of these companies?" she asked, placing several files on the table.The files contained detailed information about various companies that Juan had targeted in her previous life. Although she knew the likelihood of getting a positive response from Juan in this life was slim, she felt compelled to try.Juan shifted his gaze to the files, his expression thoughtful. "No."Sure enough, because of her intervention, Juan had not yet taken notice of these subsidiaries of the Frazier Group.Debra took a deep breath, her mind racing with memories and revelations. Ever since having that vivid dream, she had instructed someone to investigate the accounts of those subsidiaries. The findings were grim; the companies ha
"We do have an agreement, but..."It was not compulsory. Instead of voicing her protest, Debra picked up the contract from the table.The document was labeled as a contract with Potter Entertainment. She scanned the pages, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion."The agreement is there, but it's not a sell-yourself contract."Andrew glanced at her, and she quickly corrected herself. "I mean, you want to hire me?"Andrew replied calmly, "That's the idea. The contract is very clear."Debra struggled to find the right words. "I did consider entering showbiz, but I...""But you plan to enter showbiz with McKinney Group, not with me?""Uh... Yeah."Debra squirmed under his gaze, feeling trapped.Andrew pressed on. "Don't forget our previous agreement. The Frazier Group's collapse has affected my family. This is a chance for you to make up."Debra felt a pang of unease. Andrew knew her weak spot and was pushing her into a corner. She put down the contract, her shoulders slumping slig
The Frazier family owned several properties, but they had been left vacant for years. Debra found a luxurious apartment close to the city center that suited her needs perfectly. The apartment was sprawling, at least 150 square meters, more than enough space for her to start anew.The moving company efficiently cleared out and organized everything within three days.One day, Debra did something she hadn't done in a long time.She posted on social media. [Embracing a brand-new life!]Under the caption was a half-face photo of herself and a picture of her new living room.The comments started pouring in almost immediately.Erica: [Wow, I love it. Want to come over for a meal.]Randy: [Ditto. I can cook for myself.]Marion: [Nice.]The comments touched Debra. In her previous life, she had few friends, but in this one, she had gained a supportive circle.As she refreshed her feed, she noticed a like from Juan. Her mood soured instantly.A new comment appeared.Jordan: [The room'
"Hannah, who is she?" they asked.Hannah introduced Debra, "Meet Debra Frazier. She's your new colleague and a new rival."Eyes narrowed, and whispers began to buzz. Three girls stood out to protest."I know her. She's the Frazier family's heiress who's been trending recently.""Not the heiress anymore. She's broke.""Hannah, this is ridiculous. Are you just going to let some pampered princess waltz in here and compete with us?"Debra shifted uncomfortably, feeling the weight of their stares. She was an outsider, and she knew it. Before arriving, Andrew had warned her that only one person would emerge from this practice room. More people meant more competitors. And she had taken a shortcut to get here."You can choose to leave. No one is stopping you," Hannah said, unperturbed about their protests.The atmosphere in the room turned tense, and she continued, "If you don't want to leave, then train hard. Even if you can't be the standout, at least you can be a second-stringer."
A sweet-faced girl among them was annoyed. "What do you mean? You think just because Hannah is backing you, we won't dare to do anything?"That cool girl echoed, "You only got into this room because of your internet fame. We're the ones who put in the real effort every day. Don't you find it disgusting how you're behaving?"Debra raised an eyebrow. "You think it's unfair?""Of course, it is!" the others barked, their frustration palpable.Debra was unfazed. "There's no such thing as absolute fairness in this world. Some people use their brains. Some rely on their looks, and others use their connections. If you want to be in this industry and expect fairness, you're nothing but a bunch of naïve kids."The sweet-faced girl, her confidence bolstered by her father's status as the chairman of Potter Entertainment, stepped forward. "You're just arguing for the sake of it.""Am I?" Debra stepped forward, grabbing the expensive necklace around the girl's neck. "This is an overseas luxury
Debra hadn't given much thought to her debut. Perhaps Andrew wasn't taking it too seriously. Her debut just fit the public sentiment, and it could boost the Potter family and the McKinney Group.Besides, she had never seen any contract clauses mentioning penalty fees for withdrawing from training.On her first day, Debra familiarized herself with the environment. At night, Hannah handed her a stack of profiles about all the trainees. As she flipped through the pages, a few faces stood out.Freya George, the lead girl, had an air of cold detachment. Eve Cameron was the chairman's daughter, and Ashley Steele was that sweet-faced girl.These three were undoubtedly the strongest contenders. The rest of the trainees seemed to blend into the background, lacking the spark that set the top three apart.Debra had long been aware that the entertainment industry was little more than a playground for the elite. However, she hadn't expected that even a public selection would be predetermined.
For a moment, the castle fell silent after the gunshot. Then, more shots rang out, each one chipping away at the crowd's composure.A man, trembling, slowly raised his hands and stood up. "I'm a member of the Illuminati."Others scrambled to follow. "Me too."Within moments, nearly 70 to 80 percent of the people in the room were on their feet.The ones who stayed seated were mostly the "merchandise"—people the Illuminati had prepared. They quickly stood as well."Mr. Houston, have mercy," one of them begged. "We were just hired. We don't even know who's in charge."The men and women, who had been laughing and flirting with the wealthy elites, were now shaking in fear.Barely covered, they huddled together, terrified that Marion would kill them.Marion leaned back in his chair, glancing at the crowd. "Words don't count. Prove it."His men raised their rifles, aiming at the heads of the so-called members."I have proof," said one of them, pulling out a badge. "Here. Look. This
The Illuminati lackeys, totaling 30, were all dead now.Their bodies lined up neatly in a row.Marion took off his mask and casually tossed it into the corner. The guests recognized him and froze in place.Everyone there had heard of his infamous name. But they never thought he'd be bold enough to do a massacre.One of his men placed a chair behind him, but Marion didn't sit. Instead, he slowly stepped forward and casually removed the mask of a plump man.He smirked, When he saw the man's face, Marion smiled in a way that was hard to describe. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Pearson.""M-Mr. Houston..." Harvey Pearson sweated nervously.Marion casually asked, "Does your wife know you're here?" "We're just here to have some fun, Mr. Houston. We haven't done anything to offend you. We wouldn't dare."Marion ignored him, turning to rip off more masks."Mr. Glenn, Mr. Stokes, Mr. Salazar..." he muttered, raising his hand.At the signal, his men removed the masks of the remaining guest
The moment the gunshot rang out, Debra felt a gust of wind rush past her ear, followed by a ringing in her ears. It felt like the whole world went silent.In the nick of time, Marion had appeared and twisted the guard's neck. Then the bullet missed its target.Marion was dressed in a suit and a black mask, like many others did. Still, Debra recognized him at a glance."Let's go," he urged.With the alarm set off, all the guards would be gathering on the second floor in less than two minutes.The two of them rushed downstairs and quickly blended in with the chaotic guests.Unfortunately, the exit had been shut, and guards were closing in on them from every direction.Debra, who had inhaled too much of the gas, was already delirious.Her mind was foggy, and her legs felt as though they were floating. She focused on Marion's hand gripping hers, and memories of someone else holding her hand flooded her mind.The memory was blurry, like a dream, and the figure of the young man in t
It was the symbol of the Illuminati.A man's voice echoed through the castle."Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Kingdom Come. Here, you can fulfill your every craving."The atmosphere in the room seemed to get even hotter because of it, but the voice rang a bell to Debra, whose cheeks were starting to burn.Back in Orkgate, the scent released by Drake's men wasn't this strong.The people around her seemed hypnotized. Many had abandoned their dignity and danced wildly in the ballroom.The gamblers were all in deep, their faces flushed with excitement. Meanwhile, the women on sale started using every trick they could to satisfy the buyers.The male pets were even openly draped around the rich women, their hands roaming all over their bodies.Debra felt sick just watching it from the corner. She looked around, trying to find Marion.Without success, she focused on tracing the source of that earlier voice. She looked up at the second floor, but there wasn't a single soul.She was
The bodyguards at the entrance were intimidating.When Debra handed over her invitation, she worried there might be fingerprint scans or facial recognition. That would make things tricky.But the guards barely glanced at it before waving her through. Debra was surprised by how smoothly things went.This castle was one of the top three landmarks overseas, and it had never been open to the public. During the day, it was a tourist attraction. But now, someone managed to host a private banquet right there.Once inside, she was faced with one more hurdle. Rows of scanners stood ahead, all meant to detect any restricted items.Debra was carrying no gun, but Marion had given her a Bluetooth earpiece to stay in contact.To minimize suspicion, they decided to enter separately. She would go in first, and he'd follow shortly after.She hesitated for a moment before taking off the earpiece and tossing it into a shadowed corner.Just as she stepped forward, someone in front of her triggered
When they entered the dream, the gems were real.Fermin had woken up faster than them and taken the gems. Then he must have found a way to hide them or hand them off to someone else.In other words, this whole thing was planned. "If that's the case, Mrs. Houston and the others are in danger," Barton said anxiously, realizing someone in their group was a traitor.The Illuminati couldn't have collected so many rare stones for nothing. There had to be a scheme."I need to think this through," Andrew muttered, pressing his forehead.Barton noticed his pale face and immediately stepped forward. "Sir, are you having another episode? William said you shouldn't stress yourself out. I'll get your medicine.""Come back," Andrew said. "I'm not taking any medicine right now.""It won't work, sir. The doctor warned you against thinking too much. That's why you left Seamar City to enjoy peace. Mrs. Houston has Mr. Houston looking out for her. You don't need to worry, sir."Andrew had thoug
Michael chuckled, "You probably won't believe this, but after I finished work, I found this thing right outside my door.""What?" Debra was shocked.Michael explained, "Since that night you asked me to keep an eye out, I reached out to a few international contacts. But I came up empty. Then, the very next day, this thing was sitting outside my door."Debra mused, "So, you think someone knew you were investigating, so they gave you a shortcut?""If that's the case, then the organization must be massive, and the entertainment industry could very well be their way of spreading their influence," Michael said.A lightbulb went off in Debra's head.At those banquets held by the Lowe family, most of the guests were from the entertainment industry. Whether they were once-famous stars or rising ones, these celebrities were typically the targets of wealthy businessmen.If the entertainment industry was being used to spread Illuminati teachings, then it wasn't the stars trapping the rich m
When the bathroom door opened, Debra was soaking in the bathtub.She asked awkwardly, "Uh, where's the towel?"It was her first time staying in that house, and she hadn't expected the towel not to be in the bathroom.Marion was relieved to see her fine. "I'll get it for you."He walked over to grab the towel, then entered the bathroom and draped it over her shoulders.Her cheeks looked rosy, maybe because of the heat in the bathroom.Worried about her injury, he gently lifted her out of the bathtub. She instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck. Their breaths mixed as she was held close to him.His arms were robust, easily lifting her with no effort."Are you tired?""I-I am.""Then lie down and let me serve you."He kissed her forehead, but she tapped his shoulder. "Hey! I just finished my shower."It was getting dark. Marion ordered takeout, all of Debra's favorite dishes.Her body was sore all over. She didn't want to move, and Marion had to feed her.Leaning on t
"Marion, what are you doing?" Debra shot him a warning look.Marion shrank back."Alright. I'll call again when I get there," Michael said."Okay." Debra ended the call and looked up to see Marion's frustrated look."I'm hungry," she said, pecking him on the lips.Marion lost what little control he had left. He tilted her chin up, pressed a hand to the back of her neck, and kissed her deeply.It wasn't until they were both breathless that he finally pulled away."Let's go eat," he said.Debra glared at him, knowing he was doing that on purpose."Well, I'm not that hungry anymore," she said deliberately.Marion looked back and met her limpid eyes. His lips, slightly swollen from his kisses, were soft and inviting like ripe cherries."I am hungry, though." His voice was low, teasing.This time, his kisses were slow, lingering. His lips trailed down to her neck, and their breaths both quickened.Debra's silk nightgown slipped down to her waist, the lace straps of her undergar