Debra pushed the door open and found Melody sitting by the bedside."Melody, are you still angry with me?""Cut the act, Debra. Don't think just because Juan likes you, you can do whatever you want in this house. Let me tell you, men are fickle creatures. He used to be all about Shelia, and now it's you. Who's to say he won't move on to someone else next? And when he stops protecting you, what will you be then? Nothing."Debra wasn't fazed. "You're right. Men are unpredictable, so it won't matter to me who Juan likes in the future.""What are you getting at?""I suppose you know what will happen to the Nichols family if I don't make peace with Juan right now, don't you?"Melody's frown deepened, her lips pursing tightly. Debra smiled knowingly, continuing, "But then again, you've spent your whole life enjoying the luxuries. You've never once bothered with business affairs, so naturally, you wouldn't be aware of how the stock has been plummeting these past few months.""Stop sp
Joe hesitated, and Debra quickly reassured him, "Don't worry. I'm just going to have a simple conversation with them. It won't drag your boss into anything."Joe bowed his head. "Yes, ma'am."The Vargas family, basking in the glow of the newly signed contract in their hands, hadn't anticipated Debra's arrival. When the maid announced her presence, the mood in the house shifted immediately.Jenson frowned deeply. "What's she doing here?"Lauren Vargas chimed in, "Maybe we should just send her away. She's Juan's wife after all. She's probably here to speak on behalf of the Nichols family."Jenson nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Let's get rid of her."But Hester interrupted, "Maybe we should let her in."Lauren turned on her, shocked. "Don't be foolish. Don't you realize why she's here? She's probably going to plead on behalf of the Nichols family."Hester shook her head. "No, that's not true. Debra reminded me to demand that contract in the first place. Without her advice, we wouldn'
Lauren was puzzled. "Then what brings you here?"Debra replied, "I came to ask the three of you. What are your thoughts on this ring?""Thoughts?" Lauren glanced at Jenson before forcing a smile. "Well, our family is modest and humble. Since the ring is already quite valuable, we see no reason to refuse it."Debra turned her gaze to Jenson. "Mr. Vargas, do you feel the same way?"Jenson was a small-time businessman who had worked his entire life without earning enough to afford a ring like this.He simply nodded. "If sold, this ring could fetch a considerable price. I have no reason to be dissatisfied."Debra raised a problem. "Indeed, this ring is worth one billion dollars. However, you'll find it difficult to sell."Lauren was confused. "Please enlighten me. The ring is in perfect condition. Why would it be hard to sell?"The ring boasted high quality and a long history. If they put it up for auction, it was bound to bring in a fortune.Debra let out a soft sigh. "Mrs. Varga
If they annoyed the Nichols, things would not turn out well for them.Debra reassured them, "Don't worry about it. Just go and demand cash. Act like you don't know its worth. I promise you'll walk away with one billion dollars."Lauren was still uncertain, but Jenson sensed an opportunity and gripped her hand."Alright, we'll do it.""Good. Take the ring. We'll meet again tomorrow."After Debra was gone, Lauren was still hesitant."Honey, do you think we can trust Debra?""Debra and the Nichols family aren't on the same side. Remember, didn't Juan have an affair recently? I think Debra's looking to get revenge on them. We might as well give it a shot.""Dad's right," Hester chimed in bitterly. "If we can get one billion dollars, at least all I've suffered won't have been in vain."With that, they came to an agreement. Early the next morning, they marched up to the Nichols family's house and created a scene at the door.Melody was woken up by Sophie's urgent knocking."What n
Debra's remark left Melody trapped.Of course, she had the money. But all her assets had been placed under the Nichols Group's accountants, and getting her hands on such a large sum at once was impossible.Yet, as the matriarch of the Nichols family, she couldn't admit that she didn't have the cash on hand in front of others.Forcing a composed smile, she said, "Of course, I understand that not everyone can appreciate the finer things. Since you don't want it, there's nothing more I can do."She took the ring back, and Debra grabbed her arm. "That's right. Now, how about we go get the cash together?"Melody was caught in a dilemma. In the end, she led Debra back to her room.She opened the large chest she had hidden under the bed. The gleaming gold bars and bricks were stacked high, filling the chest with an undeniable, heavy wealth.Debra glanced inside, her expression an exaggerated display of surprise. "Wow, I didn't expect you to be this wealthy."Melody smirked, her finger
Melody glanced at the box on the floor. Debra's offer wasn't bad."Fine," Melody said, her voice cold and measured. "I'll pawn this box of valuables to you for now. But you'll have to present the money now and send them away.""Sure," Debra agreed. "But before we move forward, I have one condition.""What condition?""The deal is fine, but I don't want to come out too far in the red. This ring looks nice. How about you let me have it?""Are you kidding me? Do you even know how much this ring is worth? At least one billion dollars.""I'm well aware. At auction, it could even fetch more. But turning it into cash takes time, and finding the right buyer at the right price isn't guaranteed. Plus, auction houses take a hefty cut. Not to mention, if word got out that the Nichols family was selling off their treasures, it would damage your family's reputation. It would impact business, don't you think?"She laid out the logic, knowing full well that Melody wouldn't want to go through th
Sophie pulled the box out. With an impatient wave of her hand, Melody said, "Just put it up there.""Yes." "Wait," Debra interrupted. "Leave it here for now. I'll be taking it to my place in a bit."Melody shot a suspicious glance at her."What are you planning? To live apart from Juan?""I've recently bought a new place closer to my office. Juan is fully aware of it. We've already discussed it. You don't have to worry about that.""But what about this suitcase?""Don't you trust me? The contract's right here. If anything goes missing, I'll take full responsibility. Besides, Juan and I are remarried now. His money is mine to spend as I wish. Why would I care about such a small amount of money?"Melody's face darkened at Debra's subtle bragging. She couldn't understand how Juan had fallen for such a woman in the first place.Sophie, still holding the suitcase, offered, "Madam, this suitcase is quite heavy. Should I help you take it to your car?""No need," Debra replied, stan
"This is the treasure you brought back?" Randy and Erica leaned over the suitcase, peering through magnifying glasses at the contents.Debra sat off to the side, sipping on her tea. She had already seen everything in the suitcase earlier. Except for the sapphire ring, there were no noteworthy items.Erica rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Based on my knowledge of jewelry, Melody's collection here is worth at least 300 million dollars."Randy stood up, shaking his head. "Not quite. If you add in the ring Debra is wearing, it's at least 1.3 billion.""Leaving 1.3 billion just lying around at home? She sure knows how to live," Erica said with a touch of sarcasm."No kidding," Randy agreed, slapping the table lightly.He looked confused as he continued, "But what's all this treasure talk you did before? Does it have something to do with these jewels?"Debra set her teacup down. "According to what Andrew told me, the four prominent families back in the day were the Potter family, the
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