"Why are you getting a tattoo suddenly?" Megan was driving. Sitting in the passenger seat, Celeste asked her with confusion. "Things between me and Mr. Belasco have ended. It's finally over," Megan said. She raised her left arm. The sleeve of her coat slid down, revealing the gruesome-looking "Belasco" on her forearm. She had carved the name on the same spot repeatedly on countless nights. The skin in that area had thickened and became protruded. It looked even more terrifying than the first time she saw it. Celeste couldn't help but gasp. Megan's heart must be in so much pain that she'd feel numb enough to do such a thing to her own body! "Megan, I never expected you to be so extreme. You should've been living a quiet and peaceful life." Celeste's voice was soft, as if she feared scaring Megan. "How could I have done that? If I preferred a quiet and peaceful life, I wouldn't have been friends with you." Megan gave her a side-eye. "But my heart hurts seeing you like
The conch was colorful. It was a rare species. Winston tapped open the comment section. "That's a Triton's trumpet, isn't it? It's so pretty!" "Can't believe you're so punk, love it!" "Why did you get a tattoo here? Was it to cover a scar?" Under this comment, Megan replied with a simple "Yes." Seeing this interaction, Winston saved the image and enlarged it. It was a rather gruesome scar. It was covered well with the skill of that tattoo artist. However, the shape of the protruding flesh resembled a word. Was this the reason why she always hid her arm? Winston frowned. He remembered that there was nothing on her arm the first time they were in the car together. When Winston checked the comments again, the tattoo artist left a comment of their own. "Thank you for appreciating our work, beautiful!" On the tattoo artist's page was a phone number and address. Winston took a screenshot of it and sent it to his assistant. "Check what Megan hid under her tattoo." Th
Celeste stared at her best friend, and her heart clenched. She knew that Megan had been self-conscious around her uncle, but she didn't expect Megan to feel so lowly of herself to that extent. Megan said she wanted to be with Winston whether or not he loved her. Celeste thought that her intention was to get closer to him and get him to love her. She didn't expect Megan to think that way. "You… must have felt so horrible back then." Megan didn't have any expectations for that man despite knowing that he didn't love her. Instead, she sacrificed herself and gave her body to him willingly. Megan shook her head. "Actually, I was happy. Do you know how people feel when they take drugs? They'd feel empty and in pain afterward, even when doing it. That said, they're addicted and can't stop themselves." Winston was her drug, but it didn't make her feel anything anymore. Celeste contemplated this. "You were just conned and used by him then." "No. Apart from the fact that he d
How could they wear such revealing clothes in this weather? Looking at the two, Winston frowned. Celeste's outfit was still somewhat acceptable. She wore a long, knitted dress beneath her coat. Conversely, Megan was wearing a wine-red leather jacket on top of a cropped tank top that showed her tummy. She wore a miniskirt and black fishnet stockings beneath a pair of boots. Despite her flashy outfit, her appearance was balanced by her obedient-looking face of a rich heiress. If anything, she looked elegant.What's going on? She had always looked well-behaved. Had she finally unleashed her true nature after the breakup? Winston's frown deepened. That's not true. They had never dated before, so there was no breakup in the first place. When Megan sent him that text, she only said to end things, right? Winston felt a little frustrated as he watched the two entering the club. "What a lucky day to see such beauties right after we came out. Mr. Belasco, I'll take my leave now. T
Megan wanted to pick a male escort and spend the night with him. Winston was the one who took away her dignity first. He would seem unimportant if she allowed a second man to do the same to her. That was her logic. Celeste disagreed with it, but she didn't stop Megan. Celeste loved her so much that she'd be biased for Megan. She'd even blame it on herself if she found out that Megan murdered someone. If she decided to spend the night with a male escort under safe conditions, Celeste wouldn't stop her. That said, Megan was the same as her. They were both, in truth, conservative. The male escorts were handsome, although their demeanor differed from Winston's—but they were just as good-looking. They were soft-spoken and egoless, which made them great at making women happy. "Which one of them do you want?" Celeste gave her a look and asked. Megan shot a glance at the man nearest to her. She gulped down some vodka. If she didn't make herself drunk with hard liquor, it'd
"You're quite the player for hiring over 20 male escorts. So how was it? Did you think those weaklings would be able to serve you well?" Damon looked down at her. Standing by the bed, he looked at her helpless face and mocked. Celeste knew she had done something wrong. Turning her face to the side, she didn't say a word. "Why aren't you speaking, huh?" Damon reached out to pinch her chin, turning her face over. He looked at her with dark eyes. Celeste had a tense look as he held her chin. She just stared at him without a word. Because of the stubborn look on her face, Damon felt even more frustrated. He increased the force on her chin as he glared at her. "Why aren't you answering me now?" Celeste thought about it. She made a mistake this time. She only thought about making Megan happy and didn't consider how Damon would feel. She should be setting aside her ego and coaxing him. The two of them had been through so much together, so she shouldn't allow something like
"No? Weren't you enjoying yourself at the club?" Damon's smile was terrifying. Celeste wanted to escape from him. "Not really…" She protested in a tiny voice. "Having drinks just like this is no fun. Why don't I pour some of that onto my abs?" Damon mimicked the tone of a male escort and acted coquettishly toward Celeste. He poured half a glass of whiskey for himself. Holding the glass, he leaned in closer. All those words from the male escorts were directed toward Megan! It had nothing to do with her at all! Celeste was so anxious that she broke out into a cold sweat. She felt wronged. "Those people aren't even the slightest bit manly. They had so much makeup on their faces. How did you manage to talk to them at all?" Damon sat to Celeste's right. He turned around and faced her. Stretching his arm out, he trapped her into the corner of the couch. The two were in such close proximity that they could feel each other's breaths. Celeste could even smell the familiar citr
Damon worked out all year long. There were beautiful, well-defined muscles on his abdomen. His eight-pack abs were clearly visible. The amber liquid flowed along Damon's abs. It flowed from his stomach all the way down to his groin. Celeste's face was flushed red. Holding her breath, she couldn't avert her eyes. "Darling, come here." Damon was turned on. With a hoarse voice, he coaxed her into coming closer. Celeste didn't want to move and merely watched him with widened eyes. "Come here, darling." Damon reached out and pulled her over. "No…" Celeste was so embarrassed that she was on the verge of tears. With a trembling voice, she refused. "Be a good girl." Damon held the back of her head and pressed her down on his abs. "Stick out your tongue. Good girl, baby." His body and throat were burning with desire as he coaxed her with a husky voice. Under his seduction, Celeste finally stuck her tongue out. Shivering, she licked his abs. "Oh!" Damon felt a shock spr
He never would have imagined that the intelligent and aloof Celeste would have a day like this, appearing adorably naive and innocent.Damon used to like girls who were delicate and pure, but that changed when he met Celeste.She had a face full of charm and allure, but her expression and personality were always cold and unyielding. She was pale and slim, yet not childlike. On the contrary, she resembled a young poplar tree, proud and upright.Because of her, he began to like girls who sparked his desire to conquer, and he scoffed at those who were simply weak and shy.But now with Celeste like this, he didn't feel annoyed. In fact, not only was he not annoyed, he actually found it cute and interesting.“What's your name?” she asked again."Damon.""Oh, that sounds really nice."The initial confusion in her eyes was gone, replaced by a sparkling glimmer, and her tone carried a touch of a young girl's excitement."You are actually my husband… Wow, great job, me! I've managed to
"What? Aren’t you my husband? Do I still need to avoid you while changing clothes?" The confusion in Celeste's eyes didn’t seem fake.Damon was speechless and didn't know how to respond at that moment.When Damon didn't respond, Celeste suddenly felt a bit nervous."I'm sorry… I can't remember clearly. Aren't you my husband?"Damon raised an eyebrow casually and asked, "Why do you think I am?"Celeste innocently blinked, her eyelashes fluttering like fans. "The nurse said it. Besides, if you're not my husband, why would you sleep with me at night?""What did the nurse say?" Her reasoning was actually logical and undeniable. For a moment, Damon found it somewhat amusing."The nurse said that my husband is really thoughtful," Celeste responded seriously. Then she asked, "Aren't you my husband? Then why would you be willing to stay here with me so late?"This one sentence left Damon speechless.The reason he was willing was because he was a coward. He said that he didn't care abo
Damon frowned upon hearing the classic amnesiac questions being asked."Celeste, are you trying to act out a TV drama?"Celeste still looked at him blankly. "What do you mean?"Damon didn't answer and went straight to the director's office to get Nicholas.Knowing her, she wasn't the type to joke around, especially not with Leo still missing. She must have hit her head hard.Nicholas was equally surprised and hurried back to the room with Damon.Celeste was sitting up, hugging her knees and staring into space."You're awake? How do you feel?" Nicholas asked with a smile as he entered."Why am I here?" Her voice sounded hesitant, and she turned to look at them.Her confusion seemed genuine. Nicholas and Damon exchanged worried glances."Celeste… you don't remember?""Celeste?" She asked, "Is that my name?""Yes.""I don't remember. My mind is blank.""Do you remember… Leo?" Nicholas hesitated. After all, if she knew that her child had been missing for three days, he was wo
"Alright," Celeste said in a deep voice. "Let me see Leo first."They pushed open the hidden door, revealing a staircase leading to the basement."Have Leo come to the stairway corner." She stood at the dark staircase and negotiated with the kidnapper."Mommy!" Suddenly, Leo's desperate cry echoed from inside."Leo!" Celeste ditched everything else and rushed down the stairs.She ran ahead, and as soon as she reached the corner, there was a loud explosion, and a wave of heat hit her face."Celeste!""Celeste!"Damon and Winston's faces changed drastically, shouting in alarm.The basement was empty. It was a trap.Had they been more careful, they would have noticed that both the kidnapper’s voice and Leo’s cry were artificially synthesized. But Celeste, in her desperation to save her son, had been too frantic to discern this.The basement was rigged with landmines. Unfortunately, something went wrong. The mine exploded when Celeste reached the stairway corner, instead of when
What? Damon was also coming? Celeste felt her heart leap, and her voice became sharper as she said, "I can handle this. You can't come!"There was no response from his end.Observing Damon’s silence, Celeste quickly softened her tone. "Damon, listen to me. I can handle this alone. There's no need for you to get involved… because I'm their main target, and they likely won't harm Leo. You need to stay home and wait for him. You need to take care of him later on…""Celeste," Damon interrupted coldly. "Are you planning on not coming out alive?"Of course, coming out alive would be ideal, but she couldn’t guarantee that."Damon, I do have a chance of surviving, but when it comes to exchanging myself for Leo, there can be no room for error. We must follow the kidnapper's instructions to ensure Leo's safety."It was out of the question to provide a false sense of security and pretend to comply with the kidnapper, only to backtrack and get Leo killed.She needed to ensure Leo’s safety a
They checked all the surveillance footage near the Bishop residence and investigated every suspicious vehicle. They also had people keeping an eye on Henry, but after half a day, there was still no breakthrough.The kidnappers had taken Leo to threaten Celeste, and the lack of communication was meant to unnerve her. If it was according to predictions, she was supposed to wait for their demands. But, as a mother, she couldn't just sit and do nothing.Celeste remembered that Shannon had called her, so she found her contact in the blacklist and called."Shannon, did you and Henry kidnap Leo?" she demanded.Shannon laughed coldly. "Don't accuse us without any evidence. Your son is missing? Maybe it's karma. Hahaha!"Celeste hung up, unable to stand Shannon's smugness.Several teams searched for over 20 hours, even involving the police, but still had no solid leads. Celeste suspected Henry, but they couldn't just arrest him without any proof.She was extremely desperate. She didn't e
"Lester isn't as clever as Leo. He's just a four-year-old child, and he shouldn't have done anything like that," Serena instinctively defended Lester. Then, recalling the last time she had misunderstood Leo for similar reasons, she felt a pang of guilt and added, "I don't mean to imply anything… I'll have someone bring Lester here."Celeste nodded. "I'm not blaming Lester. I just want to understand what happened."Soon, the nanny looking after Lester brought him in. Unexpectedly, upon seeing Celeste, Lester burst into tears."Aunty Celeste, please don't hit me. I didn't mean to lose my brother!""Lester, I just want to understand what happened." Celeste was taken aback by his crying but kneeled down to speak gently. "I'm not blaming you. Can you tell me what you saw that day?""Aunty Celeste, don't hit me!" Lester kept crying, not saying a word about Leo's disappearance."Am I that scary, Lester?"At this moment, Celeste felt at a loss. She could communicate normally with Leo,
Celeste perfectly understood what Cedric's implied. "I mean, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to entertain me today."Cedric had indeed wanted to help her that day, but his identity was too special to admit it openly. The scratch on the paper was a subtle hint, and whether or not she could interpret it depended on her intuition. The fact that she could decipher such a subtle hint proved her intelligence and luck.Over the years, Cedric had developed a sense of respect for Celeste after learning about her. He felt she was deserving of assistance, but he couldn't make it obvious."However, be careful. I see that Henry is at the end of his rope and might act irrationally. You should be on guard," Cedric warned.Celeste nodded, having considered this as well. "Henry wants me dead."This was why she had her brother stay abroad and sent Leo to the Bishops. With only herself remaining, it was harder for Henry to use her loved ones against her."Take care of yourse
Celeste's deduction was correct. Cedric intentionally left the mark. As Winston dug deeper, he slowly uncovered a series of issues.It was a bridge project on a highway in a poor mountainous area. Not uncommon.The problem was that the person in charge of this project was a leader assigned from a first-tier city to oversee the development. Officially, he was recognised for his capabilities, but in reality, this task was one he had to succeed in without failure.He had offended someone, and this transfer was a disguised punishment under the guise of a major responsibility.If he had managed it well, the chances of him returning to a higher development role would have been slim. At best, he could stay in this position until retirement. If he didn't manage it well, his entire career could be ruined.Someone of such status naturally had supporters as well as opponents. In such a situation, it was impossible for anyone to sabotage and create pitfalls along the way."It seems the next