"Just saying a few words would help you borrow luck? The idea that simply agreeing could actually transfer your luck sounds pretty far-fetched," Raymond muttered. "I've never heard Olivia ask us for anything like that."Alex nodded in agreement. "I think so too. It doesn’t seem like it could be that sinister."Both of them remained skeptical, caught between doubt and belief.Meanwhile…Oliver had pulled Richard aside for a walk. He found a spot out of sight from the surveillance cameras and quietly explained everything he had learned.Richard's face darkened. "It seems like our family was targeted from the very beginning. If that’s the case, then your sister's disappearance all those years ago wasn’t an accident. No wonder we tried so many ways to find Lindsay and always came up short."They’d reported it to the police, offered high rewards, and spread the word among relatives and friends, but it was all in vain. Clearly, someone behind Olivia had been deliberately obstructing their e
That evening, Raymond and Alex decided to plead with their father for Brandon. They were partly driven by sympathy—worried he might injure his legs and miss the show—and partly to see how Olivia would react.But their attempt didn’t go as planned. Not only did Richard refuse their request, but he also scolded them harshly. To make matters worse, he ordered both of them to go outside and kneel alongside Brandon.Raymond and Alex felt like crying. They had just tried to speak up for Brandon and somehow got themselves dragged into the punishment too.The two of them turned their gaze toward Olivia.Olivia hadn’t expected their father to be this angry, punishing even those who pleaded on her behalf. She had always been a bit afraid of Richard, and now she dared not speak up in their defense, fearing she would provoke his anger even further. After all, he was the head of the family, and she still needed to stay on his good side. All she could do was give Raymond and Alex an apologetic l
Alex chimed in, "Yeah, if Via wants to stay with us, let her. It'll help her feel better.""Brandon, why are you being so difficult? You can't even grant her this small request," he added.Their words made Olivia's smile freeze for a moment. “What’s wrong with these two?” she thought.Did they really take her words seriously? How foolish could they be?She quickly recovered, putting on her most gentle and caring expression. "Yes, I just want to keep you company," she said, turning to Brandon and shivering slightly. "And I’m not cold, don’t worry about me."She played the part of being strong in adversity—an act she had perfected over the years, one that had always made her brothers dote on her even more. After all, here she was, in the cold, injured, but still wanting to stay by their side. How could they not find her endearing?As expected, when Brandon saw how thinly she was dressed, he reached out and felt her hand—it was ice-cold.With a stern expression, he said, "This is nons
Olivia's sudden, seemingly joking request caught Oliver, Raymond, and Alex off guard. Oliver quickly realized why she had spent so much time earlier laying the groundwork and emphasizing her recent streak of bad luck.He feigned a look of surprise and chuckled. "My luck and yours are completely different. Even if you took mine, it probably wouldn’t help with your bad luck."Olivia, still smiling, replied, "You never know—it might help!"She added a touch of a playful tone, "Come on, Oliver, you're so lucky. Just share a little with me. It might make me feel better, and who knows? Maybe it’ll turn my luck around."Frustration surged through Oliver as he thought, "There are four of us here—so why is she trying to fleece me?"Shouldn't she be focusing on Brandon, the gullible one? Did he look more like a pushover to her?His suspicion deepened, but he kept a look of surprise on his face, even pointing to himself. "Me? Lucky?""Olivia, what makes you think I'm the lucky one? I'm on the v
Raymond stared at her in disbelief. "…Do I look like an even bigger fool than Alex?" he thought.He had only half-believed in the whole "borrowing luck" thing before, but now that Olivia had turned her sights on him, he was convinced. If it were just a joke, she would have stopped after trying it with Oliver. But the moment Oliver dodged, she came straight for him. There had to be something going on.He hesitated for a moment, then replied, "I've had my fair share of bad luck lately too! Just look at the backlash I got online after you asked me to confront Lindsay during that show. I've been getting flamed by the netizens, and I lost a ton of fans."He continued, pretending to be concerned for her, "I'm just like Oliver, down on my luck right now. I think it's better if I don't share it with you. What if I pass my bad luck onto you and make things even worse?"Olivia froze for a moment but quickly recovered, offering a sympathetic smile. "I’m willing to share your burden, Ray, so y
Alex quickly realized that Olivia truly knew how to put on a show. Those teary, pitiful eyes—she could summon them whenever she wanted, like turning on a tap. How blind had they been all these years not to see that it was all an act?And who, really, should be feeling hurt here? Shouldn't it be them?All the years they’d spent caring for her had amounted to nothing.What had they ever done to wrong her that she felt the need to drain their luck dry? Just so she could have her so-called "good luck," she was willing to make them suffer in return. Was this really their sister? She seemed more like an enemy out for revenge.Before, he and Raymond had tried not to see her in such a negative light, only half-believing what Oliver had said. But now, they were completely disillusioned. To Olivia, they were just pawns in her game, used and discarded with false promises and no real affection. Worse, she was willing to harm them without a shred of sincerity.Keeping his expression neutral,
Just as Brandon was about to say, "I'll give you some," Raymond suddenly interrupted him. He realized his foolish younger brother was falling right into Olivia's trap.Quickly, Raymond glanced at Olivia and exclaimed, "Hey, Via, why do you look so much darker all of a sudden?"His words made Brandon instinctively lower his head to look at Olivia. And sure enough, her skin did seem darker, her complexion noticeably worse than usual. But rather than saying it outright, he tried to comfort her instead. "Maybe it's just a tan from being abroad," he suggested. "Your skin doesn't look so great—maybe it's because you haven’t been sleeping well with your injuries."Olivia stiffened in his arms. Could these two idiots stop stabbing her in the heart?Before coming downstairs, she had applied a thick layer of foundation to cover the spots on her skin and hands. But she had forgotten that with all the crying, her makeup had smeared.Anxious to distract them, she quickly said, "That's exactly w
Olivia wasn't happy about being punished with a ruler. She quickly hid behind Brandon and pleaded, "My hand still hurts; can't we just skip the punishment this time?"The etiquette teacher was stern and showed no mercy. "No. If you keep hiding like this, I will double the punishment.”Brandon hadn't expected his mother to hire such a stubborn etiquette teacher. "Who do you think you are? We hired you to teach manners, not to beat people. Don't get carried away with your authority."The teacher gave him a disdainful look. "Your manners are quite lacking as well. Hardly what one would expect from a young man of a wealthy family. I was hired by your mother. If you have any complaints, take them up with her. But for now, the punishment must proceed."She then took out her phone. "Shall I call your mother, and you can explain it to her yourself?"There was no way Olivia could let her make that call. The last thing Grace wanted to hear about was their behavior. If she found out, she'd be fur
In the vibrant district of the historic town, the streets were lined with vintage boutiques and various artisan stalls. Lindsay's group visited the town’s administration office and rented a temporary booth.Alex and Justin eagerly borrowed a table and chairs, setting up the booth. Following Lindsay's instructions, they also bought a piece of white fabric and worked together to create a simple sign. The production team provided markers and other supplies.Lindsay glanced over at Benedict and said, "Benedict, I’ll let you handle writing the banner."She was eager to observe his writing and the energy he gave off while doing it.Benedict sighed inwardly—this girl was constantly trying to test him. After a moment’s thought, he nodded. "Alright, I’ll write it."He grabbed a marker, uncapped it, and wrote in bold letters across the white fabric: “Fortune Telling, Divination, and Tarot Readings.”Lindsay watched him closely, noticing the fluidity of his movements as he wrote, his posture exud
Justin added, "My mom’s been trying to get me to help Olivia and distance myself from Lindsay. She’s also said plenty of nasty things about Lindsay. This time, not only did I ignore her, but I even pushed back. It probably pissed her off, and now she’s taking it out on Lindsay."Alex, clearly upset, said, "You should talk to her and tell her to stop fixating on Lindsay. Lindsay hasn’t done anything to provoke her. It’s ridiculous."He was frustrated that Justin’s mom had been stirring up trouble, making Grace even more difficult to deal with.Justin nodded. "Alright, after the show is over, I’ll have a talk with her."He also felt his mom was acting out of line. Back when he liked Lindsay, her disapproval at least made sense. But now that Lindsay had kicked him to the curb, his mom’s continued obsession was baffling.Although they were speaking softly, Lindsay and Benedict, walking ahead, heard every word.Lindsay found the situation with Abby baffling as well. A woman who fawned over
After Lindsay left, the other guests quickly followed, leaving only Alex standing there awkwardly. He spoke briefly to the production staff, and they soon shifted the cameras away from that area. Alex then walked over to Grace, saying, "Mom, since Lindsay won’t lend it, let’s just drop it."Grace shot him a cold glare, her expression dark. "How can you be so heartless? The one lying in bed is your fourth brother. Are you hanging around Lindsay all the time just to learn how to be cold and ruthless?"Unable to contain her frustration toward Lindsay, Grace directed it at Alex instead.Alex sighed in exasperation. "Even if we need help, it has to be something she’s willing to do! We’ve wronged Lindsay enough as it is, so why do you keep trying to guilt-trip her? Brandon’s situation isn’t Lindsay’s fault. Why don’t you go find Olivia? She’s the one who caused all this, maybe she can fix it. After all, whoever’s behind her is no easy target."Right now, all Alex felt toward Lindsay was gui
Grace held back her anger and said, "It'll only take a few minutes. I have something important to discuss with you."Lindsay sat back down in her seat. "Fine, go ahead."The livestream was on, and Lindsay was fully aware of it—she was doing this on purpose.Grace was about to speak when her assistant whispered something in her ear. Her expression changed, and she subtly shifted her body to turn away from the camera.Then she looked at Lindsay. "Can we talk outside?"In her rush to find Lindsay, she had almost forgotten that this was a live-streamed variety show. She didn’t want to be on camera, much less discuss such personal matters in front of an audience.Lindsay, however, refused. "If it's important, say it here. If not, then don’t say anything."Grace’s expression darkened. "It’s because it’s important that we need to talk privately."She emphasized, "It’s not appropriate in front of the camera."Lindsay just smiled. "Unless it's something shady, what’s wrong with saying it on cam
Lindsay thought about it for a while and figured that if Grace was coming to find her, it was probably for Brandon. The only thing she could want would be the artifact in her possession.Alex saw her reply and couldn’t help but smile wryly. His sister was indeed sharp and saw right through it.He sent a voice message, repeating what the head of the Divination Association had told them. "Mom just wants to borrow the artifact from you to suppress Brandon’s condition."Lindsay replied, "Tell her not to waste her energy."Seeing that message, Alex knew right away that she wouldn’t lend it out. It didn’t surprise him—his sister could be ruthless when she wanted to be."We can’t convince her otherwise, not even Dad can stop her... sigh," Alex added. When their mom’s temper flared, she wouldn’t listen to anyone.Lindsay didn’t seem to care. "Then let her come. I’m not going to do her any favors."Alex recalled the conversation between their parents at the hospital and decided to warn her, "M
Recently, Grace had been spending more time with Abby, often meeting up for outings. Over time, Richard noticed that Grace's anger towards their biological daughter had deepened. Abby had always disliked Lindsay and showed more favoritism towards Olivia. She must have been stirring up trouble and egging Grace on whenever they met. With time, Grace was bound to be influenced.Grace, clearly annoyed, said, "You even want to control who I make friends with? Aren't you going too far? What's wrong with me getting along with Mrs. Ford and spending more time with her?"Richard felt cornered. "I just think there's something off about her. Her intentions in getting close to you don't seem good. That's why I'm trying to give you a heads-up."Grace didn't believe him at all. "I think you're overthinking it. We’ve always had a decent relationship. We’re just closer now, that’s all.""What do you men know about women’s matters? Don't interfere." She now had plenty to talk about with Abby. Jenny wa
Richard glanced at Grace with clear disapproval. “This whole mess was caused by Olivia and Brandon. What does any of it have to do with Lindsay?”He could tell that recent events, and the embarrassment caused by their sons, had left his wife feeling bitter. It seemed she had begun to project that frustration onto Lindsay, despite the situation having little to do with her.Grace crossed her arms defensively. “If it wasn’t for her ongoing fight with Olivia, Brandon wouldn’t have gotten involved. He’s her brother. Doesn’t she owe him some consideration now that he’s in this condition?”Richard frowned. “What exactly are you trying to say?”Valarie, who had been quietly listening, finally spoke up, her displeasure clear. “I see it differently. It’s Olivia and your son who started the trouble, and all Lindsay did was defend herself. Are you really looking to embarrass yourselves even more?”Grace shifted uncomfortably, feeling the sting of her mother-in-law’s words. “I’m just thinking abou
Given the Harper family's persistence, there was no way the Divination Association could avoid a thorough investigation. Seeing that Randolph wouldn’t back down, the official left, courteously escorted out by Randolph, who, for the moment, had ceased his protests.Valarie carefully placed the multicolored stone inside a small protective pouch before securing it around Brandon's neck. Though he felt a slight relief after putting it on, the bad luck continued. As the official had warned, his misfortune was too severe for one artifact to fully contain.Randolph tried every connection he had, attempting to borrow a second artifact, but came up empty-handed. Time slipped by, and evening approached before they could find any further solutions.By the time Richard and Grace arrived at the hospital, they were met with the weary faces of their parents. Feeling guilty for everything his father had gone through, Richard bowed his head. "Dad, Mom, I'm so sorry you had to go through this today."
Hearing their words, the hope that had briefly flickered in Brandon’s eyes quickly faded, leaving him more devastated than before. "Grandfather, I know I was wrong," he muttered, finally realizing the truth. His foster sister had been nothing but trouble—far from trustworthy, she had been a constant source of harm. Meanwhile, his real sister, though harsh and distant, had proven to be far more reliable. Regret gnawed at him deeply.Randolph sighed, his voice heavy with disappointment. “Knowing you’re wrong doesn’t change anything. It’s too late now.”Turning back to the two mystics, Randolph asked, “If you can’t break the curse directly, could you at least help suppress his misfortune? Maybe with a protective charm or some kind of mystical object?”Despite his frustration with his grandson’s foolishness, he couldn’t just leave him to suffer.Both mystics exchanged uneasy glances. “We don’t have the ability to suppress his bad luck with charms.”“For something like that, you’d need t