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At 1 a.m., the two of them crossed paths at the stairwell.  

Mariah casually waved the slip of paper in her hand, glancing around her surroundings. “So, you knew my place was bugged?”  

Vanessa gave a slight nod.  

“You went through all this trouble. What do you want to say?”  

“There might be issues in the stock market,” Vanessa replied calmly.  

Mariah remained silent, her sharp eyes studying her closely. “Evidence?”  

Vanessa spread her hands. “None. I only pieced it together on my way back today. Your company announced two major projects at the press conference, but neither of them succeeded in development. Doesn’t that sound like a stock manipulation scheme? If you check the data, you’ll see VH’s stock has been surging and is likely to keep climbing.”  

Mariah stood still, her gaze locked on her, as though trying to decipher her true intentions.  

“This information,” she said coolly, “should be shared with the police, not me.” She turned to leave.  

But Vanessa’s voice came from behind, unhurried and steady. “With this, the leverage in your hands can be even more powerful.”  

A flicker of surprise crossed Mariah’s eyes.  

“If you didn’t have something significant, you wouldn’t just sit at home waiting for the inevitable. Maybe you’re lacking the right timing or solid evidence, but whatever you’ve got won’t do any good without the right moment to act.” Her gaze sharpened. “And now that moment is here. Are you still going to wait?”  

After a pause, Mariah’s piercing gaze remained locked on her. “Why are you helping me?”  

“Hmm... let’s just say I’m grateful for that moment when you believed in me, back when I was at my lowest. Even though you probably don’t remember.”  

Mariah searched her memory, recalling only fragmented pieces. Her wariness didn’t waver. “I doubt it’s that simple.”  

Vanessa nodded gracefully, then signaled with her eyes for her to hurry back. "All you need to know is that I’m on your side."  

Mariah’s gaze was complicated, her heart a mix of emotions.  

"Still not leaving?" Vanessa reminded her.  

It wasn’t until evening that Vanessa’s phone, which had been silent all day, buzzed with a few messages.  

One was about the bid proceeding smoothly through the first round.  

The other—surprisingly—was from Luca.  

Vanessa hesitated for a moment, then swiped the message away, avoiding it altogether.  

The last message was from Isla.  

A string of playful whining, trying to coax her into bringing some fried chicken on her way back.  

Looking down at her empty hands, Vanessa smiled helplessly and turned to head out of the neighborhood.  

"Vanessa, what are you doing here?"  

Hearing the voice, she looked up to see Daxton not far away. She spread her hands with a helpless smile. "Forgot to buy the fried chicken."  

Daxton raised the box of fried chicken in his hand and walked over. "Let’s go back. I got it."  

"Thank goodness. Otherwise, Isla would’ve complained about me again."  

The two of them, chatting and laughing, walked side by side with an easy closeness. Unbeknownst to them, a distant camera captured the entire scene.  

Those photos soon landed in Luca’s inbox.  

It was late at night.  

Luca was still working overtime at the office. Seeing the email, he opened it without any impatience, clicking through the photos one by one. He examined each image in detail, as if searching for something—his emotions a complex tangle.  

‘Knock, knock, knock.’

His assistant rapped on the office door.  

"Come in."  

"Mr. Kensington, Mariah left her house around 1 a.m. tonight, but she returned shortly after."  

More than one person was keeping an eye on Mariah. Anyone who saw her as useful was undoubtedly watching her closely.  

What she held in her hands could destroy a company—or help another rise.  

"Who did she meet?"

The photos in the email were still open, and Luca had forgotten that the floor-to-ceiling windows behind him offered a faint reflection of their outlines.  

His assistant hesitated briefly, then snapped back to attention. "I’m not sure, but she did receive a food delivery before heading out."  

"Find out everything—don’t miss a single detail."  

"Understood."  

When the assistant didn’t immediately leave, Luca frowned, setting down his mouse. He clasped his fingers together on the desk, his expression stern. "Is there anything else?"  

"It’s about Miss Saxon... Do you—"  

Luca froze for a moment, then dismissed him. "Leave."  

"Yes, Mr. Kensington."  

Staring at the bright smiles in the photos, Luca felt an inexplicable heaviness pressing on his chest, as if something was suffocating him. Yet he couldn’t pinpoint why.  

He spun his chair to face the glittering neon lights beyond the window, where the city’s lively nightlife thrived.  

But being alone in the quiet only made his thoughts more restless.  

...

At that moment, Vanessa had a half-finished chicken bone dangling from her mouth as her fingers flew across the keyboard.  

Daxton tidied up the leftovers on the table while coaxing Isla, who was nestled in his arms. "You’ve had your fried chicken. Now it’s time to brush your teeth and go to bed."  

Isla squirmed, whining with her eyes shut. "Nooo, I don’t want to! There’s no school tomorrow!"  

Glancing at Vanessa, Daxton could tell she was gearing up for another all-nighter with work.  

"You can’t follow your mom’s bad example!"  

"But why can grown-ups stay up late watching dramas, and Isla can’t?"  

Seeing he wasn’t winning the argument, Daxton shifted to a stern, parental tone and called out, "Vanessa Saxon! Get to bed, now!"  

Immersed in her work, Vanessa was so startled that the chicken bone slipped from her mouth. She blinked in confusion. "Huh?"  

Seeing her like this, Daxton shook his head with a sigh. "Look at what Isla learned from you—staying up late."  

"The first round of bidding is over, but I still need to prepare for the second round," Vanessa explained, though half-heartedly.  

But when she saw Isla’s sleepy little head nodding uncontrollably as she fought off sleep, she gave in with a helpless smile. Closing her laptop, she stood up, scooped Isla into her arms, and said, "Come on, Mommy will put you to sleep."  

"Mmm..." Isla snuggled into her mother’s embrace, her soft little body relaxing. Even as she drifted off, she mumbled in a drowsy voice, "Mommy... sleep..."  

After tidying up the rest of the table, Daxton gathered the trash and headed out. 

***