"Follow me to the underground parking lot," Aria said briefly, but she didn't specify who she was talking to. Landon was very self-conscious. He didn't feel safe with someone who reeked of bad karma. However, Aria always had a tendency to forget the lessons she learned. He had told her that she couldn't keep saving people like this.It wasn't as if Aria listened to Landon, though. Instead, she was more focused on finding a lover. In fact, Landon couldn't care less about the others. He merely showed up here because he had a bad feeling about the whole thing. By the time Percy turned around, Aria and Landon were gone. Jeez. Landon would just follow wherever Aria went, wouldn't he?Landon was very different from his old self. Now, he was the furthest thing from cold and aloof. Back in the parking lot, Paxton was already having a meltdown. His phone kept ringing, and his information was exposed. More importantly, he couldn't believe that Celestia had been playing him for a fool.
"Stop badgering my daughter, and I'll pay you however much you want. It's not like things are unsalvageable at this point, are they? You still haven't found the person who leaked your information online—they're the ones at fault, not Celestia. Venting your hatred on her is pointless.""Pointless, how?" Paxton said what all men would say, "She seduced me first! If she hadn't latched onto me, I wouldn't have had that massive row with my wife! I supported her career and spent so much money on her because I thought she was pure and innocent, but it turns out she's a slut any man could sleep with!"Audriana's eyes turned red with rage. "You're not to talk about my daughter like that!""I'm not to, you say? Ha, funny." Paxton stomped on Celestia's leg. "As if you could stop me! You should read up on what they're saying online. And you claim to be a noble family in Ludwiten while you're already rotten to the core!"Celestia almost passed out from the sharp pain; cold sweat ran down her ba
Aria said expressionlessly, "Weren't you two still lovey-dovey mere moments before? Why did he become a pervert all of a sudden?"Celestia froze. She looked at Aria in disbelief. "W-Why do you—""I'm from the Carver family," Aria suddenly introduced herself. "I'm managing Lettie's affairs."Celestia's gaze wavered. It turned out that the other woman was the daughter of the Carver family, a hot topic of conversation in her social circles now.She almost struggled to catch her breath as she thought of what she had done. Aria had just told her that she was managing Lettie's affairs, which was scary because Celestia had witnessed for herself what Aria was capable of—she was so brave she could even fly a fighter jet!How on earth did Lettie meet her? "It was you who exposed what's between Paxton and I!" Celestia suddenly had a realization. She took a heavy step back, eyes on Aria. She'd been thinking of how she'd take her revenge before meeting Aria, but now she felt nothing but
Aria gave the leader of the SMU a casual look as she said to Paxton, "Someone like you deserves a heavy sentence."The leader wanted to say, "Yes, boss." However, he noticed that something wasn't right—Celestia was watching them. Landon was here, too, as well as the young boy Aria had saved in the square.And so the leader yanked Paxton up from the floor without a hitch. The men also escorted Celestia to the car. According to Aria, Celestia knew some things that would help their investigation, so they had to inspect her thoroughly. From the beginning, Aria acted like a cooperative passerby. Paxton screamed and yelled, but it all was pointless.Celestia said she wanted to call a lawyer, and she wouldn't say anything before the lawyer came. Her mother had taught her this since she was little. However, the SMU didn't follow the usual flow. Paxton was sent to an ordinary holding cell, while Celestia was subjected to a tightly confined investigation. Audriana hung up, feeli
At this moment, Audriana still had no idea about the severity of Celestia's crimes.Those coded messages in the fan groups and the buyers behind the scenes came together to form a tangled web.This might not be obvious to the average person, but Aria, the founder of the Dark Web forum, was very aware of certain phrases. Celestia readily denied that there was anything wrong with the chat groups at first. "I can't really refuse when my fans want to support me, can I?"She was so confident because she was backed up by her family. The interrogator withdrew a copy of the messages in the chat group and pointed at the dolls with numbers labeled on them as Aria had instructed. "What does '13 years old' mean?"Celestia's gaze wavered. "I like to label ages on my dolls.""You like your dolls so much you're even giving them blood types?" the interrogator asked sharply. "If not for the photo behind this doll, we would've been fooled."The 'goods', as you call them, are not dolls, but peopl
Celestia's words weren't completely truthful. She glanced around as she spoke. Aria chuckled. She picked up her pendant and made to leave. Celestia knew that she would be done for if Aria left just like that, so she shouted, "Some of them are from families that got rich early. They'd visit Ludwiten and Chershia from time to time, and many of them had properties overseas. They're capitalists, the real deal! They were the ones who asked for the goods!"You know how men are—some of them are obsessed with children of this age. They also tend to prefer Ignisian faces over Glacian ones."Celestia glanced at the camera subconsciously after saying that, as if worried about something. When she noticed that Aria had stopped in her tracks and was currently looking at her, she continued, not brave enough to lie this time, "I'm not the only one they recruited—there are also other influencers. One of them is a famous influencer with some of the highest traffic on the site, I heard. "This isn
There was an uncommon steadiness and openness in Don's voice as he spoke. "Actually, this is a good thing. Amara and I have talked it over, and we've decided that wherever I go, she'll go with me."She has some deeply ingrained views that won't change overnight—her husband had been her everything, and her son was her entire world."I'm not trying to excuse her actions. She was definitely wrong—outrageously so. But I believe that if I provide her with enough security and patiently show her a better way, she will eventually understand."The real challenge is Daisy." Don hesitated, his words caught somewhere between shame and frustration. "I don't mind admitting this, even if it sounds ridiculous—I can't communicate with her at all. But I know it's not her fault."She was raised to be this way, and the blame lies with me, Amara, her father, and even Lettie to some extent."Don's words rang true—family education was complex and intricate. "The main responsibility lies with me." Don
Leon found Philip's demeanor deeply unsettling.Having spent so much time by Aria's side, Leon had witnessed how she handled truly sinister situations."Fergus, I think Philip might be dangerous," he murmured.Fergus was in the middle of a meeting. He had one earbud in and was busy issuing orders in his usual concise and precise manner.Leon arrived just as Fergus finished his conversation with the marketing department head. "Inform the Norwood family that the Carvers operate with integrity. If they're unwilling to collaborate, we don't need them."Ever since Barron's urn had been unearthed, Fergus had been contemplating expanding into Ludwiten.The Carvers had originally risen to prominence in Ludwiten before relocating to the north. For Fergus, Ludwiten wasn't just strategic; it was a city he had always admired.His expertise in finance would flourish there, offering him greater opportunities. More importantly, it was a critical move for the future of Carver Group.Among the
Everyone in the café had been enjoying their afternoon tea when they heard the commotion. They turned to look. "Where's the server?" Nisa called out. These rich ladies were all regulars who paid hefty annual membership fees. At their summons, the manager appeared with a smile before any server could respond. "Mrs. Guetta, how may I help you?" "Jonah, perfect timing. I was wondering when this place started letting country bumpkins like her in," Nisa said, her gaze sweeping over Lily. Without hesitation, Jonah Marx kicked Lily out. At that same moment, Aria arrived for their appointment. Traffic had been terrible. She had only agreed to meet Nisa because she needed to uncover something important. In her dreams, there was still one voice that hadn't appeared. The owner of that voice had harmed her mother, Fiona. She would never feel at peace until she dug out the person behind it. Aria was never worried about threats from others. For instance, she knew about Lily's wild accu
Dorian was grinning from ear to ear, showing none of the dignity expected from someone of a prominent family. He had less class than a common street hustler. The members of the Chamber of Commerce had good reason to look down on him. Dorian didn't believe that Neval, who was addicted to gambling, wouldn't return to the country for at least ten years. Once they took down the Grisham family, he'd be calling all the shots in the Chamber of Commerce! Dorian truly took after Magdalene in this aspect. The latter embodied all the worst traits of her generation—a twisted mindset and was always scheming something. Also, she was arrogant and had a superiority complex. Magdalene didn't want Neval to return, which explained why she'd readily given him money. She thought that Waymond would soon be arrested. Then, the Grisham family would go from riding high to crashing and burning, and Aria would pay the price. These were already set in stone! The prominent families' joint effort to targe
In the Fitzroy family, only Neval saw things clearly, despite being a screw-up. Everyone else was blinded by their own arrogance. Laura, of course, never saw it that way. Perhaps too much time had passed, which made her forget how she had married into the Grisham family in the first place. She had also forgotten what it meant to be grateful. Without the Fitzroy family's involvement, Orion's long-standing attempts to sabotage Waymond would have failed. This had been an unspoken secret between the two families for years. Magdalene had always been the head of the Fitzroy family. The best thing about her younger son, Dorian Fitzroy, was that he would always follow her orders. Neval wasn't her biological son, but Dorian was. As a child born in her later years, Dorian was showered with love. Now, he sat at the meeting place where several families had agreed to gather. "How do you plan to deal with Aria?" The Guettas were the ones who had organized this meeting. They used to keep
Magdalene said, "In the past, our family had helped the Grishams to survive. But now..." She took a sip of her tea. "They're digging their own grave, and we can't help them anymore." Just as she finished speaking, a middle-aged man walked in. When Magdalene saw him, her brows immediately furrowed. Her eldest son, Neval Fitzroy, was her least favorite child. He had brought nothing but shame to the Fitzroys. If he hadn't developed a gambling addiction, the Fitzroy family wouldn't have fallen this far. She asked, "What are you doing here?" Neval rubbed his hands together and snickered. "Mom, I'm a little short on cash lately. I mainly came because I missed you, but I'm also here to ask for a little money." Before Magdalene could respond, Laura stood up. "Neval, Mom just gave you 20 million last month. You shouldn't have spent it so quickly." Magdalene had been in a good mood, but now her face darkened. "Did I raise you to leech off me? How could 20 million dollars be gone so
Orion slammed his fist hard on the table. He'd been played by someone who looked like nothing more than a trust fund kid. Yet he had no choice but to let Aria manipulate him. Because no matter what he said, someone would show up to "take care of" him. At this point, he could only make everything look like a simple financial crime in order to protect himself. Aria had calculated this perfectly and planned accordingly. Even now, most people saw Aria as just some young hotshot who made money but didn't understand the bigger picture. They thought because she came from a small town, she was naïve enough to believe taking down the Draycott family would solve everything. In reality, she would be dragging herself down as well. Unless she didn't plan to stay in Ludwiten at all! Most people who thought this way were driven by pride and jealousy. They wouldn't admit they wished they were in Aria's shoes. The Carvers had raked in so much money from the stock market this time around. The
"Yes, I'm sure," Gabe said, having checked everything carefully. The old man thought for a moment. "Find a way and get someone else to tell Orion what he should and shouldn't say. If he's smart enough, he should understand." "Alright." Gabe pushed up his glasses. "Don't worry; everything will be handled." The old man's eyes were deep and calculating. "To achieve great things, some people must be sacrificed. If necessary, offer the Draycott family some benefits. Go take care of the Bellebrook situation." Gabe chuckled. "They're just some greedy, low-class people. They only succeeded because of you, yet they always think they made it on their own." "Gabe, mind your words." The old man had a kind face. Looking at him, one would think he cared for all people. Judging from his simple lifestyle, he did not seem like someone who would do bad things at all. Even the cup he used was bought from the supermarket for just over ten dollars. "Go now. As I've always said, anyone can l
Aria's question made Orion freeze right away. The scholarship program was his secret lifeline. He simply couldn't figure out how she knew so many details about everything! "You've been setting me up in the stock market all this time. How did you also find out about the scholarship program?" Orion felt genuinely scared now—everyone had really underestimated Aria. When had she done all this research? She'd dug deeper than he ever imagined. The scariest part was that neither he nor that person had noticed anything. They all thought she was just helping the Carver family restore their former glory. Keeping the Chamber of Commerce out of the Carver family's hands was that person's strict order. That was why the Draycotts had climbed so quickly within the organization over the years. They all assumed Aria had come to Ludwiten to target the Chamber. But now... Orion looked up again. "The scholarship program is weird business. I only handled recruitment. I don't know where those peop
Orion said, "I don't know much, honestly." He looked at Aria with hesitation, as if he was afraid to name that person. He made a gesture instead. "That person is the lieutenant governor of Ludwiten, who has many achievements to his name. "If you're brave enough to investigate, I can tell you about the deals I handled. But I don't know about the rest." Aria raised an eyebrow. Her expression said everything—she had already kidnapped him, so did he seriously think she would be afraid to investigate this further? Orion took a deep breath. "I just handle the money. That person wants something bigger—he wants to make history, but he's been in poor health lately. He needs me to keep certain people in line, but I can't give you details since I really don't have proof." "Which people does he control? And how does he do it?" Aria asked casually. Orion glanced upward, his eyes slowly losing focus. "I have no idea which people." "Mr. Draycott, I thought you would have learned by now.
"Who the hell are you?" Orion shouted as he couldn't hold back anymore. He gripped the armrests hard, almost jumping out of his chair. But Aria barely glanced his way. "I brought you here, didn't I? Who do you think I am?""Y-You're..." Orion remembered a rumor from a business dinner about a Special Missions Unit that operated outside normal chains of command. They could investigate anyone without going through regular channels.Their authority even topped the Regular Missions Unit. Orion had laughed it off back then. Every group had to answer to someone higher up, so there couldn't be a unit with that kind of freedom. In Ludwiten, everyone answered to that one big shot. But now he realized such a thing actually existed!Orion's face turned ghostly pale. "Are you… a part of the Special Missions Unit?"Only that could explain everything! With all her digging and investigating, that person would have noticed what she had been doing. But Orion did not understand something. "