Landon had always been great at analysis, and Aria knew he might be even better than her at it. In all her years of operating under the radar, she had never been caught. Yet while dealing with the Gunther family in Riveria, his tracking had cost her a modified laptop. "I also think someone else was there." Aria's gaze returned, a hint of mischief in her smile. "We'll need to dig deeper into those young women, including their top escort Sky." Nobody wanted a death on their hands. At clubs, sleeping with someone or waking up to demands for compensation was one thing. But death changed everything. As the one who served Luna drinks, Sky had become a key suspect. Unlike the college young women, Sky was brought in for questioning. Through the interrogation room glass, he appeared agitated and nervous. But he insisted he had only shared a few drinks with Luna, nothing more. "In this line of business, you can't ignore customers. You have to greet everyone who comes in. We have sale
Sky's messages were surprisingly normal, which was a stark contrast with his club persona. If he hadn't been working at a club, he might have seemed like husband material.There were a few texts proving that point. "Sorry, I just got off work. I'm ordering takeout. You're probably asleep by now. Rest well, and good night.""Oh, were you at Nocturne? I wasn't in today. I was at the hospital with my grandma. Why didn't you tell me earlier? Let me know next time. I'll arrange my schedule."He maintained this gentle, measured tone with everyone. He even refused private money transfers.His response was always the same. "I actually don't like seeing you at the club, but it's my job. Stop sending me money. Keep it for yourself. Aren't you graduating soon? Take care of yourself, dummy.""Pfft, what a calculated move." Having built the dark web forum herself, Aria had seen plenty of these chat patterns. Juggling multiple conversations, they would pretend to just see messages when they wer
Aria continued, "Sky might really have a sick grandmother, but the way he put it is suspicious. When a man deliberately tries to make you feel sorry for him, that's a red flag. He's just trying to deceive you! "If it's not for love, it's for money. Sky's clearly after the latter. Stringing these clients along keeps them coming back to buy drinks. "Some ladies even got into fights over him at the club. I would say he's quite skilled at using such manipulation tactics." Manipulation? Claire's expression shifted, suddenly turning serious. Aria's smile widened. "To have a top escort with such sophisticated techniques, we definitely have to take a closer look at this place." She watched the nervous Sky inside, her tone light. "He's clever, and he's not just a pretty face." At her words, Landon raised an eyebrow. His fingers paused mid-air as he followed her gaze. He spoke in a low voice, "Since when did his type catch your interest?" He thought, "At least you used to have standa
Someone disagreed, "It's normal for club staff to wear earpieces." Aria gave a soft laugh. "I'm not saying it isn't normal. But this might be our breakthrough." "What do you mean?" Aria gestured at the footage. "This club has countless cameras recording everyone's movements. That's what's visible on the surface. So naturally, we checked the surveillance first—nothing wrong with that. "The issue is how quickly the club provided the footage. It's almost as if they had everything prepared in advance." Aria pointed to the enhanced image. "This isn't a standard earpiece; it's highly interference-resistant. Their tech system would have backup archives. "Since they keep such detailed surveillance records, they must have recordings of everything Sky said that night. We need to get those records." Some were puzzled. How did a temporarily assigned expert like Aria know so much about communication equipment? Of course she did—it was Aria's expertise after all. She had helped build
"Good question." Aria looked up. "If there is a secret passage, we need to consider what the club gains from it. For that answer, those female students who reported the incident might have our clues." "Them?" Someone asked. They were confused and struggling to follow her logic. What connection could there be between secret passages and those college students? Aria did not rush to explain, as her theory still needed evidence. "How's the investigation into those young women's relationships and financial situations going?" Aria turned to the crucial point. Claire responded diligently, "We have results. They're all in significant debt." After reporting this, Claire wondered aloud, "How did you know to check their finances?" Did the Special Missions Unit have some kind of foresight? "Remember how I saw one of their phones?" Aria smiled lightly. Claire frowned. "But that wouldn't show their finances." "Cosmetic procedures aren't cheap, and they've all had work done. Yes, it
Aria glanced back. "There's no need to trouble the tech team then. Let them handle the backups. I'll take care of the chat records." Everyone present was speechless. Were new expert investigators all this versatile now? Claire stood silently nearby, picking up the files Aria had left on the table. She noticed some notes written on the paper just from those brief minutes earlier. When Claire saw what was written, her eyes widened. She knew Special Missions Unit members were extraordinary, but seeing it firsthand was different. Aria had seemed to browse this huge pile of files so casually, yet she had memorized everything and found clear leads. She had heard of geniuses who could find patterns between individuals in an extremely short time. The Special Missions Unit clearly was not for ordinary people. Claire's eyes returned to the files, where "accomplice" stood out starkly, with "business?" noted beside it. "Claire, are we really letting her recover chat records? I've never
However, there was a noticeable pattern. She only followed women who looked innocent and below 23 years old. As for the rest, she would reject them and wouldn't even bother recommending them. Aria was familiar with the internet, so she understood each application's promotional strategies. They would capture the user's interest and leverage data for targeted notifications. In particular, many people trusted Instagram, which was a helpful application for promoting products.However, many posts were crafted to attract people's attention. For example, there were captions like, "I'm earning six figures in my 20s after writing novels for nine years! Offering mentorship for 599 dollars." The caption would be followed by a bunch of royalty screenshots.Many people would be envious and shocked, including some housewives and college students who would be tempted to try. However, they would only realize they could only make a few dollars a month after paying for the useless mentorship and
A continued texting, "You're right. They won't suspect us, anyway. It has nothing to do with us. Even if she reported it to the police, someone would take care of it. Cases like this are difficult to solve. "How can she prove she was forced? She even dreamed about marrying a rich guy. Anyway, we should quickly delete this conversation. Now that Luna has been chosen, we should choose another target."The conversation was also synced on the display screen, causing the police officers to feel a chill down their backs. The young women sitting behind the glass were still college students. Yet, they had been targeting people online and bringing them to bars.The police officers clenched their hands when faced with the four young faces. They weren't people who helped out their juniors but demons!Aria didn't feel surprised at the revelation. What she was doing now was proving some of her suspicions. She already felt something off when she saw them downstairs.However, she needed evide
Landon cast a glance at Aria, curious about how much she actually knew about the stock market. She had always been modest about her knowledge, but he suspected there was more to her than she let on. The only one oblivious to Aria's true capabilities was Jett. Yet, he dared not refuse any request she made. Without hesitation, he tapped into his social circles, pulling strings where needed.Less than an hour later, Orion received word. A slow, chilling smile spread across his face. "So, the Grisham family wants to dip their hands into real estate too?"Arlo handed him a report. "Just as you predicted. It's not just real estate—Ms. Carver's making moves in the stock market as well. Fortunately, you already set a trap for Mr. Jett in advance."For the first time in days, Orion’s tension seemed to ease. A dark glint flickered in his eyes. "Fine. Let them struggle their way in. I don't care how they do it, but make sure the Carver family is crushed in the stock market.""Understood." A
Jett asked, "What exactly are you after? There's no need to bring down the Draycott family so quickly. It's not like you can win. Didn't you join the Chamber of Commerce to take things slow? You just arrived in Ludwiten. Why the rush?""Am I in a rush?" Aria asked. She wasn't after the mastermind behind the Draycott family. If she were, she would've tied Orion to the financial building and let people take pictures all day—no need for mind games.The situation was too tangled, too many people involved. The Draycott family had managed to cover up something as blatant as that incident at the bar. Someone had to be cleaning up after them.Finding a few scapegoats would have been easy, but Aria wanted more. She wanted to uncover everyone who had spread rumors about Fiona in the past.And for some reason, despite their focus on the Grisham family, it felt like they were up against the Carvers. Whoever was behind this didn't want the Carvers to regain control of the Chamber of Commerce.
Jett grew more agitated as he spoke, waving his hands as if he wanted to tear Owen apart. Aria promptly stopped him. Otherwise, passersby might think he was an escaped patient from Ludwiten's mental asylum.Owen had done many foolish things, which Aria only discovered after arriving in Ludwiten and conducting her own investigation. Warren carried guilt toward Clyde because of Owen. And while Jett was normally timid, his words weren't wrong.When Owen first came to Ludwiten, he thought he could make it big, recklessly using the Grisham family's funds and resources. But he had been deceived by several people and lost everything.Not only was he foolish, but he was also malicious—leaving behind a disaster for the Grisham family to clean up. "Jett, calm down," Aria said. "I know Owen dragged the Grisham family down. He's already been punished and won't be coming out anytime soon."You and I both despise him, but let's stop dwelling on the past. He's not worth it."Jett had never
With Landon monitoring the stock market, Aria could walk right into Orion's trap. This way, Orion would let his guard down. When people felt confident, they invested more. Aria, well-versed in the stock market, understood this all too well. She had never intended to get rid of Lily. However, things were different this time. There was a limit to how much one could withstand another's viciousness. Aria doubted Lily could predict the market flawlessly—it was impossible, just as it was impossible for her to know everything.The logic was simple. If something fell outside one's area of expertise, even the most attentive observer would only grasp the outcome, not the details. Thinking it over, Aria realized Lily only knew about major events. The smaller ones seemed to escape her notice.If she put herself in Lily's shoes, it was like remembering which lottery would have a winner but not the exact numbers drawn.After all, no one knew when they would be reborn. The only way to acce
Malcolm did not know why Aria was asking, but he remembered the details clearly. "It was after that day." Aria tapped on the desk. "No wonder the Draycotts suddenly changed their market strategy. I get it now." What was she talking about? Before Malcolm could ask, Aria continued, "Some people are trying to cheat the system. Keep an eye on things, but stay safe. If anything happens, come to me first. "Like you said, they've got deep connections. Don't bother with the police—just keep the evidence." "Got it." Before hanging up, Malcolm asked, "Should we still watch the stock market?" Aria smirked. "Yes. They're not the only ones who can play dirty." Lily had probably been reborn too. But whatever Lily knew, Aria knew as well. She had never thought to use that knowledge this way before since it hadn't seemed necessary, but things were not the same now. If her dreams were real, then in her past life, Lily had only made it to Janovin. She had played the star medical student at
After being together all this time, Aria suddenly had a thought. Were she and Landon too distant from each other? No, "distant" was not quite the right word. It was more like they did not know each other well enough. Landon always felt just out of reach, like there was a fog between them. Simply put, he was not being straight with her. The thought left her feeling uneasy. Before she could say anything, her phone rang. It must be news about the Draycotts. It had to be something big for them to call so urgently. Aria glanced at the pair. Landon smiled. "If you have questions, Jett, feel free to talk with my manager, Ms. Virelle." Manager? Seraphina caught on quickly. "Mr. Grisham, shall we step outside?" Jett was still trying to process everything. "Wait." Balancing business and personal matters as usual, Aria held her phone up and said, "I heard Ms. Virelle used to work at the Draycotts' club. Let's have a chat later." Seraphina froze, glancing at Landon. Seeing his bl
Seraphina could not let her mind go there. Maybe she should've stayed in Netherrealm for a few more years. It was not so bad down there anyway. Landon barely spared her a glance, keeping his eyes on Jett with polite interest. "Won't you sit, Jett?"Sit? Jett could barely remember why he had come in the first place. Landon's voice snapped him back. "I... Mr. York, excuse me for asking, but what's your relationship with Ms. Virelle?""She works for me." Landon glanced at Seraphina. "Ms. Virelle? That's a new title."Jett stumbled over his words. "She works for you?""Yes," Landon said casually, like it was the most obvious thing. "Isn't it obvious?"Jett could not imagine the Yorks being in that kind of business. From Jett's expression alone, Landon could guess what kind of mess his people had made in Ludwiten. Since he had been dragged into it now, he figured he owed the Grishams an explanation. "I planted her in the Draycott family. The Yorks need a foothold in Ludwiten."So
Getting out of there wasn't going to be easy. Aria did not waste any time. She moved fast behind the suite divider, her laugh carrying a different note than usual. "What a shame."Landon's hand paused as he fixed her hair, his voice as smooth as ever. "I could have them leave.""Bad timing. My cousin's out there." Aria glanced at him, taking in that perfect collarbone of his. No wonder they used to call him the untouchable one, with all those socialites dying for just a smile.She had never given much thought to that kind of thing before. All those times working with patients, she had kept things strictly professional. But things felt different now, and she couldn't quite put her finger on why. Her gorgeous fiancé had a way of making her lose her head.Landon pulled his hand back while looking down. "We should meet with your cousin. I hear the Grishams like to evaluate their in-laws.""Huh?" That had not crossed her mind. He did not seem like someone who would care about app
Aria felt something wild coming off him. It was not hatred, but something close. She was too caught up to figure out what it was. She had never felt anything like this before; it was like she was floating. Her eyes were open, but she could not focus. Even his breathing felt like an invasion, starting at her ear and spreading through her whole body. When his fingers pressed into her waist, instinct made her try to push him away. That was a bad move—it only made things more intense. He lit her up like a match, heat spreading from her neck downward till she had to tilt her head back just to breathe. It reminded her of that hazy dream, the one in which she had been caught between sleep and waking, her pulse racing and her skin on fire. But it did not feel exactly the same because what she was feeling now was real. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught glimpses of the river through the massive windows. The view was blurry, but it was enough to remind her where she was. Unable t