After Alice sent out that reply, she privately messaged Josh. "Josh, can I ask if you're the one who wants it or Mr. York?""I'm the one who wants it. Why do you ask?" Josh replied. As Landon's assistant, it was his duty to stay informed about Landon's interests.Alice replied, "Oh. It's nothing much. It's just that Mr. York suddenly sent gifts to a female streamer with our internal account. I thought… It's nothing! Don't worry. Only the three of us in the senior management know about Mr. York's account."When the female streamer was mentioned, Josh sucked in a deep breath. "Please also send me the streamer's account."Alice immediately went on with the task.Josh had a smile on his face. It seemed that Landon was interested in supporting the streamer. As the moderator had made a good choice in signing the streamer, Josh decided to reward the moderator with a bonus.After leaving the meeting room, Josh immediately clicked into Heartbound Hall's livestream.Josh relaxed a bit aft
Landon's gaze fell on something outside. After a while, he chuckled meaningfully. "Yes, we've met before, Ms. Carver."Aria narrowed her eyes, looking dangerous all of a sudden. How much had Landon managed to find out about her, and would she need to discuss that with him in person?After a while, she heard the sounds of fabric rustling—Landon had apparently risen from his seat. Next, she heard him light something up. Probably a cigarette, which he smoked as he calmly said, "I was in the car when you saved Miles that one time. "He kept pestering me because he wanted to meet you, so I sent him back to Janovin. I wasn't in good shape back then, but I've always wanted to visit you and thank you in person."Sent? It sounded like he'd dumped Miles back in Janovin instead. This was fine. As Aria fiddled with the amethyst pendant in her hands, the hostility in her gaze gradually subsided. This young heir of a noble family had a unique way of expressing his thanks for sure. "There's
Landon had obviously noticed Josh's entrance. He stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, one hand in his pocket, his gaze so intimidating that it made Josh take a step back. Landon didn't mind that, though. He lowered his gaze to the rosary bracelet on his wrist as he fiddled with it. As the lights in the conference room dimmed, his face came to be shrouded in a mass of light and shadows, which also obscured his true emotions. The silence persisted for a while until Josh finally regained control of his breathing. Only then did Landon say in a low voice, "You want to see me, Ms. Carver?""You could say that." Aria didn't deny it.There was a smile in Landon's voice as he said, "Sure."His agreeing to Aria's proposition surprised her. Not just her, actually, but also Josh, who'd accidentally been privy to Landon's secret. Right now, he wished that he'd never entered the room. Landon said calmly, "I can send you a picture, but I won't accept a refusal to treat me."Aria
As per the platform's rules and regulations, Aria's account wouldn't have been locked without prior notification if she had received only one or two complaints. Moreover, she wasn't livestreaming at the moment. Therefore, it was evident that she wouldn't have uttered any of the words prohibited by the platform which would lead to a suspension. Such a decisive action would only be taken after she'd received many complaints. Aria found this modus operandi familiar. It seemed like someone had hired a team of professional ghostwriters to send all those complaints.She smiled sardonically. Sitting in front of the medicine cabinets in the clinic, she looked unruffled as always. It felt strange that someone was trying to get at her online. Should she praise the other party for being brave or laugh at them for their sheer stupidity? Aria took action efficiently while chewing on a piece of candy. She did some research and took a screenshot of the results, which she uploaded to the Da
Ethan was currently in his office, looking gleefully at the notice on his screen saying that he'd successfully lodged a complaint. He took a screenshot of it and sent it to Karen."All done. You can take a look at her stream. Her account's still there, but she can no longer start a livestream."Karen had just ended a call with her family in Janovin when she received this good news. Her family had called her to inform her that Warren Carver from the Carver family in Janovin was currently in Southbury and in need of a skilled doctor to treat him. They then asked her to recommend someone. Karen was ecstatic. Her family rarely contacted her because they looked down on her, so this would be her chance to prove herself.They wanted her to recommend a skilled doctor, and Lily and Christian would fit the bill nicely. As members of the younger generation in the medical industry, their skill was acknowledged even by the Short family, and they were very famous in Southbury. They were more th
The call was from Aria's counselor at school. She spoke imperiously, and it was evident she wasn't calling out of kindness. "Aria Carver, you are to come to school now. Immediately!" Aimee Lindbridge shouted, as if she had reached her limit. "Your parents said that you're no longer their responsibility, so your performance at school is none of their business, and they're not obligated to mind you. Is that true?"Aria said casually, "Yes.""Yes, you say? Why didn't you tell me?" Aimee sneered. "You were accepted into our school only because of your father. You wouldn't have gotten in otherwise, not with your mediocre knowledge of medicine."Aria laughed. "Mediocre?""Is there anything wrong with that? Don't forget about your embarrassing grades!" Aimee went on impatiently, "Stop trying to put on a fight. Your grandmother's here, so I'll talk to her before you come. How we will deal with you later depends on what your grandmother will say!"Aimee ended the call aggressively. The
Aria's gaze suddenly cooled and turned threatening, as if she'd regressed to her previous state. Her brows were furrowed in rage and clear hostility.However, she knew she mustn't do anything in front of Georgina again, as that would worry her. She must rein her emotions in. Aria clenched her right fist tightly and bit so hard on the piece of candy in her mouth that it shattered. No one would want to lose their dignity and to be treated this way, but Georgina was dragging her injured leg behind her as she bowed in apology to Aria's teacher just to ensure that she could still go to school and have a better future.Was this still not enough? Did she really deserve to be humiliated again and again?Aria had no words for what she was feeling at this moment. She walked over and helped Georgina stand straight. Georgina looked back instinctually, but she averted her gaze when she noticed Aria. She didn't want Aria to show up here, as her intermittent explosive disorder was different
An old man ran in, huffing and puffing. The glasses on his face were crooked, and his protruding belly jiggled up and down as he ran. The sight was quite funny.Abraham hadn't come to school in a long time, and his arrival on campus today was thanks to an impulsive decision on his part. His school would always be one of the worst in terms of grades among all schools in Southbury, but he still felt obligated to keep a lookout on his students here. He had been in quite a good mood until he'd passed by the canteen and heard his students talk about Aria's arrival on campus.It was rare that they would see each other, so Abraham thought of inviting her to speak in the school assembly that would be held later. He didn't expect the students' next sentence to be about how Aimee had called Aria's guardian and that she was sure to be expelled from the school.Abraham was alarmed. The school's director was with him, but he stopped caring about that as he quickly ran to the Administrative D
In that moment, Cormac couldn't afford to care about pride or appearances. His survival depended on severing all ties, especially with a traitor."I don't have a daughter like you!" he snapped, slapping Aliya again. "Do you even realize what you've done? Trafficking human organs—do you think that's something you can walk away from?"Aliya collapsed to the floor, stunned. A chill unlike any she'd ever felt seeped into her bones. She stared up at her father in disbelief, watching as he bowed his head respectfully toward Aria, the very woman she had just mocked.In Aliya's world, her father was the state government. She had grown up believing that their family controlled everything, that Cormac Windham's influence extended far beyond his office, even as retirement loomed.But all of it was crumbling before her eyes.Outside his office, word had already begun to spread. Though muffled, the sharp sound of a slap echoed faintly through the corridor.Everyone understood what that meant—
The group dared to be reckless as Amos was Ludwiten's lieutenant governor. They were peas in a pod and did corruption together.However, they didn't know that their support had already collapsed. Aria was not in a rush to capture Amos' lackeys as her target was in the state government. She didn't go alone either, for Aliya also went with her.Shortly after, Aria issued a new command. "Seal the premises. No one is to leave. Tell everyone to remain in their seats."A request like that, especially directed at the state level, would typically require an exhaustive process—dozens of forms, layers of red tape. Even in cases involving fatalities, senior officials were rarely detained on the spot.But Aria followed with a second message, one that sent chills down spines. "This case involves foreign infiltration. Someone has betrayed the country."Those words landed like a thunderclap. No one dared raise an objection. No one wanted to be associated with treason—not ordinary citizens, and
"Grandpa, it's not convenient for me to get in touch with all of you right now. Remember to take your medicine on time. I have to pretend that I'm locked up. Uncle Eamon and Uncle Waymond have to seem fretful so that the enemy wouldn't be alerted. I'm sorry, Grandpa."Aria didn't reveal what she had encountered in the message. This was because the Special Missions Unit was bound to a confidentiality contract when making decisions. What Aria said was almost pushing the limits.Aria only agreed to get locked up just to see how people would react when the Grisham family was in trouble.When the opponent placed their attention on this incident, they would let their guard down and give Aria a chance to secure evidence of their crimes.If the Grisham family retained its usual influence, the mastermind wouldn't show himself so easily. As Aria felt sorry for her family and worried about Clyde's health, she immediately sent a message to apologize after the auction. However, she couldn't s
There was no way Aria didn't know that the conviction was unfair. Furthermore, Percy specialized in handling economic cases. He knew there was no way Aria would be locked up so quickly. Yet, her crime had been publicly declared without prior warning. Percy was absolutely furious. He tugged his tie and declared the system was corrupted. While Fergus was also helping to find connections, Warren had just landed from Janovin.Clyde had sought out all sorts of connections, even his ex-colleagues in the education field.Fiona clenched his hands. "They promised to help Dad look into it." "They're just trying to fool Mr. Grisham Senior. Their higher-ups have already warned them about it." Nisa suddenly lowered her voice. "They're trying to make his health relapse again. If that happens, the Grisham family is done for."At this moment, a low voice sounded from the door. "So that's what happened. I was wondering why there was no progress with Aria's side after a whole day."It was Eamon.
Because Amos' arrest was part of a covert operation, the news didn't reach anyone outside the circle. That meant Durand remained completely unaware. He was still riding high on the thrill of his plan, blinded by the pleasure of watching the Grisham family fall.That night, he raised a glass of wine in early celebration, his mistress seated beside him. He didn't know that the move he'd made would become the greatest regret of his life.Elsewhere, Nisa couldn't bring herself to be as heartless. That was why, under the quiet cover of night, she made her way to the Grisham residence—not to see Clyde, but to speak with Fiona. She knew Clyde would shut her out immediately, but Fiona… Fiona might just listen.They weren't close. Not the way Fiona was with Priscilla. But they had once shared a few polite meals, floated in the same social circles. Enough to warrant a conversation—barely.When they sat down, Fiona's expression was cool, even distant. She hadn't forgotten the things Nisa had
Lucas could hear the pride in his mentor's voice for Aria. After all, his mentor had taken Aria in Southbury and even owed her his life. Lucas didn't dare to inform his mentor that Aria was being suppressed in the political world. He understood his mentor well. He was devoted to the country and couldn't stand such injustice.Therefore, Lucas didn't tell the truth to prevent his mentor from worrying. If someone with his position made a move, it would become a huge issue. That was why Lucas hid the truth from him. The former had to play along with the other politicians and endure them spouting empty promises. Before Lucas set out, his mentor stood on top of Old City and looked at the vast mountains. "Do whatever you need to, just like what you had done in Southbury. I'll be waiting for you and Aria's return at Janovin."These people didn't deserve his mercy at all!"You used your authority to disregard people's lives." It was the first time Lucas had shown his emotions so open
Amos was too stunned to react. One side of his face throbbed with pain, and fish oil clung to his hair, glistening from the dish he had been slammed into.He had always eaten fish a particular way—only one side. No matter how expensive the fish, he refused to flip it over, believing that leaving it untouched brought good fortune.But today, that superstition had been smashed—along with his pride. Pinned to the table, Amos hadn't even found the time to get angry. Confusion flickered in his eyes as he struggled to rise.Then Lucas spoke, his words crashing down like a stone wall."Amos Lune, you conspired with the Draycott and Fitzroy families to crush honest entrepreneurs. You've abused your position shamelessly."Lucas didn't stop. His tone cut sharper with each sentence."We also have evidence linking you to a human organ trafficking ring in Bellebrook. You've disgraced the people who supported your rise—and the country that invested in you."Lucas had been suppressing his ange
Lucas shook his head steadily. "Not yet."Amos, still basking in the glow of his "victory", had no idea what was coming. He answered Durand's call with a smug smile. On the other end, Durand's laughter rang out loud and triumphant."Mr. Lune, you should've seen the Grisham brothers' faces! I bet they never expected to be abandoned like that!"You played it brilliantly. One quiet move, and boom—the Grisham family's out of the Chamber of Commerce. From here, it's just a slow bleed. They'll lose everything."Amos kept his tone cool. "This isn't enough. Keep pushing the online chatter. The narrative needs to focus on how their precious granddaughter cost so many investors their savings. And don't forget her carefully crafted persona—it's about to unravel."He paused, voice crisp. "Reach out to the other businessmen. Now that the Grishams can't offer any benefits, it's time for everyone to take a bite. You understand, don't you, Durand?"Durand took a moment, then replied, "Right. Got
Cormac even thought of leaving some of his influence behind after retiring. This way, he could still have some power over decisions. He thought he could remind Lucas that not just anyone could do his job well. Therefore, Cormac remained calm after receiving the note. He was already so used to handling his daughter's troubles.Cormac strode into his lounge and asked Pedro, "Is it drunk driving again? Don't you know how to handle it?""It's not drunk driving." Pedro still seemed out of it.Cormac's expression darkened. "It's not drunk driving? Was she on drugs again? I already reminded you numerous times to get someone to keep an eye on her. Which stage of the process is she at right now? Call the people from the drug-testing institution.""No. That's not it." Pedro took off his glasses and his badge.Cormac finally realized that Pedro seemed off. "What happened? Just tell me. I doubt she'll kill someone. Although my daughter is troublesome, she won't do something like that. I kno