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
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. "