It was the comment-farming company who called. They'd been calling many times in succession as if there was a pressing matter.The moment Karen wanted to take the call, Dorothy frowned and gave her a look. Afraid that this would upset Dorothy, Karen quickly turned on silent mode on her phone. "Cheers, Ms. Morris."Only then was Dorothy satisfied. She clinked glasses with Karen, a smile on her face. …Ethan scratched his head in frustration. His company was currently in chaos, and Karen's unanswered calls did little to ease his worries. "They attacked our servers again, Mr. Addison!""Another batch of our accounts got suspended!"One by one, their projects were crumbling. These accounts, painstakingly maintained and heavily invested in, were now rendered useless. Their lifeline had been severed with brutal efficiency.Ethan's chest rose and fell. "Have you managed to find the rival company behind this? Did we offend a celebrity with fabricated rumors?""No. We couldn't find a
Landon was constantly on his phone during the banquet. This attracted Warren's attention as Landon never had the habit of having his phone with him at all times. "What business deal are you so concerned about?" Warren raised a brow.Landon smiled. "It's not work. I'm waiting for messages from a friend."He then unlocked his phone. Suddenly, his gaze darkened. His fingers twitched, and some semblance of emotion appeared on his normally impassive face.Holy Emperor VIP: York: "I sent one to you just now."Aria's reply came almost immediately. "I didn't receive it. The message was probably erased when my account was suspended. Send it again."She said to send it again? Landon didn't reply immediately, running his fingers on the surface of his phone. He still remembered the dull ache in his chest when he'd sent the photo and gotten no reply. Landon's gaze fell on one side of the chessboard, spacing out. Warren, noticing his distraction, grew curious. He was about to prod for mor
Many people were stoking the flames behind the scenes as they had their sights set on Aria's stream. With how smart Aria was, she'd already seen through everything long ago. However, she noticed that one of the forces behind everything had retreated too soon—they'd withdrawn themselves after merely adding some firewood to the bustling flames.Her main concern was still Ethan and his company. Aria didn't withdraw after hacking into his network; instead, she planted a virus on his main server.As she inspected the data with a bored expression on her face, Landon replied again. Holy Emperor VIP: York: "Your stream was suspended."Aria replied, "Yep."Landon's gaze hardened. He sent a voice message, "Why?"He didn't think that Aria was the problem in this case. Aria said nonchalantly, "This is just a trivial matter."Landon didn't see this as a trivial matter. He took a screenshot, which he sent to Paul Chenner, the person in charge of the platform.Startled, Paul explained im
AsLongAsTogether: "Give us an explanation, please!"Ethan was controlling three accounts simultaneously, trying to ruin Aria's reputation. Looking at those comments, Georgina gripped the desk, wanting to explain the situation. However, Aria chuckled. She looked directly at the camera. "We won't be treating patients today. Let's do something else."BetterTomorrow: "Stop deflecting! Explain everything!"Aria said slowly, "The name's Ethan Addison, right?"Everyone in the comment-farming company who was currently typing on their keyboards froze, their eyes wide with terror. "Mr. Addison, she—"Ethan paused. He was about to question how Aria knew it was him, but then Aria smirked. "Let me teach the ghostwriters on the other side a lesson. Maliciously defaming other people online can result in imprisonment for up to three years if the circumstances are severe."BetterTomorrow: "Are you okay? Why is someone accused of causing a patient's death lecturing us on laws?"Aria spoke delib
Aria scanned the police officers standing across from her. Something felt profoundly wrong. Standard procedure dictated that officers ask questions, not issue immediate commands. Clearly, these two, along with Carol Dames, were targeting her."We've never prescribed any medicine, officers. We have records of our livestream, and I can show them to you!" explained Georgina, who was panicking as she stood in front of Aria. One of the officers snapped, "Don't touch me! Interfere again, and you're coming with us too! You're running a stream where you give out incorrect medical advice, and you have the audacity to act innocent?"The officers hadn't conducted a single inquiry, yet they were hurling accusations. Heartbound Hall's stream would surely meet its demise if this wasn't dealt with.Aria's gaze darkened. She reassured Georgina and addressed the officers, "You claim to be police officers. I'd like to see your badges and have confirmation that your bodyworn cameras are recording."
Joel hurriedly stepped forward to support Georgina, his gaze on Aria throughout. "Dr. Carver, are you okay?"If Aria had gotten beat up, his superiors would surely castigate him to no end. They'd entrusted him with the responsibility of watching over her, yet this had happened to her. Joel felt bitterness fill his mouth as he racked his brain for how to explain this after returning to Elmer. Aria shook her head. "They claim to be officers who are merely doing their jobs.""Police officers, you say? Where are your badges?" Joel turned his gaze toward the uniforms both officers were wearing. The officers didn't take the short and portly Joel, who had arrived on an electric motorcycle seriously. One of them said, "This isn't your place to speak on her behalf, so stand aside!"No one had ever dared to speak to Joel that way during his many years in the workforce. "What's your name?""Do you not understand human language?" The other officer rudely brandished the electric baton he
Lucas reacted differently. He'd served in the army before. With his relatively young age—just in his late 30s—he had come to Southbury to gain more experience. He didn't expect to encounter such a situation in this modest alley, but he wasn't panicking. He even saw this as an opportunity to learn about the internal workings of Southbury, so he kept silent throughout.He could only be so calm because of his position in the city hall, which gave him some confidence. What surprised him was the disregard exhibited by Aria; it was as if nothing could affect her."I can come with you, sure." Aria was still smiling, almost evilly. "But take her with you too."She tilted her chin up somewhat, and her gaze fell on Carol, who was trying to sneak away. The police officers looked at each other in confusion. The officer who'd called for reinforcements hadn't mentioned Carol at all. Aria bit on her candy. "What? Do you do things differently based on who you're dealing with? There are 100,00
"Yes, Chief Thompson. I've committed everything you said to memory—only the two of us will know about this. I won't keep you any longer, Chief Thompson. Thank you, thank you!" Karen ended the call with a grin on her face and headed to Kent Group excitedly.Marshall was surprised to learn the news. "Did the country bumpkins she calls relatives really assault a police officer?""I know, right? And they were very arrogant about it." Karen found the situation laughable. "They must have no basic legal knowledge at all."Karen need not worry now. She had already arranged everything, meaning Aria would probably receive a sentence. She had only wanted Aria to suffer. However, things got blown out of proportion. Aria would likely face jail time.Marshall considered it for a while. "Tell Chief Thompson not to overdo it. The authorities are meticulous when it comes to background checks. Just ensure that she has a criminal record so that we can take the streaming account from her. Nothing mo