Certain acupoints have a detoxification effect." Unlike during emergencies, Aria only administered three needles to Warren. Each of them left him wanting more. The sensation was too profound for him!It was as though a wave of renewed energy had washed over him, infusing him with a sense of vitality and vigor like never before.Warren felt a deep respect for Aria. "You're truly a young genius. By how skilled you are at such a young age, I'm sure traditional medicine will continue to thrive in the future.""It's all thanks to my grandmother's teaching," Aria replied as she pressed against his back.Before Warren could react, a crack could be heard. Warren turned to her. "Is this physiotherapy?"Aria nodded. "Yes. I noticed a slight protrusion in your thoracic area while administering the needles. Try moving now.""It doesn't feel stiff anymore." Warren marveled at how his long-standing ailment had been healed by a young woman.He had visited many traditional medicine practitioner
Aria was unaware that Frank had made her financial situation public knowledge to everyone since that night.Aria furrowed her brows and turned to Landon. "Why should you pay when I haven't even treated you yet?""It's for the herbal candy yesterday," Landon explained, gesturing toward Solo. Solo, long impatient to see Landon receive treatment, stepped forward with a flourish, presenting a black credit card gleaming with gold lettering. "Dr. Genius.""We can discuss payment after I've treated him," Aria said, tucking away her medical kit.Thinking she was about to leave, Solo asked, "What are you doing?"Aria was confused. "I'm packing up. What's the matter?"Solo's face turned beet red. "You haven't treated Mr. York yet."Aria walked to Landon. "Him? Are you in a rush?"Landon's voice was pleasing to the ear. "It's up to you."After a thoughtful hum, Aria decided. "Then follow me."Solo and Bryan exchanged bewildered glances, unsure of Aria's destination. Landon, however, s
The interior of the massage parlor looked more legitimate than its exterior.Initially, Solo had fretted that the place might be too grimy for Landon's treatment. However, the massage parlor was very clean. Its layout was traditionally adorned with various herbs and medicinal ingredients hanging about and a wooden medicine cabinet placed at its center. It evoked the ambiance of old houses in Janovin, reminiscent of ancient clinics.Landon scanned the room and found his attention drawn to a calligraphy painting. He absentmindedly twirled his rosary bracelet.Observing this, Aria approached. "It's fake.""How could it possibly be genuine?" Landon teased, arching an eyebrow. Aria grinned. "There's always a chance."Landon fell silent, his gaze darkening as he fixated on the painting.The artwork depicted towering pine trees casting shadows over lush bamboo. Thor, clad in red robes and black boots, leaned drunkenly against a pine tree.Had Landon not known that "Intoxicated Tho
"Don't pry," Landon reprimanded Solo with a low murmur. Even when delivering a stern admonishment, Landon retained his handsome demeanor.Georgina wheeled herself to them, addressing Landon and the others, "It's the first time Aria has brought friends to the clinic. You guys have fun. There's coffee prepared in the courtyard. Those who have slow digestion should take more of them. I'll go buy some shrimp to cook for all of you."Georgina's keen eye detected an air of privilege around these young men. Perhaps they weren't even friends, but intuition told her not to pry. What mattered most was that Aria had finally brought people home.After all, Aria had never been fond of the clinic. She used to complain that lingering there too long made her smell of traditional medicine, inviting mockery from her peers and making it difficult for her to fit in. Consequently, she would never stay for dinner.Whenever Aria visited her Georgina, she had to do so covertly, lest Karen berate her.Des
Aria's voice cut through the air. "Mr. Lowe."Bryan straightened up immediately. "Yes?""Can you identify medicinal herbs and boil water?" by boiling water?" Aria gestured toward the medicine cabinet with a subtle tilt of her chin.Bryan nodded. "Yes, but I'm not very quick at identifying them."Aria glanced at him sideways. "Prepare orzo, ground nutmeg, and rhizome. Only come find me if someone wants a massage."Bryan, a highly respected lead surgeon, couldn't help but feel like he was being relegated to receptionist duties.Aria grinned. "Do you not want to do it?"He rolled up his sleeves. "It would be an honor."He was there to learn from her, and a little receptionist work wasn't about to deter him. With tasks assigned, Aria led Landon into a room decorated in an intriguing style. A plush massage bed dominated the center, the air imbued with the calming scent of mugwort. A curious contraption, seemingly connected to the stove outside, was nestled beneath the couch.Upon
Landon tilted his head slightly, keeping his eyes closed.Whenever Aria lowered her head, her hair would brush against his arm.One's sensation would be amplified during a massage.Landon's gaze darkened as he watched the way her hair tumbled down as she moved. The massage only lasted about 20 minutes. Throughout the session, Landon found himself tempted to run his fingers through her hair, feeling strangely captivated."Done. You can get dressed now," Aria stated matter-of-factly, ending with a firm press of her thumb near the knee.Landon realized he was perspiring heavily. Unlike the clammy sweat of illness, his body felt warm all over.When he looked at Aria, his eyes were intensely dark, revealing little of his thoughts. "Thank you.""We're pressed for time today, so consider this just a trial of sorts," Aria remarked, wiping a bit of sweat from her brow. Her long hair clung to her neck, accentuating her cool yet enchanting appearance, especially against her crimson lip
Upon hearing that, Aria dashed out of the room before anyone else could react. Swift and determined, she grabbed a wooden stick from somewhere, her eyes flashing with fury.Outside, a crowd had gathered in the alley, mostly residents who had just finished their grocery shopping."What's going on?""Apparently, someone's accusing Ms. Harris of malpractice, saying she caused a death!""It can't be true, right?""It might be true. She's a traditional medicine practitioner, after all.""I had a neck massage from her yesterday. Could something happen to me?""If it's true, we shouldn't go there anymore."Georgina, her knuckles white around her cane, stood trembling amidst the discussion.The individual blocking Georgina sneered and shook his head. "No wonder you're living comfortably here. You think you can just hide your past. But you're still the same. Traditional medicine is outdated. How dare you try to steal our customers.""I don't know what you're talking about. Move asi
The voice had belonged to Aria. With the invitation card between her fingers, she said, "Go back and tell Dr. Gunther that Heartbound Hall will arrive on time. Your family, on the other hand, had better hang in there. I hope nothing happens to you.""We're the Gunthers! As if anything would happen to us!" Constantine boasted arrogantly. He chuckled as if he'd heard something funny. "I'll just leave this here! No one in Southbury would dare touch us. The Gunther family is king in this city! You better commit this to memory, young one.""Got it." Aria chewed on a piece of fruit candy, her gaze dark. "The Gunthers, huh."Assuming that she was a naïve young woman, Constantine turned and arrogantly walked away. Aria's gaze narrowed as she looked at his retreating. Constantine hadn't thought much of his arm, which Aria had twisted, but his face abruptly fell when he walked out of the alley and got into the car. Why did he feel like he'd lost feeling in his arm?Constantine wanted
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. "
Usually, in this situation, Orion would have a lawyer present. But things were different today! He did not even know which department was holding him. All his usual connections seemed blocked, which made Orion start to panic from deep inside. He sat there, fidgeting nervously. No one else was in the room. "I want a lawyer! I'm innocent!" he shouted, trying to move, but his hands were cuffed to the chair. Just then, a familiar cool voice spoke up, carrying its usual casual tone, "Whether you're guilty or not, the law will decide." It was Aria. Her presence was completely different from earlier in the office. When Orion saw her, he wondered if his eyes were playing tricks on him. There wasn't a trace of the spoiled, rebellious, rich kid in her now. Instead, she looked at him calmly as if she were the highest authority in this place. Orion's heart sank. He wasn't stupid and knew how things worked. That was why his eyes widened as he stared at Aria. "Who are you really?" "D
Magdalene told Laura, "Now you're the partner everyone wants to work with." She laughed out loud. "This divorce couldn't have come at a better time." Laura's eyes widened as Magdalene spoke, her excitement growing by the second. "Mom, does that mean I'll be..." Laura could hardly imagine how amazing her future would be. Magdalene stroked her hair. "They won't call you Mrs. Grisham anymore. They'll call you the CEO of the Fitzroy Group." Laura's face trembled with barely contained excitement. She never considered that the shares they wanted weren't rightfully theirs but something they were taking through dirty tricks. "I was worried these families might side with Aria." Laura had genuinely been concerned about this. After all, families like the Katz family and those families working in traditional industries had started treating Aria with the same respect they once had for Barron. This was exactly what drove Laura crazy. Why should Aria get to live carefree after ruining her
Magdalene felt better than she had in a long time. She even ordered someone to open a bottle of wine to celebrate. This was the most relaxed day Magdalene had experienced in weeks. News about the Draycott family kept pouring in, and she had been feeling not just anxiety but a deep uneasiness. Over the years, the Fitzroy and Draycott families had become deeply entangled. Even without obvious business interests like others had, they shared information regularly. Even in that incident years ago, the Fitzroy family had been involved. Previously, she had worried more than anyone about the Draycott family's collapse. Now, she felt differently. First, there were the Grisham shares they would soon acquire. Second, she had learned that the Draycott family was not the only one that had lost money in the stock market because of Aria. Many prominent Ludwiten families had suffered losses thanks to her market manipulations. Magdalene understood clearly that to establish themselves in this