Upon hearing this, Homer's eyes lit up. "Take me there quickly!"He was confident that this Mr. York was the apprentice he'd been searching for. However… "It's you?"Disappointment creased Homer's face as he stared at Landon in the posh hotel suite. "Why are you staying here instead of York Residence?"Aria watched the scene with amusement. When it came to York family gossip, most of it was true. For instance, Landon was blessed with such good fortune that even the esteemed wise sages of Mount Dracotigris were envious.Landon coughed awkwardly a few times, maintaining his composure. "Mr. Bond, it's been a while. You seem to be as vigorous as ever."Homer rolled his eyes and turned to Aria. "So this is the Mr. York who supposedly borrowed the fortune from the heavens?"She nodded. "He's practically Heaven's favored child. He has no need to borrow fortune at all," Homer said. "Mr. Bond, you exaggerated," Landon said with a chuckle, pouring Homer a cup of coffee.Then he glan
The ease of online exposure these days kept Homer, a recluse, hesitant to leave his mountain sanctuary.Even the Carver Group's PR department was caught off guard by the sudden publicity. Their hotel had skyrocketed to the top of trending topics, an unexpected stroke of good fortune that left them bewildered. Three of the top trending topics were all about their establishment!The most popular one read, "Shocking! I won the lottery! The wise sage's words are true! Hurry up and get a room!"Prior to this, the hotel's rating had dipped to a mediocre 4.3 stars. Worse, business conferences had dwindled at the ageing five-star establishment. Comments were rife with complaints about guests frequently falling ill during their stays, encountering rude and passive-aggressive staff, and experiencing inexplicable bad luck after their visits. Some even dismissed any chance of good fortune and accused Homer of being a fraud hired by the hotel for a publicity stunt.Learning of this, the hot
Mindy, ever understanding, offered, "Aria's drastic measures were likely intended to boost hotel business. Don't be too hard on her."Owen shook his head repeatedly, looking defeated. "She just returned, and Dad has already let her take over the hotel? It's too soon. I won't hold it against her as her father, but the hotel has many other shareholders to consider. "If things go south, I'm worried there will be trouble. Even though our family owns the biggest share, we can't ignore the other owners' opinions." His phone rang, interrupting him. "See, another stockholder calling, pressuring me to take back control."Mindy noticed the call and interjected, "Dad, other issues can wait, but public perception is crucial. If we don't address it, things will only spiral out of control and become even harder to manage."He acknowledged her point. "I just worry that if we hold Aria responsible, she'll become defensive.""Then you should apologize on her behalf," she replied instantly. "Not o
"Let's discuss this later, after we've resolved the issue. Get the press release ready quickly," Owen said before hanging up the phone.Mindy's eyes flashed with anger as she glared down the hallway from her room.When a nurse arrived, Mindy laid back down and reached for her phone.The social circle's group chat wasn't as lively as when Moses and Philip were around, but news about the hotel was still being discussed. Someone tagged her."Mindy, is this your family's hotel?""Why use such a bad marketing strategy? If I hadn't already been at your hotel, I would've believed it.""Who is the new person in charge? Tell Uncle Owen to fire them now. This is so humiliating!"Mindy couldn't contain her grin, but the answer she typed out was more modest. "Don't be so harsh. My sister just came back and isn't familiar with the market yet. It's understandable that she might make some mistakes."The group chat lit up with responses."Sister? You mean the one who just returned to the Carv
"You can't say that! Leon's stage performances are excellent. If you take a picture with him and upload it, it will become viral in minutes.""Well, the Carver family is viral now. Leon only cares about his biological sister and never cares about Mindy. Sooner or later, that bumpkin will take him down as well."Mindy, seeing this, said, "Kylie, it's no surprise Leon doesn't care about me. After all, I'm just someone the Carver family sponsored.""What do you mean just a sponsee? You were there for the Carvers when Mrs. Carver lost her mind. Who knows where they'd be now if it weren't for you? Now that this bumpkin has returned, the Carvers want to disown you, and she's even making the hotel ratings drop.""Kylie, Dad has always been kind to me. He's trying to mend things now. Let's not discuss Aria's situation anymore."Kylie Wagner was Philip's cousin. She had been close to Mindy since they were little. They were also schoolmates. Despite different courses, they were well-known o
Philip understood what Landon meant. However, he'd already explained himself.Aria skimmed the chat history. She had no intention of throwing Philip under the bus. "It's not a good look for you to defend me while still hanging out with them. Put your phone away."With that, she tossed his phone back.Philip, eager to prove his loyalty, said, "I was immature before, thinking that kind of circle was cool. Now I understand gossiping and ostracizing others is wrong. Aria, I'm not just on your side because you're powerful, but because I learned a lot today."Having lost his mother young, Philip always cherished companionship and a lively atmosphere. This led him to constantly surround himself with friends, even if it meant doing things he disliked because his friends did them.But true friends wouldn't hold him back or pressure him into danger. Just because they had more money, they disrespected others. This was something Philip couldn't tolerate."If you need me to, I'll speak up. Wo
The video went viral, sparking outrage in the online community."What's happening? Is he really the leader of Mount Dracotigris and a genuine sage?""Let me clarify. Mr. Homer is the last guardian of Mount Dracotigris, skilled in fortune-telling.""Wow! I know him. He's a national astronomy and geography expert, according to Wikipedia.""Furthermore, Mr. Bond never performs divination or works for private clients. He recently left the mountain for a conference.""So, staying at Q Hotel really boosts lottery chances?"Nobody anticipated such a turn of events. An apprentice from Mount Dracotigris personally vouched for Homer, proving the hotel's legitimacy.The official account of Carver Group's subsidiary was flooded with comments."Why did Mr. Carver apologize for the new manager when she didn't make any claims?""It's obvious that this is an internal strife. They're trying to get rid of the new management.""I'm a guest at Q Hotel. I'm the lottery winner. The hotel accused m
"That's enough!" Owen roared, his emotions spiraling out of control. "If you want to keep your job, fix this mess immediately! Find a way to minimize the damage!"But minimizing the damage was impossible. The statement was already plastered online. Even if the PR team scrambled to delete it, the online community had captured screenshots and spread them like wildfire.When Warren declared his intention to disown Owen, he wasn't bluffing. Keith, unwilling to further upset Warren, had left certain things unsaid. However, Warren wasn't oblivious. He wasn't senile yet. Owen's ruthless attempt to control the hotel by putting Aria on the spot deeply disappointed Warren.Keith understood how much of this was bothering him. "Mr. Carver Senior, the PR department is requesting permission to intervene and leverage mainstream media to mitigate the situation.""No intervention," Warren countered sternly. "Owen created this chaos, and it's his responsibility to clean it up. This wouldn't have h
Nisa had no idea how complicated things truly were. Durand had made his choice years ago—opting for someone in the state government over the Draycott family. But he had never once confided in his wife, Nisa, about it. Even so, he now found it wise to apologize to the Grisham family. At the very least, it would set them apart from the Draycott and Fitzroy families. They had simply made the wrong decision at a critical moment.Durand sighed. "Alright, honey, I'll take your advice. I'm relying on you to smooth things over with the Fitzroys. Ultimately, I'm placing my trust in you, my darling wife, to fix this."Nisa took a slow sip of her coffee. "I'm glad you understand. This is a crucial moment, so make sure you clean up any messy relationships you have outside."Durand's smile faltered briefly, but he said nothing.Nisa studied him. "I'm only worried something might happen. The deceased girl's parents were easy to deal with, but others won't be. Who knows what might come up?"Th
Amos didn't want Aria to stay in Ludwiten, but she had no intention of leaving just yet. The case of the woman who jumped off the building might have been closed legally, but not in Aria's eyes. The lack of an official report didn't mean the incident was simple. Something was off.Nocturne's location was too strategic, and Aria was certain there was more hidden inside the bar—something she hadn't uncovered yet.And where was the Wagner family? They had disappeared the moment she arrived in Ludwiten. She couldn't shake the unease creeping in. She needed to find Yonah.Once she secured the key information she was after, she immediately instructed her subordinates to investigate how Amos had managed to rise to power so quickly.Exposing the mastermind behind him required careful strategy. Aria knew they were calculated and composed, considering they had remained silent even after the downfall of the Draycott and Fitzroy families.To the mastermind, those families were nothing more
Aria turned to leave without hesitation. She couldn't afford to linger. Dorian's words had been recorded. Sharing them with her uncles wouldn't violate any rules—it would clear up past misunderstandings.Just as she pushed the door open, Laura's voice rang out."Aria, I swear, I knew nothing about your mother! You wouldn't want Jett to have a mother with a criminal record, would you? I never meant to harm the Grisham family. Please, help me."Aria halted, but her voice was cold. "Help you? Uncle Eamon ignored your scheming for Jett's sake the first time. When you set your sights on the Grisham Group's shares, he still chose to let it go. And yet, what did you do?"You leaked information. You framed Uncle Eamon for betraying you."She despised women like Laura—greedy and manipulative. Worse, Laura had destroyed the marriage Eamon should have had.Because of her, Eamon had been forced into marriage at an age when he should have been free to live his life.Aria had never understo
Dorian furrowed his brows, lost in thought. "There was someone… I think he was a low-level official handling Ludwiten's economy at the time.""Take a look. Is it him?" Aria slid her phone across the table, revealing a picture. Dorian immediately nodded. "That's him, but why does he look younger? He doesn't seem like the timid man I remember.""Power changes people," Aria said knowingly. "It's understandable you don't recognize him. But look," she said, pointing to the webpage with a smile. "Do you recognize him?"The man in the photo wore glasses and a suit, exuding an air of authority. Something about him felt eerily familiar.Dorian paused for a moment. "H-He is…""He's the third-in-command of the city, Amos Lune." Aria's gaze flicked between the two images. "It's indeed hard to believe. With a simple name change, he's a completely different person. But someone must have worked hard to push a minor official this high."Dorian had never considered how deep the web of influence
Dorian had always been timid, never having faced real hardships. The thought of spending the rest of his life in jail was unbearable. "This is all because of your greed," he spat, his voice trembling with resentment. "You and your obsession with the Grisham family—you always thought they were better than us. That's why you were so desperate to outdo them."His eyes burned with anger as he continued, "You were beyond saving from the start, yet you still dragged me and Laura down with you. Mom, you can't be this selfish."Magdalene staggered, nearly collapsing from the sheer weight of his words. Rage and betrayal clawed at her chest, but before she could succumb, Aria intervened, keeping her upright. Magdalene had to hear everything."Aria," Dorian pressed on, his desperation mounting. "You don't know half of what my mother has done. It's about Fiona. I know everything. You'll want to hear this."He had never been this frantic before. He was willing to reveal any secret if it meant
Magdalene thought they were being taken to an interrogation room. Instead, they were led somewhere not far from Fitzroy Group. After being handcuffed, they were blindfolded. When the blindfolds were removed, harsh lights greeted them. Magdalene's son and daughter sat on either side of her.Dorian was the first to react, his voice sharp with panic. "Lawyer! I want a lawyer!"Laura, in contrast, remained silent, the weight of remorse pressing down on her.A lazy voice cut through the tension. "I don't have a lawyer for you, but I can arrange a lifetime sentence."Laura stiffened instantly. Magdalene turned toward the voice in disbelief. Dorian, though unfamiliar with Aria, recognized her face. Her presence was unforgettable, and the tattoo on her neck had been seared into his memory."Aria?" Laura's voice cracked. "Why is it you?"Aria met her gaze with cool indifference. "Why shouldn't it be me?"Magdalene's experience gave her a sharp intuition. She narrowed her eyes. "How can
Dorian reached out instinctively, but he was too late. Magdalene hit the ground hard, her forehead bruised. How she wished she could just faint and escape this nightmare. But reality was merciless. With her head throbbing, she could only look at Dorian and the chaos engulfing the Fitzroy Group.Dorian's knees trembled with fear. "Mom, what should I do? That bastard must have exposed me! He'll pin everything on me. Mom—""D-Don't worry. As long as I'm here, I'll get you out of this," Magdalene said, though she was barely holding herself together.But the SWAT team would be here any second.Dorian's face turned deathly pale as a sudden realization struck him. "Mom, you told me to do everything. You said helping the Draycott family tamper with Waymond's financial statements would give us the upper hand!"Magdalene froze. Her outstretched hand dropped as she coughed up blood. "Y-You—!""Don't worry, Mom. Even if you go to jail, I'll come visit you. You're already old, but I still h
Dorian steadied Magdalene, helping her sit down. "Mom, what if Laura refuses to apologize? We need to put an end to this mess online before someone digs too deep.""Don't worry. Your brother is the one involved, and he's already on the plane. No one will link the Grisham family's accounts to you. Even if the police conducted an investigation, they'll only interrogate your brother." Magdalene took a deep breath, but it did little to calm her. Her clothes were stained with Laura's blood, making her feel utterly repulsed. Meanwhile, Dorian relaxed, reassured that he wouldn't be implicated.To him, his half-brother was nothing but an obstacle—a liability who competed for the inheritance. Though Dorian had joined the Fitzroy family late, he had Magdalene's support.Neval, on the other hand, had been nothing but a disgrace, sinking deeper into his gambling addiction. Now, at last, he served his purpose—as a scapegoat.Just as Dorian was savoring that thought, a frantic voice broke thro
Eamon never loved Laura, but he had always respected her. He fulfilled her requests, supported her family, and never strayed. While other wealthy men indulged in affairs, Eamon remained distant and polite, just as he had been in college.Their marriage wasn't filled with passion, but his world still revolved around her, Jett, and his work. Laura had a life many envied—a stable family, a respected position—yet she had only realized its worth too late. Tears welled up in her eyes. If she had been more decisive, things wouldn't have come to this. She could have continued her life as Eamon's wife, reaping its privileges whether love was present or not. Instead, she had listened to her mother and lost everything—her family, her son, and the Grisham family shares she had once taken for granted.She had never even desired those shares. So how had it come to this?Regret twisted inside her, making it hard to breathe. Clutching her shirt, she barely registered the voices around her unt