The scream came from the second floor. The cameras positioned there showed nothing but darkness. Despite Kian's orders to activate night mode, the equipment malfunctioned at this crucial moment.While Leon and Aria continued to rack up points on the first floor, the participants on the second floor struggled to see anything. Only Alistair had picked up the flashlight provided by the crew; the others had neglected it.Kian's brow furrowed. "Where's the production assistant? Why is the light off so early?"Nothing was going according to plan, but the participants remained oblivious.Chandler, who had been brashly confident earlier, now appeared almost laughable in his fear. He grabbed Alistair's flashlight and tried to project calm. "Mr. Franco loves to cut the power on this show. There's no need to panic.""Chandler, we only have one flashlight now," Anthony said, his regret evident. He would have chosen a male partner if he'd known Helen would be so inept.Sensing Anthony's conde
With a sharp click, the door was locked from the outside, followed by eerie laughter that echoed through the room.Panic erupted instantly. "Who locked the door?" Lavender yanked at the handle desperately, her eyes darting to the cameras for answers.Evelyn, unconcerned about breaking the rules, fumbled for her phone's flashlight, only to realize with growing dread that it was dead.Helen was frightened. She clutched Anthony's shirt, hoping he would protect her. Yet, Anthony was equally shaken. He desperately fought the urge to quit the show.Chandler shouted, "Leon, is it you? Stop fooling around!"The voice outside responded with a roar, "Leon? Who's Leon? You trespassers are being punished for coming to the hospital's second floor without permission!"Relief washed over the group as the voice sounded normal, but doubts soon crept in. "Isn't this hospital abandoned? Why is this person calling us trespassers?" Anthony wondered aloud.Chandler reassured him, "It's just an NP
When everyone heard that one of them had to go to the nursery alone, they exchanged silent glances. It was clear no one wanted to go.Chandler was scheming something. "We finally have a lead, so one of you should go while I search for other clues. After all, I'm more familiar with the production crew's gimmicks."Everyone knew he was putting on an act.As an award-winning actress, Lavender could put on a good show too. "Chandler, as the one who got the clue, you should be the one to go."Lana got angry and punched the door when she realized they were taking their time deciding. "So who's coming with me?"Even the audience could feel something amiss by how frustrated Lana was. However, they couldn't pinpoint what exactly."This NPC is an excellent actress," someone commented."She makes it sound like whoever goes out will die," another said.Lana giggled. "Since you can't decide, I'll choose. Whoever I pick must go with me obediently. Let's see. One, two, three, four... I'll pic
The robotic voice sounded again after Aria read the card. "Congratulations, Player No. 5, for finding the clue and saving all the players."Player No. 5, you can choose to hide the clue or reveal the clue. Here's a tip. You'll have a better chance of winning if you keep the clue a secret. After all, there's no need to split the score among all the players."Just then, the lights on the second floor came back on, revealing the participants' expressions on camera.Chandler and Anthony looked panicked. They hadn't found a single clue since arriving and had been saved by the very person they looked down on. Nothing could be more humiliating than this.The fans who had been staunchly defending Chandler and Anthony at the start of the challenge fell silent in the comments section.Almost all the viewers could now see Leon in a new light, though Aria remained the standout. The fact that a non-celebrity participant was shining in a show full of celebrities caused the viewership to skyrock
"I'm a student from Janovin Medical University," Helen said, glancing at Aria as if to imply her own superior education. Amused, Aria turned to Lana. "Are you happy?""Absolutely. I love meeting people in my field," Lana replied, her eyes sparkling. "Doctors and nurses are my favorite."Suddenly, she clapped her hands as if remembering something important. "How could I forget? Didn't you say you could help our hospital find the missing child?""Yes, but we need your help," Chandler immediately replied. "All you need to do is answer a few of our questions."Lana nodded with a smile. "Okay."Chandler continued with his first question, "Were you the one who took the baby away from the delivery room after the woman gave birth?"Lana answered, "Yes."Anthony butted in, "Did someone take the wrong baby home? Was that why the woman in the story couldn't find her baby?"Lana shot him a mocking look. "Nope."Helen didn't believe it and continued asking, "How could it not be? Are you
That made Anthony shut up. Everyone else was stunned as well. Lulu, who'd been silent prior, paled even more. "You aren't an NPC? What are you, then?"Lana said animatedly with a grin, "Didn't I tell you? This is our hospital, and I'm a nurse here, and that's Ms. Wenn to you."As she spoke, the lights flickered. With a hint of concern, Lana warned, "Players, you have two minutes left. If you keep asking the wrong questions, you'll be eliminated."Anthony's voice shook with fear. "W-What's going on here, Chandler?""Don't ask me that. I don't know either." Chandler couldn't even protect himself, much less care about anyone else. He repeatedly hit the SOS button, but nothing happened.Everyone else, except for Leon and Aria, began to panic. Lavender clutched Leon's hand in fear. "Have your partner show everyone the clue she found, Leon. We can work it out together."Lavender hadn't spoken up when Leon had been sidelined earlier. However, she had helped him land his first movie role
The other participants were dumbfounded. Lulu, who was standing in the corner, was the only one who seemed out of it.Aria raised a brow and asked a shocking question. "Is the person who had an abortion among us right now?"The comment section erupted as the audience reacted in disbelief."Now that you asked that question, I'm wide awake!""An abortion? Did I hear that right?""She's a famous female celebrity, my friends! There are only two of them in the show!"No one expected to hear something so shocking while watching a variety show."Is it the famous actress Lavender Erikson or Lulu Charters?""Lavender, definitely. I heard rumors about how she always met her directors at night.""No, it's Lulu! She was covering her tummy often."The audience watched everything from an outsider's perspective and saw everything clearly. Anthony and Chandler were still giving Lavender and Lulu looks when Aria asked the fourth question in succession, "This is just one of the stories. But
Aria fixed her gaze on Lulu and said, "Lulu, the fear of your pregnancy being exposed wasn't the only reason you turned down the role. You also thought the pay was inadequate and considered acting in a Netflix drama beneath you. No one anticipated it would become such a hit."Lulu shook her head vehemently with each of Aria's accusations. "No, that's not true!"She couldn't admit to those allegations. If she did, her life would be ruined once this went public. With such a tarnished reputation, she'd be barred from future projects.Aria slammed all the clue cards on the table. "You were the victim of a car crash, and the hospital has records of that. The doctor can keep your pregnancy secret, but not that. Anyone who wanted to look deeper into it would succeed. You can't get away from this unscathed, Lulu.""There's nothing between us, young lady, so why do you insist on hounding me? These are rumors without proof, yet you're trying to sway public opinion with them!" Lulu denied the
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
Aria turned her head, smiling brightly. "If you put it that way, I guess there really is something wrong with me." Lily couldn't understand why Aria still acted this way even after she had said all that. It was like Aria couldn't be bothered to take her seriously, as if she were just some random stranger with no connection to her. Lily was the one with knowledge of the future! Her face darkened. Aria noticed Lily's eyes on her, so she turned to face Lily. "You're Grandma's granddaughter, so I've cut you some slack. But you've only gotten worse by using visits to Grandma as excuses to steal things. "Anyone who cares about what you're saying can look into it. As for everything else, I'll leave that to these gentlemen." Hearing this, Lily panicked. She knew perfectly well that if Aria left, no one in that room would spare her. The most painful way to torture someone was to make them live in constant fear. Aria left the office, abandoning the terrified Lily. Those Chamber membe
Aria said, "You guys have misunderstood me. The Draycott family is just the first to fall. After that..." Aria's gaze fell on the figure hiding at the back. "Since Mr. Fitzroy is here, I won't need to make a special trip to your residence. Tell Mrs. Fitzroy Senior that your family is next on my list." Everyone who heard Aria's words wanted to eliminate her. But clearly, now wasn't the time. She had the upper hand, and the Draycott family's downfall had not benefited them at all—especially the Fitzroy family, who were already having a public clash with the Grishams. The Fitzroys wouldn't have stepped forward, but now that they'd been called out, they had to respond. Since things were out in the open, they had nothing to hide anymore. "Let's see about that." Their message was clear. Besides, they had already lost money in the stock market and weren't happy. Though they weren't as powerful as the Draycotts, they still had their backing from the mysterious man. If they united,
After this incident, members of the Chamber of Commerce couldn't keep pretending nothing had happened—especially those who had stabbed the Grishams in the back to climb up with the Draycott family. As fear crept through them, they were particularly worried that Orion might spill their secrets from years back. The corporate tower had never seen such a crowd gathered below as today. Earlier, they had kept up appearances. But the Chamber members now pushed past security, bringing their entourages charging up the stairs. Aria watched all of this with interest. She'd come here waiting for the rats to crawl out of their holes. Like the Guetta family, who were close to the Grishams but never made waves in Ludwiten. Jett's problems had enabled Aria to follow the breadcrumbs and uncover the truth. Without them, she wouldn't have spotted that the Guettas had jumped ship to the Draycotts. Those seasoned business sharks definitely had not expected to find Aria when they arrived. They wan