This gave Lana a start. She seemed to have recalled something that made her gaze falter. Meanwhile, Aria continued, "Too many aspects of this story aroused suspicion. It was inferred that the couple found their daughters burdensome after their son was born."Of course, this was not proven. After the incident, the couple quickly moved away from the city with their son, claiming that they didn't want to be disrupted by the media."Strangely, the father said no to an autopsy of their daughters, and the mother refused to talk about the matter entirely. Nothing else was out of place, so the family received a handsome sum from the washing machine company as compensation."The company ran tests and proved two young girls couldn't fit into the machine simultaneously. So, what is the truth? Perhaps you've already recalled it."Lana was shaking with anger. A murder case leading to the accumulation of such an overwhelming amount of vengefulness was surely extraordinary. Aria didn't believe
"I want to know too!""Attention to the crew! Please let them get revenge, or I'll cancel this show!"This was pure brutality. The twins were born into a world filled with hope, only to discover a hellish reality.A long time ago, an orphaned young girl wrote, "The world's nice, but I don't want to be born here again."…Instantly, search topics related to "Survival of the Fittest" flooded the trending list. Topics like "Favoring the Sons over the Daughters" and "Our First Step to Saving Ourselves: Admitting that Our Parents Don't Love Us That Much" also appeared.The crew grew increasingly anxious as they watched the chaos unfold. They wished to steer the narrative but found themselves powerless. Would the audience believe them if they claimed spirits haunted the site?At the mention of that, Pax Darwen, the on-set director, demanded more realism from the scriptwriters. "That's not the main problem. If you tell everyone that, the show will be canceled!""You need to figure o
In the hospital, Lana seemed to have sensed something. She looked up abruptly.Abbie exclaimed, "Someone's here!"Lana's face twisted with a fierce intensity. "A being of heavenly fortune has arrived. You summoned them.""You lied to us!" Lana lost control. "You, of all people!"Fury surged through Lana, and she lunged at Aria, intending to strangle her. However, she froze as her hands neared Aria's neck. Aria remained motionless."If you truly can't recall his face, then choose between Players No. 1 and Player No. 3," Aria suggested coolly."What?" Lana paused.Aria said, "Didn't I say that I'll teach you how to play an adult's game? Your father is definitely not one of the celebrity guests, so that leaves the others.""Between Player No. 1 and Player No. 3, Player No. 3 looks more threatening," Aria analyzed calmly, "He's middle-aged, fitting a profile for a father. I wasn't confident just now, but now that a certain person is here, I don't see why you can't take revenge."L
Chandler didn't dare retort against that. Alistair viewed him with disdain. He pointed his knife toward Leon, saying, "You want to save him? Tell the crew to stop with this dumb farce now, then! I don't care about your charades. I saw the police cars outside—I'm not as blind as you think! "Do you think I'd let the police catch me just because of this scary story you're acting out? You're dreaming!" Alistair dragged Chandler to stand in front of the cameras. "I'll only make my request once—don't come in."With each person who takes a step toward this room, I'll kill a hostage!"…Outside the hospital, the crew was a panicked mass. Kian looked at Landon, who had already entered the hospital, and yelled, "Who the hell recruited this player?""I-I—" Shelby Sands, an intern in the crew, pushed his glasses up. "It's stated in his résumé that he's a doctor. I saw that he's skilled in surgery, so I thought—"Meanwhile, the HOU was already on standby nearby. "Alert—suspect is armed wit
Aria put all her strength into a swift and decisive kick. Alistair was sent flying, his back slamming into the wall before he crumpled to the ground. The impact left him barely conscious, his threats reduced to incoherent gasps as he coughed up blood.The comments section fell silent.Kian, who was close to tears, stopped. "Has he already been dealt with?"The audience was all stunned. "This is probably the quickest hostage de-escalation I've ever seen.""Is he really a serial killer?""It's true! Look, the police have posted an announcement!"The show was still broadcasting and couldn't be paused due to certain situations, so the police revealed the criminal's personal information.The comments started flooding in rapidly."Player No. 5 is an undercover cop, isn't she?""She isn't afraid of ghosts because she's extremely righteous.""The police didn't mention Player No. 5's identity. She's probably a random person who happened to pass by.""Really? She's my idol now.""S
Only then did Landon look at Cooper. His exquisitely handsome face stood out against the dilapidated hospital. "How did you escape if the criminal was as evil as you'd said?"Lysander thought that Landon had a point. "The manifestation hasn't been dismantled yet. Why is it that you can go anywhere as you please?"Could this guy be another man favored by the heavens? Were there really so many of them?Lysander, who hadn't seen much of the outside world, went with his instinct to call for Homer. Homer had no time to pay Lysander any attention. He quickly dashed toward the second floor, where the densest concentration of vengeful energy awaited.Upon noticing that, Cooper attempted to run away again. However, Landon stopped him. "Which room is the criminal in? Lead the way.""There's a murderer inside the room!" Cooper was flabbergasted. Did Landon not understand human language?Landon said, "And that's who we're looking for.""What do you mean?" Cooper paled instantly.Landon s
Your fortune." Aria put a hand on the stair rail behind Landon and kissed the corner of his lips.They looked perfect together, and Landon gladly let Aria kiss him. They were both beautiful, albeit in different ways—his regal coldness and her devilish allure made for a pleasing sight.This was what Lysander saw when he came here to apprehend Carlos. His eyes were wide open—he didn't expect the man favored by the heavens to use his fortune in this manner. Shocked, Lysander exclaimed, "Mr. Bond!""Stop yelling. Take good care of Landon." Homer was busy thinking about how he should dismantle this manifestation. "Make sure the evil spirits don't get close to him."Lysander yelled, "What if one of them is kissing him?"Kissing? Homer had found Lana and was about to perform a spell when he heard Lysander's words, which led him to doubt himself. Did he target the wrong person? Was there a more powerful evil being downstairs? Who would dare to kiss Landon, of all people?While Ho
Aria took the Charm Coin back. Purple energy swirled in her palm. "Some parents only want sons but not daughters. To them, daughters can be sold or abandoned as they please. A father would even push his daughters down the stairs because the woman they had an affair with said she wouldn't get together with him unless his two children died."If the Divine Laws are genuinely effective, the gods should see what's unfolding with their own eyes instead of incessantly dictating laws for the mortal world. The sisters only want justice. They shouldn't be called evil spirits. Who do you think has committed evil, Mr. Bond?"The white-haired Homer was rooted on the spot, seemingly deep in thought. If someone could slash open the doors to Heaven with a sword, then it was possible to thoroughly understand the Divine Laws overnight.Homer didn't go downstairs and merely sat on the floor. With that, he'd basically given Aria an answer.…At the same time, Carlos opened his eyes. When he saw two s
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. "