The head chef turned to Oliver in surprise, astonished by the sight of a child with such a voracious appetite.Aria smiled. "Go ahead and roast one for him. He's a big eater."Landon fiddled with his rosary bracelet. "One leg might not be enough. If Mrs. Carver heads to Ludwiten alone, Aria will be worried. Let Sam accompany her. He can bring a leg of lamb to eat on the way."Sam studied Landon as if trying to understand him, but he eventually gave up. Landon still seemed dangerous to him.Upon seeing this, Oliver instructed the head chef to prepare the leg. Sam wasn't a picky eater. After gathering the meat from the table, he approached Fiona happily. They were bound to get hungry during the walk, so he might as well bring some food.Fiona found his innocence endearing and led him away with a smile.Now that Fiona was gone, Landon changed his demeanor. He tugged on his collar with one hand and tousled Aria's hair with another.Then, he whispered in her ear, "I have too many r
"They want to flaunt their wealth?" Aria couldn't understand the logic behind using wine to show off their riches. Seeing her disgusted expression, Landon leaned on her shoulder with a smile.Aria didn't understand why he was so amused. She tilted his chin to meet her gaze, her eyes filled with confusion. "Could you explain how sending a bottle of wine shows off their wealth?"Oliver wished he could disappear. Even though Aria was a Carver, Oliver doubted anyone would dare to treat Landon like this. In fact, it felt like Landon was a handsome gigolo Aria kept around.Oliver shook his head to dismiss his absurd thoughts.As a man, Landon understood Christian's intentions. That's why he'd reacted so strongly."They sent the wine to taunt us for not opening a bottle. Hence, as your brother-in-law, he gave one to us as a gesture." Although Landon's tone carried a touch of amusement, his gaze was cold. Aria raised an eyebrow. "That's all?""That's all." Landon chuckled, twirling h
Oliver's choice of wine was intentional. "Ms. Carver, this bottle of red wine symbolizes luck. It has a smooth finish and isn't too astringent.""I selected this specific bottle since this is Mr. York's first time bringing you here. I didn't want it to seem like a gift from someone else, nor did I wish to accept your money. I simply want to share in your joy as you embark on this new chapter."Aria knew he was merely trying to ingratiate himself with Landon. Oliver was undeniably skilled at business.Landon rose and admired the bottle. "You're too kind, Mr. Richton. I will accept the wine. Please attend Aria's and my engagement party.""Of course!" Oliver replied excitedly.Landon smiled and continued, "However, my fiancée would also like to receive a bottle from the other party. Could you select another one?""The quality isn't crucial, and it's acceptable if you double or triple the price. After all, you are in business, and we are your customers. We won't be drinking the wine,
As soon as Oliver finished speaking, Timmy said, "How expensive can a bottle of wine be? It's nothing much to Christian."Timmy said that to protect Christian's image. After all, it wouldn't look good for Christian to openly flaunt his wealth.Everyone turned their attention to Christian, eager to see if the rumors of his affluence were true. The wine delivered personally by the restaurant owner was expected to be worth at least tens of thousands.None of them had ever tasted such an extravagant wine, considering they were still students dependent on their families. Yet, high qualifications did not preclude a desire to compete.Two people out of the group wanted to discourage Christian from opening the bottle. As students dependent on their families, it felt inappropriate to spend lavishly without having earned any money themselves."Maybe we should forget about it," Mary whispered.Lily shot her a glance. The others, however, laughed mockingly. "You're such a scaredy-cat. What's
Oliver, clad in white gloves, handed Christian the wine for inspection. "It's unopened. Here are the details on temperature, origin, and vintage."With that, Oliver expertly uncorked the bottle, ensuring no wood shavings fell into the wine.The wine glasses had been slightly chilled to preserve the wine's delicate texture, and the gold-trimmed decanter had been prepped in advance.As the wine was poured out, its subtle fragrance filled the air. Most had never tasted such a refined red wine, and their experience was limited to nightclubs and overpriced, diluted cocktails.Being served by the restaurant owner and manager, who carefully poured the wine and presented it on a cart, made them feel superior."It's all thanks to Christian that we're able to enjoy such fine wine today. Cheers, everyone!" Timmy exclaimed.The restaurant's manager resisted the urge to laugh.Christian swirled his wine glass with an air of sophistication. "A toast is fine, but red wine should be savored s
Lily stood there with her fists clenched. Heavy taxes on alcohol and tobacco products were commonplace, yet the students couldn't help but be shocked by the sheer magnitude of those levies.Christian, in particular, was deeply distressed. 1.7 million dollars for a bottle of wine? That sum could have bought him a luxurious new car!Christian couldn't bear the thought of paying that amount. Pain shot through his cheeks as he bit down hard. Desperate for a solution, he turned to Timmy, hoping for a lifeline. Unfortunately, Timmy was too overwhelmed to register Christian's silent plea.A surge of contempt washed over Christian. Timmy had been silent despite all the encouragement earlier, making Christian feel like a fool.The room was deathly silent.Oliver prompted, "Sir?"Determined to salvage his dignity, Christian tugged on Oliver's sleeve. "Why is this wine so expensive?""Expensive?" Oliver flashed him a big smile. "Sir, didn't you say it was just a bottle of wine and wouldn
The disdain on Oliver's face dealt a blow to Lily's dignity. Not wanting to be brought down even more just because of a bottle of wine, she said, "That's enough! It's just a misunderstanding. Christian, pay for everything with your credit card."Her gaze, fixated on Christian, was emotional. She and Christian were similar, so he would definitely know that this incident would only harm his family's reputation if he let it snowball further.If word of this were to spread on campus, if everyone else heard about how Christian, the scion of the Short family, couldn't even afford a bottle of wine, he'd never get to join the elite social circles in Janovin. Christian understood what Lily meant. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Hand me the reader."The restaurant manager walked over. Christian gripped his card tightly, which made his reluctance to pay obvious. However, he decided it was fine. He would just have his father give him more money later."I'm sorry, sir, but this card isn't worki
Even when the York family’s bodyguards weren't publicly assigned to their employers, they would still discreetly send experienced men for protection.Before Christian's friends could unleash a torrent of insults, Timmy was already on the floor. Confused, the group of students hesitated before erupting into chaos.Oliver was annoyed and was about to tell them to leave when a cold, deep voice said slowly, "Tell them to come in."The bodyguards stood to the side, and the students finally saw Landon's face in its entirety. He had extremely exquisite features, and he stood lean and tall. His eyes were as dark as the night as he sat on a mahogany chair. He was only wearing a shirt and slacks, but he fit right in with the opulence of this restaurant.He looked as majestic as a king in ancient times, and his gaze alone was full of meaning. His bright red rosary bracelet was especially eye-catching—it seemed to distance him from modern times. He remained striking even in comparison with the
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. "