Lily cried pitifully, "Please give it some thought. If I knew that Aria had such a powerful man as a boyfriend, would I embarrass myself on purpose like this?"That was true. Noticing that the accusatory stares had softened, Lily added, "Don't worry. I'll deal with the misunderstanding between me and Aria—I'll seek her out later. Grandma won't just stand by and watch us turn against each other."Everyone traded gazes. It wasn't that they didn't want to believe in Lily's words. It was that they suddenly realized that Lily and Aria were sisters, and they had mutual relatives even though they weren't blood-related. If they ended up upsetting Lily, they would be the ones suffering from the adverse consequences. In addition to that, Lily also had her own connections within Janovin. Soon, someone apologized, "I'm sorry, Lily. We were a bit agitated just now. You should talk this through with your grandma, though. "You and Aria are family in the end. Now that she has found herself s
As long as Georgina was alive, there was hope that Lily's plan could be carried out. She had already decided what her next step would be. However, Lily remained unaware of Aria's real identity. She thought she was now among the elite in Janovin, but both the Wagners and Laynes saw her only as a doctor. None of the daughters of the wealthy and powerful in the city saw her as a friend, so they naturally wouldn't tell her about the marriage between the York and Carver families.…The collapse of the Short family directly affected the Layne family, who had already been having a rough time recently. Samuel's hands, perched on his walking stick, were shaking as he said, "Did you not find out why Landon suddenly took action against the Shorts?""You know this as well, Dad. If we investigate the matter right now, we're basically admitting our involvement in what the Shorts have done, so we can't do it."Samuel looked at his eldest son, who used to be the most competent one of them al
It wasn't only the people in Janovin who placed particular importance on their social circles. This was common regardless of area.Even a famous celebrity would have to rely on connections to borrow couture outfits from more prominent brands if they weren't ambassadors of said brands.The more prominent the brand and the better the designer, the stricter they were about people wearing their clothes and jewelry.Not everyone could come to own these pieces. For the extremely wealthy, celebrities merely served the role of good-looking clothes racks whenever they were picking jewelry and clothing. No designer would risk offending anyone in that circle. However, they couldn't flat-out reject the Carver family's proposal.They either told Keith that they were currently participating in fashion shows overseas or had their hands full with couture outfits for another client. All in all, no one took Aria up as their client. Their responses were so polite that Keith couldn't find any faul
Keith was fuming. Just as he planned to inform Warren of this so that he could think of a solution, the door to his office was pushed open. "Ms. Carver." Keith turned off speaker mode on his phone immediately.Aria had come alone. Sam had gone to Ludwiten with Fiona. Aria wanted to investigate some matters, so she hadn't asked Landon to accompany her. She paused outside Keith's office when she heard him on the phone discussing something concerning her. She remained at the door, careful not to interrupt until he was almost done.Keith didn't know how much she'd heard. He was about to explain himself when Aria chuckled, saying, "You don't need to tell Grandpa about this. His body deteriorated too much last time, and flying into a rage will negatively impact his health.""What they're doing is absolutely abominable!" Keith managed to look poised in his suit despite his rage. "They're excluding you with these underhanded methods. Color me shocked."Aria was nonchalant. "It's fine.
Aria continued, "Sometimes a luxury brand isn't expensive because of the brand itself but because of the story behind it."With his experience working for an elite company, Keith instantly understood what Aria had meant by that.Aria pointed at the crown. "I packaged myself as a foreign brand so that I can price my items higher. The story behind the brand isn't by me, but by the people in charge of my online orders."Keith paced around the room, his mouth wide open. "Do you know how popular you are in the social circles here, Ms. Carver?"He added, "I mean, the couture gowns and jewelry designed by you are absolutely amazing! The ladies here compete fiercely against each other just to get their hands on the limited items you release every year!"Keith wasn't a lady, but he knew clearly how astronomically famous the brand Lamar was in the jewelry and couture design industry. The couture gowns were relatively easy to acquire in Janovin, and Warren had reserved many of them the pre
These incidents had happened during Leon's childhood, so whatever he'd told her would be limited in that sense. Keith was different, seeing as he'd worked in Carver Group for so many years. Aria was sure that he knew clearly about those incidents. Even if he didn't, he'd have an idea about things that seemed unusual back then. In addition, he was not a member of the family, which meant that he could discuss the matter more objectively. This was why Aria's first move was to seek him out. "None of us expected Mrs. Carver to be reduced into that state." Keith heaved a long sigh. "Mr. Carver Senior fought with his son on the matter. He believed that Mrs. Carver's psychological trauma was all the more reason for her to leave the house and interact with other people in her social circles."Mr. Carver, on the other hand, didn't want to remind her of those sad memories. He also worried that she'd injure other people like she'd once done."Aria raised a brow. "Has she really injured a
Keith paused. "Are you possibly suspecting Mr. Carver? He'd never!"Aria glanced at him, and he said, pushing his glasses up, "I'll always take your side, Ms. Carver. However, according to what I know about Mr. Carver, he'd never harm Mr. Carver Senior despite their disagreements."I'm not saying that Mr. Carver is a good man, rather that he's a complicated man. He doesn't resent his father to the extent of harming him."Aria believed him. However, Owen was the only Carver who could conveniently dose Warren with poison. There was also something interesting about the time the poison had taken effect. Aria had assumed that Mindy had been the perpetrator because she'd tried repeatedly to deliver homemade soup to Warren.After investigating the matter, Aria changed her mind. Mindy's soup had never been successfully delivered. If Warren's illness worsened after Mindy delivered soup to him, she would surely be seen as responsible. Mindy probably did so because she wanted to express h
Owen wouldn't do that unless someone else ensured that he would profit massively from it, giving him the idea that he'd no longer need to be conscious of the Carver family if he adopted Mindy. Aria was a master in the esoteric arts herself. Anyone who cared about them could see that Mindy didn't possess the ability to transform someone else's fortune. Anyone who could boost a family's good fortune and someone else's would possess earthly fortune. Landon was an example of someone who had it, and he was a rare case, one in a century. Under normal circumstances, people like Landon possessed so much fortune that it made their lives difficult. Mindy didn't seem to have this quality unless she was concealing something from everyone else.Aria rose from behind the desk. "Who else is my father close to aside from Mr. Windsor? Particularly people who put their trust in the esoteric arts. Who does he interact the most often with? "Most importantly, I want to know how the Carvers came to
After finishing her sentence, Aria ended the call. She trusted her senior would take action on that end. Besides, nobody at the Public Integrity Task Force would dare ignore her message after hearing the way she spoke. Lucas had received his transfer orders. Just after arriving, people were already waiting for him at the train station before he had even attended any meetings. None of them were low-ranking, which matched his own status. The phone call came at an oddly perfect time. It rang right as he left the station, and it was from the Public Integrity Task Force. He hadn't forgotten why he was transferred here, so he glanced at his secretary. His secretary, Douglas Nixon, told the others, "Mr. Murray has some personal business to attend to." Douglas handled things smoothly. He immediately blocked a few people from approaching, though they were all prominent public officials from Ludwiten. Lucas did not want to delay the matter for too long. After hearing the problem, he
Besides, this spot was a perfect blind spot for surveillance. The school's security cameras couldn't reach here, and a tree blocked the view from across the street. If anyone reviewed the footage later, they would only see Eden exit the school gate and disappear after heading to the opposite side. This was exactly what Miguel and the scholarship committee wanted. Miguel had already walked away. He acted as if he'd just been out for a casual stroll, chatting with security while escorting a student along the way. Right then, Aria rode up on her motorcycle and caught the whole scene. Though she had planned to enter the school, she immediately spun her bike around and tailed the van as it drove off. Nobody noticed her because everyone in the van had their eyes fixed on Eden. The attention made Eden's skin crawl. The driver named Viggo Moseley chuckled. "You'll get used to it. The people you're meeting later are the ones handling your paperwork for going abroad." It was just a s
"Don't be silly, your grandmother and I can take care of each other just fine," Brent said. Despite the fact that he came from a village, he never thought of women as any less than men. Eden was an orphan, but her grandparents gave her all their love. "Once you go abroad, your grandmother and I will move back to our hometown. We'll farm a little land and do some other jobs while waiting for your return!" Brent's laughter put Eden much more at ease. As Miguel walked ahead, he felt nothing but mockery when he overheard her conversation. Indeed, the apple didn't fall far from the tree. If there were really such great opportunities to study abroad, the school would surely give them to children of investors and business people who supported the school. Who would choose to send a bunch of poor kids overseas? Not understanding how social class worked was just plain stupid. Eden was walking behind him, so she couldn't see his expression. When they reached the gate, the security g
Miguel said, "How are we rushing things at all? The list came out ages ago, so you're already behind schedule. "We need to handle your paperwork, clear things with your family, and get you seen by the scholarship committee before you miss this opportunity." Miguel made it sound like the spot was incredibly rare. "They picked you because of your top grades and all-around excellence. Once you're there, whether you impress them enough to get the scholarship is all on you." After hearing this explanation, Eden felt a little less worried. Her grades were definitely impressive since she was in the top one hundred of her year. Oakvale Academy was known for getting kids into good colleges and had solid connections with schools abroad. With Eden's academic record, being selected wasn't that surprising. What she did not realize was that Miguel said all this just to ease her suspicions. He needed her to let her guard down and follow him. Security cameras lined every school hallway. If
Laura believed that once she and Jett met face-to-face, he would surely give in at the sight of her condition. After all, no child in the world would abandon their mother, especially not Jett! As his mother, Laura understood Jett well. But after hearing her words, Nisa shook her head. "Laura, if you asked me to arrange a meeting with Mr. Grisham, I might try to help. But if you drag Jett into this, the Grisham family will hold me responsible. "I won't do anything that foolish. You should forget about any thoughts of using your son too. You'll only make the Grishams think keeping you in Ludwiten is simply troublesome." Nisa was a clever woman, though somewhat blunt. She really wanted no further contact with Laura. She couldn't even handle her own husband, let alone manage someone else's problems. The socialites had kicked Laura out of their circle, and there was just no way they would let her back in. Today, Laura finally had a taste of how cruel people could be. She had nothi
The person next to Durand widened his eyes. "Mr. Guetta, are you hiding something from us?" "Not at all." Durand kept his words guarded. "As businessmen, we need to understand what we should and shouldn't touch. The Fitzroy family's situation makes that pretty clear. "Let's see if Aria will be so lucky when facing similar circumstances." Lucky? Everyone knew the entire Fitzroy family had been arrested. Magdalene faced multiple charges with no hope of getting out. She had tried to send messages to that mysterious, powerful man; she believed her past connection with him might help. After all, that person had climbed so high due to many factors. Magdalene couldn't believe he would just watch as both the Draycott and Fitzroy families fell. Because if they did, he might not be able to retain his position too. Yet no one responded to her, and she finally experienced what it meant to have no peace. Every day, she heard Dorian cursing her for doing such terrible things. In just two
Whether in traditional business or more speculative industries, Aria had her own plans and strategies. She was truly a genius among geniuses. Today, Philip finally learned that this brilliant woman had dedicated herself to serving her country long ago. None of the people here would have ever guessed she had this kind of background. Otherwise, they wouldn't have dared to go after her or the Grishams the way they did. Even when Yonah was alive, he spoke of her with contempt. Kenny thought she was nothing but a joke. Looking back now, Philip thought that it was really ironic. They had all lived in their arrogance and were too used to looking down on others. After all, they grew up privileged. Philip thought he understood everything about Aria, but in reality, he probably didn't even know a fraction of who she really was. Just like any other young man, he had dreams of being a hero and to become someone special who could serve their country with their life. The excitement dulled
"Good," Aria said while looking at Philip with approval. "I'll remove all protection from you and leave only Nyx by your side. I'll know immediately if anything happens." Philip nodded. He understood that for all this time, he'd stayed safe only because of Aria's careful protection. That was why the Wagner family hadn't found any trace of him until now. Aria had used arcane on him and borrowed items from the Dracotigris Order to hide the negative energy coming from his body, keeping spirits away. In the past, Philip would often be followed by spirits. This hadn't happened lately because of the chain he wore on his wrist. Once all these protections were removed, he would be easily tracked down again. It might not happen right away, but with time, they would find him. With his birth signs in the Wagner family's possession, it would be even easier for that person to locate him. And if Aria stayed by his side, he wouldn't make effective bait. Philip wasn't like Leon. If something
With a smile full of pain, Philip clenched his fists. "Aria, this is unbelievable. I've spent my time in nightclubs and driving fast cars, but I never once thought my great-grandfather betrayed our country." Aria knew Philip for his honesty and passion. He was someone who would collect miniatures of their national heroes and hang their flag in his race car—he clearly loved his country more deeply than most people. She wasn't good at comforting others. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Your special constitution protects you from all this. What your ancestors did doesn't change the fact that you're a good person." Philip felt a mix of emotions. Knowing these things brought nothing but pain. Without this knowledge, he would have lived forever in what he thought was truth. He had never told anyone about the Wagners. Each time he returned to their home, he felt the sad decline of what was once a great family. "I'm making slow progress right now." Aria looked up. "So I need t