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
The twins and Nyx's appearance proved a point—a master in the esoteric arts was behind everything. While Aria had encountered Blake before, her knowledge of him indicated he was incapable of such chaos.Judging from the manifestations Aria had seen, the conjurer was considerably skilled. Aria realized she would need to consult the Dracotigris Order about the number of powerful masters they knew of. …Meanwhile, Warren was playing chess with a man older than him at home. The other man was wearing a bracelet and had a shock of white hair. "You're still so hot-tempered despite your old age. Can't you discuss the matter civilly? He's your son, after all.""As if I want a son like him, Ian." Warren drank some tea. "Now that Aria's back, I don't even want to bother with him. He can do anything he wants as long as he doesn't try to adopt some random young woman."Ian chuckled, shaking his head. "You're saying things you don't mean again.""I do mean what I said," Warren said proudly,
"Of course we'd do it after you asked, Kylie. The Carvers may be rich, but our families aren't lacking either. They want us to suck up to a country bumpkin they randomly took home, like, are they serious? As if she's worthy of that.""Okay, stop there. Just mentioning her ruins my mood. I don't know if my grandpa has gone senile. He's repeatedly told me that we should show the Carvers some respect regarding this matter because her six brothers back her up.""Everyone knows those brothers don't care about their family matters. Except for Leon, they all dote on Mindy too. They won't just stand by while a country bumpkin is brought into their family."This was what Mindy heard when she walked over. She paused in her tracks for a moment so the person behind her wouldn't hear the conversation inside. She took a step back deliberately, seemingly to accommodate the owner of the gallery. She said with a smile, "Thank you, Verona, for connecting me with the other party. I would've been at
"I know. I'm happy that my sister's back too." There were no flaws in Mindy's smile. "The banquet will be held tomorrow. Grandpa doesn't know that you're back yet, I think, or he'd surely send you an invitation."Verona's hand flew to her head, her emerald ring catching the light. "The Carvers sent me a letter, but I haven't gotten the time to open it… I thought it was from Owen. Ahem… I'll check later.""You still don't think much of Dad, Verona." Mindy shook her head. "He's having a hard time, to be honest, all because of me. No one understands him."It was obvious that Verona didn't want to talk about Owen. She merely said, "I'm jealous of everyone who took Fiona from me."Mindy couldn't help but laugh. However, she then cast her gaze down, seemingly worried. "There's something I'm unsure I should mention, Verona.""What can't you tell me?" Verona gently fixed Mindy's hair.Mindy bit her lip. "I'm afraid saying this might seem like I'm stirring trouble, but I'm worried my sist
Verona loved the scent. "Thanks for the aromatherapy pendant. You're always thinking of me, Mindy."She'd been doubtful of Mindy, but that was already a thing of the past. "Mr. Carver Senior is a bit too cruel. Why didn't he invite you? Rainbow is his biological granddaughter, but you've also done a lot for the family over the years.""It's nothing, Verona." Mindy smiled. She cast her gaze down, concealing the calculating glint in her eyes. "Let me put it around your neck."Verona nodded with a smile. "I don't know why, but none of the many fragrances I've used overseas can compare to this one. They all fall short in some way.""You're always busy with work and don't get enough good-quality sleep. This aromatherapy pendant helps with relieving stress." As Mindy spoke, the sinister intent behind her smile grew. Verona didn't notice she was inhaling the scent like an addict.Mindy hadn't wanted to infuse the pendant with too much of the addictive herbs because extended exposure to
Mindy held Kylie's hand. "Let's not talk about this, Kylie.""Why not? I've never seen anything like this," Kylie snapped. "Don't worry. We'll take you in with us even if you aren't invited. Mr. Carver won't just stand by as someone else does this to you. If you aren't there, how will you watch that country bumpkin embarrass herself?""She's right, Mindy," someone else said. "You should go so that the country bumpkin knows how inadequate she is compared to you!""We still don't know how ugly she may be. Now that she doesn't have a gown made, she might have no choice but to wear some random dress she got from Temu. Now that'd be embarrassing."The young ladies laughed unanimously. Mindy did the same thing as always—she'd say it wasn't appropriate, but she'd do nothing to stop them. She needed to let some emotions fester, and they'd serve as nutrients for those herbs. Mindy looked at the hair accessories they were wearing and finally felt more at peace.Kylie said, "I asked Phil
Aria was still thinking about how she'd catch those people in the act during the banquet. Procuring a gown and jewelry paled in comparison to that.She had someone install a sewing machine in the mansion. The jewelry was easy to deal with—she hadn't unboxed the dozens of gifts a certain person had given her, and she was sure there were priceless jewelry pieces in them. Aria mulled over what style to choose for her gown. She hadn't sketched anything new in a while. The one she'd hastily put together recently was praised to no end, but she personally thought it was overly detailed.Warren was still fuming. "Those ladies are simply too underhanded. How could they do that?"As Georgina worked on ascertaining his condition, she said, "Hasn't Aria said that she'd deal with it? Stop getting worked up over it. You can't lose your temper if only for the sake of your health."Despite what she told Warren, Georgina was concerned about Aria's situation. Thanks to her past experiences working