Lily shook her head, biting her lip. "It's not her fault. There was a massive upheaval in my family, and she couldn't come to terms with it."Her words seemed innocuous, but she'd actually pinned the blame on Aria. Christian frowned. "Just say it, Lily. We're here, so there's nothing to fear. She can't do anything to you!""She didn't do anything to me!" Lily's head was bowed. "She just had a slight misunderstanding concerning us. The Gunther and Kent families have a close relationship. My father gave the Gunther family the Whisperwind Herb as a sign of gratitude after Dr. Gunther took me in as her student, and then…"Christian sneered. "And here she is, making something out of nothing!""Christian, calm down." Salome put on a show of being the bigger person here. "It's good that the misunderstanding has been cleared, or anyone not in the know would think that the Whisperwind Herb was acquired from unlawful sources."A smile bloomed slowly on Aria's face as she watched the borin
Aria remained silent, her eyes focused on the grandfather clock in the hall as she idly chewed on her candy.Salome took her silence as a sign of cowardice. She covered Lily's hand with hers and sat down confidently.Yet, for some inexplicable reason, Lily's heart raced. Perhaps it was the anticipation of meeting Landon soon. She glanced down, her eyes resting on the wooden box. As anticipated, only the Whisperwind Herb could act as a conduit to the York family.Titus picked up the box under everyone's jealous gazes. The masses were about to congratulate Salome when Titus said, "My family isn't known to be righteous. Regardless, we cannot, in good conscience, take away what belongs to someone else. "Landon's fate lies in the hands of higher powers. The Whisperwind Herb is very rare, certainly, but we cannot take this."What?Everyone turned to Titus, including Aria, who lifted a brow in surprise. Titus set the box down and lifted his right arm. Suddenly, four words appeared on
Amidst the ongoing attempts to gain favor with the Gunther family, a sharp noise shattered the air—a door to the inner hall had been forcefully kicked open.Under a cloak of normalcy, a team of plainclothes officers materialized in a whirlwind of movement. Salome and Constantine found themselves slammed to the floor before they could even react. The officers, precise and ruthless, executed the takedown with practiced ease.Constantine was still screaming, "Who are you? How dare you do this to us?"The team leader showed his credentials. "We're the Highest Operations Unit!"The HOU?Everyone was shocked.Why would the HOU show up here, of all places?Titus raised an eyebrow but remained silent, observing the unfolding events with a wise and discerning gaze.Aria made no motion, hidden away in a shadowed nook beyond the reach of the cameras. With her candy and backpack, she resembled a guileless young girl amid the tumult.Constantine attempted to rise. "I couldn't care less abo
Salome waved dismissively. "Yes, you have no other choice. If you don't believe me, feel free to seek out other doctors! Next!"The old man panicked. "I'm sorry, Dr. Gunther. You're a professional in this, and my illness…"The video faded to black. Next, another video was played. On the screen, Salome was sneering. "The poor villagers are always such a hassle."A medical intern said, "Is this really appropriate, Dr. Gunther? He just has a small cyst, and it's benign too! We can first—"Salome cut him off sharply, "Am I in charge here, John, or are you?"Within a day, John Cox was dismissed from the hospital, never to return. In the same month, Salome publicly denounced John for causing a medical incident under her supervision, advising other hospitals not to hire him and his school not to grant him certification.John found himself shut out from any prospects of employment. In a video, he removed his surgical mask, revealing a scar above his eye. "I thought this would be bur
The Gunthers' protectors went to great lengths to hide their involvement, and those whose participation was clear had been pre-emptively brought under the HOU's control.Therefore, the HOU waited three days before choosing to launch a raid on the York family's villa. They needed to avoid alerting local authorities while keeping their operation covert. The seminar held by the York family presented the perfect opportunity to strike.Their arrival was so swift and unexpected that no one had a clue how they obtained proof of the Gunther family's wrongdoing.No one, including the HOU itself, knew who uploaded the video that was now circulating widely online.Inside the villa, Yannick Davies, the leader of the HOU, approached Titus. "Our sudden intrusion is regrettable. We apologize for the inconvenience."Titus chuckled. "You apprehended criminals who hurt the society. It's a great service. No apologies necessary."Yannick shook his head. "Such disregard for human life in a small town
Aria weaved through the throng exiting the hall, her baseball cap pulled low to obscure her face. She acted as if everything that had happened had nothing to do with her. Shiloh, bewildered, caught up beside her. "Who's behind all this, do you think?"Aria said casually, "No idea."Shiloh scratched his chin. "You've got a point. There's no way you'd know something Malcolm hasn't heard a whisper about, right, Malcolm?"Malcolm, who was lost in thought, mumbled a distracted, "Hmm, yeah."Aria glanced at him, her voice nonchalant. "They got what they deserved. As long as you haven't done anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about."Shiloh nodded confidently. "I'm not scared. I'm hopeless at medicine, and all Grandpa does is drink. He wouldn't touch something like this with a ten-foot pole."Malcolm finally looked up. "I'm not afraid, too. I believe in my grandfather."A faint smile touched Aria's lips. "Grandma always told me Dr. Lowe Senior is the only one who treated her l
Yannick began, "The hacker is cunning, constantly shifting locations and masking their IP address. It has been three grueling days, and the Technical Department only managed to narrow the location down to Southbury."Yannick furrowed his brow. "As for the other person, we can't find them no matter what we tried."It was rare that someone could render the HOU completely helpless. The last time this had happened was three years ago.Landon retracted his gaze. He drawled, "Perhaps you can approach it from another direction and start by investigating the Gunther family's enemies.""The Gunther family's enemies?" Yannick understood what he meant immediately. "Are you suggesting this is because of a personal feud, Mr. York?"Landon looked down. "No organization has publicly claimed responsibility for this debacle. Besides, the person behind this chose to take up the role as a whistleblower; they don't seem like a righteous hero who's doing this for no reason.""That's true." After some
Titus observed Landon's face. "You seem like you're in a good mood."Landon paused in the middle of his actions. "Huh?"Titus picked up his teacup. "Someone hacked into your house, and you're still smiling despite that. What else could be the reason for that aside from a good mood? Brat."Landon knew that Titus was still cross at him for not seeking proper treatment for his illness. He poured another cup of tea. "Solo must've told you about the state of my body recently and also… someone I've met."Titus looked up in defiance. He refused to acknowledge Landon's statement. "Solo's your bodyguard. Why would he tell me details about such things?""You're right, Grandpa," Landon said with mirth in his voice. Titus couldn't be bothered to engage in this verbal back-and-forth with Landon. The Yorks tended to prefer going straight to the point, except for Landon, who always had something brewing in secret."Fine, just tell me. Which one out of the doctors who came today is the Dr. Gen