"Relationship?" Rupert was confused. "What relationship?"The officers interrogating him traded looks before saying, "We heard that Mr. Carver and the deceased were involved with each other.""That would never happen!" Rupert waved a dismissive hand. "Elijah never got close to anyone in the industry, let alone start a relationship with them. Where did you even hear that?"The officers didn't answer that question. They realized that Rupert and Poppy had told them completely different things. Either Rupert didn't know about the actors' relationship status, or Poppy had lied to them. Would Poppy lie, though? She had only graduated from university, and there was nothing wrong with her background. She didn't seem like someone who would lie about this. The officers frowned, deep in thought, and this was the scene Aria walked into. Percy was already there, accompanied by another lawyer from Carver Group representing Elijah. However, Percy couldn't take the case due to his connection wi
The best way to learn more about the case was to talk to someone who worked closely with the deceased. Usually, a celebrity's assistant would be the best informed about her schedule and recent developments, even when compared to her family.Aria was so focused on this that everything else slipped her mind. Elijah frowned. "You shouldn't have brought her here, Percy."Percy shrugged. "Elijah, be more reasonable. You're here, aren't you? It'll be fine."Elijah sighed softly. He was elegant and composed as he politely asked the officers, "Can I leave now?"Despite Elijah's popularity, the officer remained impartial. "You can't leave before you're cleared."This was standard procedure in criminal cases. However, those brought in for questioning could usually post bail unless there was solid evidence against them.Aria hadn't expected Elijah to be denied bail. This suggested the police had found something that could work against him.Percy understood this too, his usual smile fading.
Thankfully, the Special Missions Unit, or SMU, was full of talent, and one such person had just reached out to him. Drake Huntington was visibly elated, and few things made him this happy these days. Having majored in criminal psychology, Drake was usually a stoic man, and his grin shocked Holly Bush, his secretary. Aria said casually, not distantly polite at all, "I need to be reinstated to my position, Mr. Huntington. Please inform everyone below us that No. 1 is back.""I'll inform them right away!" Drake laughed heartily. "You're finally willing to come back! Where are you? I'll have Holly pick you up right now."Aria looked outside the window. "I just left Janovin, about an hour into the mountains. No need to send Holly to pick me up; I'm heading to the crime scene to investigate." "You're going to a crime scene?" Drake's first reaction was to open a report he had about a series of murders. Aria said candidly, "Someone in my family is involved, so I have to get to the bo
When Aria finally found a photo of Elara's face, one of the forum posts suddenly blew up. "I can't believe you guys are still having fun here when 'Empty Fort' won't be in cinemas anymore. Something serious happened!""What could happen? Was someone sleepwalking again?""Not something so insignificant.""Did Elara's rivals report the movie because they didn't want it to be shown in cinemas? How despicable!""Not that too. It's something way more serious. I don't know the specifics, but a lot of people were summoned for questioning. I'm really panicking here.""What sort of questioning? Be more specific, OP.""Just get ready. Someone's reputation is about to take a huge hit tonight."Aria knew what the OP said was true, while the forum members dismissed it as fake. The OP's vague posts and refusal to answer questions made them seem unreliable. Still, everyone stayed glued to the thread, eager to dig into the gossip. The more they discussed, the wilder the theories became, fue
Would it be Elara? Could she be connected to the sleepwalking incidents?Aria scrolled through her phone in the car, her thoughts racing. If it was related to Elara, her assistant was sure to know something. Aria's next course of action hinged on Percy securing the police reports and confessions. Meanwhile, Aria sent screenshots of the post to Sam. "Look into who posted this as well as their whereabouts."When Sam received the message, his eyes lit up, and he grabbed his black bag and left, biting on a piece of bread. Finding the identity of a forum member was easy for hacker L. Less than five minutes later, the requested information was sent to Aria, followed by a message saying, "I'm coming too."Aria didn't stop Sam. She read the information sent to her, and as expected, OP was someone on the crew. More specifically, she was one of the background actors; her name was Fanny Allen. The boxing-related profile pictures had led many to assume the user was male until Sam uncovere
Aria pressed on her amethyst pendant. She wondered if something like this had also happened to Elijah's crew. "Cut!" The director looked at Belle. She checked the footage and made sure that nothing was wrong with it before asking for the water to be changed into warm water. She entered the pool with her makeup flawlessly intact, paying no attention to the state of her body double. She found Fanny to be poor and filthy, and she pinched her nose when they passed by each other—how incredibly humiliating. Fanny had a blanket around her shoulders, but she was still cold. The crew had no time to provide her with any care, and they merely told her to head to the dressing rooms which had heating. Fanny headed to the dressing room. Alone in front of the mirror, Fanny clutched her phone tightly, her expression unreadable, her gaze dark. She tossed her cup of tea into the trash, the gesture brimming with resentment for Belle, who was good at nothing but putting up appearances. Yet, Fann
"Slander?" Fanny sneered coldly. "They don't need me to do that. None of those people are decent to start with."Aria pushed Fanny's arm down. "You lied during the police interrogation and posted those slanderous comments online. Do you want to guess at how you'd end up?"Fanny froze. Tears streamed down her face as she protested indignantly, "Am I in the wrong? I was just venting online. "I'm taking this acting job seriously, not them! I'm the one filming all those dangerous stunts, not them! They do nothing but take the credit for everything!"Aria studied Fanny. "You get paid for it, and you agreed to work as their body double. You're also paid handsomely for performing dangerous stunts."You should fulfill your obligations after being paid. What you're doing is considered backstabbing your employers."Not all the credit is yours, too. Some of the audience like to watch action scenes, while some others are just here for the pretty faces."Aria was someone who liked pretty fa
"Why would you think that?" Aria didn't let that piece of information slip. Fanny said nonchalantly, "Not just her, but many others in the industry. It was especially obvious in Elara's case. She was meticulous about things like when filming would start and the direction she faced during prayers."I heard she even got a protective charm from overseas. I don't have concrete proof, though."A protective charm, and from overseas?Aria pressed on her Charm Coin, her gaze darkening. "You mentioned in the post that she was sleepwalking frequently.""I saw her five times," Fanny said. "I guess I'm the only one who saw her, though. I slept there secretly during those days, but I no longer dared to do so after seeing her sleepwalking. I was afraid that something would happen to her and that the film crew would blame me."Aria raised a brow. "Didn't her management company notice such a serious issue? What about her assistant?""Maybe they didn't notice. I don't know." Fanny's gaze wander
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. "
Usually, in this situation, Orion would have a lawyer present. But things were different today! He did not even know which department was holding him. All his usual connections seemed blocked, which made Orion start to panic from deep inside. He sat there, fidgeting nervously. No one else was in the room. "I want a lawyer! I'm innocent!" he shouted, trying to move, but his hands were cuffed to the chair. Just then, a familiar cool voice spoke up, carrying its usual casual tone, "Whether you're guilty or not, the law will decide." It was Aria. Her presence was completely different from earlier in the office. When Orion saw her, he wondered if his eyes were playing tricks on him. There wasn't a trace of the spoiled, rebellious, rich kid in her now. Instead, she looked at him calmly as if she were the highest authority in this place. Orion's heart sank. He wasn't stupid and knew how things worked. That was why his eyes widened as he stared at Aria. "Who are you really?" "D
Magdalene told Laura, "Now you're the partner everyone wants to work with." She laughed out loud. "This divorce couldn't have come at a better time." Laura's eyes widened as Magdalene spoke, her excitement growing by the second. "Mom, does that mean I'll be..." Laura could hardly imagine how amazing her future would be. Magdalene stroked her hair. "They won't call you Mrs. Grisham anymore. They'll call you the CEO of the Fitzroy Group." Laura's face trembled with barely contained excitement. She never considered that the shares they wanted weren't rightfully theirs but something they were taking through dirty tricks. "I was worried these families might side with Aria." Laura had genuinely been concerned about this. After all, families like the Katz family and those families working in traditional industries had started treating Aria with the same respect they once had for Barron. This was exactly what drove Laura crazy. Why should Aria get to live carefree after ruining her
Magdalene felt better than she had in a long time. She even ordered someone to open a bottle of wine to celebrate. This was the most relaxed day Magdalene had experienced in weeks. News about the Draycott family kept pouring in, and she had been feeling not just anxiety but a deep uneasiness. Over the years, the Fitzroy and Draycott families had become deeply entangled. Even without obvious business interests like others had, they shared information regularly. Even in that incident years ago, the Fitzroy family had been involved. Previously, she had worried more than anyone about the Draycott family's collapse. Now, she felt differently. First, there were the Grisham shares they would soon acquire. Second, she had learned that the Draycott family was not the only one that had lost money in the stock market because of Aria. Many prominent Ludwiten families had suffered losses thanks to her market manipulations. Magdalene understood clearly that to establish themselves in this