Just as Warren was worrying about his grandsons' relationship, a shocking piece of news hit the internet out of nowhere and went viral."An award-winning actor is secretly married with a child!""Who is the woman and the young boy who got into his car?""Award-winning actor is revealed to have relied on a woman to become famous!"When Theo saw the news, he was smiling happily. However, he was left dumbfounded when he received a call from a brand. "Is this what you mean by everything's fine? Go and take a look at what's happening on the internet!"Panic set in as Theo quickly realized something had gone wrong. He rushed to the fan pages and found fans vowing to stop supporting Elijah.As the car pulled up to the Carver residence, Theo turned to Elijah in haste. "Boss, Ms. Carver's been caught by the paparazzi!"Theo handed his phone over to Elijah. The latter frowned after seeing that. Since he was still having a fever, he decided to log into his account and make a statement.
Compared to news about secretly getting married and having children, this news was better.Despite her numerous years in the entertainment industry, Lyla was still stunned. After all, everyone had been interested in Elijah's family, but he had never revealed it.Aria was even more amazing. Lyla had never seen an outsider in the industry who knew how to utilize public opinion to their advantage. If they had just announced Elijah as a member of the Carver family, perhaps they wouldn't have achieved the same effect. However, it would be the best moment now! Everyone's attention was focused on Elijah's scandal. Once the company announced Elijah's identity and that he'd already signed up with the Carver Group, its stocks would skyrocket!Although Lyla had only known Aria for one short day, the latter had surprised her more than once. Lyla had a hunch that Aria would bring Carver Group to greater heights as its successor. This was what insiders would think. However, those who didn't
Theo, who'd tagged along to join the meeting, could barely control his facial expressions. How amazing was that? However, he had to consider the reality. "Ms. Carver, wouldn't that provoke them?"Aria shot this question to the PR department. "Is our company afraid to provoke them?""Of course not!" The person in charge of the PR department kept wiping his sweat. "Ms. Carver, I'll handle it right away!"Aria twirled her pen. "After you expose all of his scandals, you don't need to care about anything else. Get every company under our group to repost Elijah's post with the same message.""Okay. About that…" The person in charge stopped for a moment. "Ms. Carver, what message do you think would be the best?"Aria stopped twirling her pen. "Nothing too complicated. Just welcome him home.""Okay!" The PR manager's face lit up with excitement. Theo, sitting nearby, couldn't help but feel the same.He and Elijah had relied solely on the connections they'd built over the years, carefull
Ever since Owen humiliated himself at the shareholders' meeting, he stopped hiding his true self.Sitting across from him, Ian toyed with his crystal beads. His gray hair made him look weary. "Owen, you're not right to say that. Aria is still your daughter.""I treated her as my daughter, but did she ever treat me as her father?" Owen fumed. "Uncle Ian, you saw what happened at the banquet. "Fiona hasn't contacted me since then. She is set on getting a divorce. And my father? Even worse. He never intended to hand the company to me. He even teamed up with his granddaughter to teach me a lesson!"Ian shook his head, helpless in the face of Owen's stubbornness. "You should consider your position. Back then, you didn't try to get your sons on your side because they weren't close to you."But think about the shares they hold and their status in their respective fields, including Leon. Stop belittling his career." Ian took a sip of his coffee.It seemed like Owen was in control, but h
Upon hearing Ian's words, Owen fell silent. Ian's remarks reminded him that he needed to take action and change the current situation.Ian glanced at him. "Everyone is watching you right now. You should mind your words.""Uncle Ian, I understand." Owen took a sip of his coffee unhappily.Ian sighed and softened his tone. "I've always wanted us to be a happy family. Sometimes, I think back on that old prediction. I didn't believe it then, but with everything that's happened, it's hard to ignore."However, you need to realize that not many people will understand or stand in your shoes when it comes to superstitions. You're lucky a few shareholders do. They've been through enough to believe in fate."Owen felt a wave of relief at his uncle's words. He poured a fresh cup of coffee for Ian. "I get it. I also know some of them are pretending not to believe, just to form alliances.""It's good you see that. As for Aria, she's still young. It's normal for people her age to dismiss the id
This was all Lyla's work. She also included an announcement that read, "From now on, Mr. Elijah Carver will be joining our company in collaboration."Apart from that, she also retweeted a few gossip accounts and Terrance's posts. "The woman in the photo is Mr. Elijah Carver's sister. Our company will pursue legal action against those who slandered him. Also @Terrance, please mind your words."Nobody expected such a twist to happen. After all, no company had targeted a celebrity online so openly before.Lyla was actually hesitating to send the last sentence. However, she decided to obey Aria's orders.This post provoked Terrance's fans. They'd always loved targeting other celebrities to support Terrance. Therefore, they didn't hold back this time. "How hilarious! How can you prove that they're siblings? I've never heard about his sister despite following the entertainment industry for many years. What a lame PR method.""That's right! Plus, let me bring to your attention that the
Terrance's fan page admins immediately sent out statements. "I must have been blinded before. Firstly, I want to say sorry to @SilentElijah. Also, @Terrace, you don't deserve the love and support we had for you over the years."In the entertainment circle, it was unheard of for a celebrity to be unfollowed by all their fan page admins. Terrance was definitely a unique case.As his controversies began trending, Terrance, feeling desperate, reached out to a well-known influencer to try and salvage his image, offering whatever price was needed.The influencer, however, seemed uneasy. "Mr. Angilletta, I warned you not to provoke Elijah. We've crossed the wrong person this time."Terrance scoffed, refusing to believe there was anyone his family should fear. "Just do as I say. I'll keep the money flowing!"But the influencer hesitated. "Mr. Angilletta, look at the accounts tweeting about this. None of them are entertainment-related. Do you know who's behind those accounts? It's the Ca
Carver Group was becoming the subject of growing discussion online, especially this post—"By order of Ms. Aria Carver, welcome home @SilentElijah!" It had gained significant traction, capturing public interest. Though the Carver Group operated within the business world, their tone carried an unexpected sense of chivalry.Many young people, unfamiliar with their reputation as prominent merchants, began to take notice. After searching for information, they discovered Carver Group's rich history. During the turbulent war era, the Carvers played a crucial role in transmitting intelligence and providing financial support. They had also been sponsoring students to study abroad since then.People from that generation studied overseas to bring back knowledge that would aid Farshya's development at a time when it was desperately needed. Carver Group had continuously set aside substantial funds for education in rural areas and invested in infrastructure projects. In addition, the Carve
Landon cast a glance at Aria, curious about how much she actually knew about the stock market. She had always been modest about her knowledge, but he suspected there was more to her than she let on. The only one oblivious to Aria's true capabilities was Jett. Yet, he dared not refuse any request she made. Without hesitation, he tapped into his social circles, pulling strings where needed.Less than an hour later, Orion received word. A slow, chilling smile spread across his face. "So, the Grisham family wants to dip their hands into real estate too?"Arlo handed him a report. "Just as you predicted. It's not just real estate—Ms. Carver's making moves in the stock market as well. Fortunately, you already set a trap for Mr. Jett in advance."For the first time in days, Orion’s tension seemed to ease. A dark glint flickered in his eyes. "Fine. Let them struggle their way in. I don't care how they do it, but make sure the Carver family is crushed in the stock market.""Understood." A
Jett asked, "What exactly are you after? There's no need to bring down the Draycott family so quickly. It's not like you can win. Didn't you join the Chamber of Commerce to take things slow? You just arrived in Ludwiten. Why the rush?""Am I in a rush?" Aria asked. She wasn't after the mastermind behind the Draycott family. If she were, she would've tied Orion to the financial building and let people take pictures all day—no need for mind games.The situation was too tangled, too many people involved. The Draycott family had managed to cover up something as blatant as that incident at the bar. Someone had to be cleaning up after them.Finding a few scapegoats would have been easy, but Aria wanted more. She wanted to uncover everyone who had spread rumors about Fiona in the past.And for some reason, despite their focus on the Grisham family, it felt like they were up against the Carvers. Whoever was behind this didn't want the Carvers to regain control of the Chamber of Commerce.
Jett grew more agitated as he spoke, waving his hands as if he wanted to tear Owen apart. Aria promptly stopped him. Otherwise, passersby might think he was an escaped patient from Ludwiten's mental asylum.Owen had done many foolish things, which Aria only discovered after arriving in Ludwiten and conducting her own investigation. Warren carried guilt toward Clyde because of Owen. And while Jett was normally timid, his words weren't wrong.When Owen first came to Ludwiten, he thought he could make it big, recklessly using the Grisham family's funds and resources. But he had been deceived by several people and lost everything.Not only was he foolish, but he was also malicious—leaving behind a disaster for the Grisham family to clean up. "Jett, calm down," Aria said. "I know Owen dragged the Grisham family down. He's already been punished and won't be coming out anytime soon."You and I both despise him, but let's stop dwelling on the past. He's not worth it."Jett had never
With Landon monitoring the stock market, Aria could walk right into Orion's trap. This way, Orion would let his guard down. When people felt confident, they invested more. Aria, well-versed in the stock market, understood this all too well. She had never intended to get rid of Lily. However, things were different this time. There was a limit to how much one could withstand another's viciousness. Aria doubted Lily could predict the market flawlessly—it was impossible, just as it was impossible for her to know everything.The logic was simple. If something fell outside one's area of expertise, even the most attentive observer would only grasp the outcome, not the details. Thinking it over, Aria realized Lily only knew about major events. The smaller ones seemed to escape her notice.If she put herself in Lily's shoes, it was like remembering which lottery would have a winner but not the exact numbers drawn.After all, no one knew when they would be reborn. The only way to acce
Malcolm did not know why Aria was asking, but he remembered the details clearly. "It was after that day." Aria tapped on the desk. "No wonder the Draycotts suddenly changed their market strategy. I get it now." What was she talking about? Before Malcolm could ask, Aria continued, "Some people are trying to cheat the system. Keep an eye on things, but stay safe. If anything happens, come to me first. "Like you said, they've got deep connections. Don't bother with the police—just keep the evidence." "Got it." Before hanging up, Malcolm asked, "Should we still watch the stock market?" Aria smirked. "Yes. They're not the only ones who can play dirty." Lily had probably been reborn too. But whatever Lily knew, Aria knew as well. She had never thought to use that knowledge this way before since it hadn't seemed necessary, but things were not the same now. If her dreams were real, then in her past life, Lily had only made it to Janovin. She had played the star medical student at
After being together all this time, Aria suddenly had a thought. Were she and Landon too distant from each other? No, "distant" was not quite the right word. It was more like they did not know each other well enough. Landon always felt just out of reach, like there was a fog between them. Simply put, he was not being straight with her. The thought left her feeling uneasy. Before she could say anything, her phone rang. It must be news about the Draycotts. It had to be something big for them to call so urgently. Aria glanced at the pair. Landon smiled. "If you have questions, Jett, feel free to talk with my manager, Ms. Virelle." Manager? Seraphina caught on quickly. "Mr. Grisham, shall we step outside?" Jett was still trying to process everything. "Wait." Balancing business and personal matters as usual, Aria held her phone up and said, "I heard Ms. Virelle used to work at the Draycotts' club. Let's have a chat later." Seraphina froze, glancing at Landon. Seeing his bl
Seraphina could not let her mind go there. Maybe she should've stayed in Netherrealm for a few more years. It was not so bad down there anyway. Landon barely spared her a glance, keeping his eyes on Jett with polite interest. "Won't you sit, Jett?"Sit? Jett could barely remember why he had come in the first place. Landon's voice snapped him back. "I... Mr. York, excuse me for asking, but what's your relationship with Ms. Virelle?""She works for me." Landon glanced at Seraphina. "Ms. Virelle? That's a new title."Jett stumbled over his words. "She works for you?""Yes," Landon said casually, like it was the most obvious thing. "Isn't it obvious?"Jett could not imagine the Yorks being in that kind of business. From Jett's expression alone, Landon could guess what kind of mess his people had made in Ludwiten. Since he had been dragged into it now, he figured he owed the Grishams an explanation. "I planted her in the Draycott family. The Yorks need a foothold in Ludwiten."So
Getting out of there wasn't going to be easy. Aria did not waste any time. She moved fast behind the suite divider, her laugh carrying a different note than usual. "What a shame."Landon's hand paused as he fixed her hair, his voice as smooth as ever. "I could have them leave.""Bad timing. My cousin's out there." Aria glanced at him, taking in that perfect collarbone of his. No wonder they used to call him the untouchable one, with all those socialites dying for just a smile.She had never given much thought to that kind of thing before. All those times working with patients, she had kept things strictly professional. But things felt different now, and she couldn't quite put her finger on why. Her gorgeous fiancé had a way of making her lose her head.Landon pulled his hand back while looking down. "We should meet with your cousin. I hear the Grishams like to evaluate their in-laws.""Huh?" That had not crossed her mind. He did not seem like someone who would care about app
Aria felt something wild coming off him. It was not hatred, but something close. She was too caught up to figure out what it was. She had never felt anything like this before; it was like she was floating. Her eyes were open, but she could not focus. Even his breathing felt like an invasion, starting at her ear and spreading through her whole body. When his fingers pressed into her waist, instinct made her try to push him away. That was a bad move—it only made things more intense. He lit her up like a match, heat spreading from her neck downward till she had to tilt her head back just to breathe. It reminded her of that hazy dream, the one in which she had been caught between sleep and waking, her pulse racing and her skin on fire. But it did not feel exactly the same because what she was feeling now was real. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught glimpses of the river through the massive windows. The view was blurry, but it was enough to remind her where she was. Unable t