Each perpetrator was labeled with their full identity."Tiffany Karken, granddaughter of Gordon Karken and daughter of Principal Julia Wharton.""Krissa Meyer, granddaughter of Harvey Meyer and daughter of Orson Meyer.""Radley Daley, grandson of Gerald Daley and son of Ivor Daley." Instantly, every adult in the villa went pale. All their careful planning was wasted. "Didn't you say they wanted money? What is this?" Ivor exploded in rage. Orson stood frozen, drained of color. Krissa's actions had sparked the most outrage, so netizens were desperate to expose the Meyers. The comments flooding his department's official accounts now were overwhelming. His phone would not stop ringing. It was as if someone had detonated a bomb. And after this bombshell, no one would escape unscathed. Orson shouted, "What a coward! Why won't they face us directly? It's Draco! It must be that fool who never knows his place!" Unknown to others, Orson and Draco were actually former war buddies.
Since Shirley died at school, the administration should bear primary responsibility. They could throw Julia under the bus to appease public anger, and then the rest of their families could be saved. This was a tried and true method. Having found their scapegoat, Ivor and Orson exchanged glances. A daughter-in-law was certainly not as important as the Karken family's survival, so Gordon would agree to their plan. There were two others in addition to the Daley and Meyer families. Both were involved in the business industry, so they would naturally follow Ivor's lead. "But no one from my side can reach Gordon still." Orson had tried calling repeatedly but with no response. Ivor found it strange, but a call came from home just then. It was Gerald's longtime driver. "Mr. Daley, Mr. Daley Senior told you to calm public sentiment first. He's called the internet department. None of you should respond; everything's under control. "After that, find the girl's parents. This can all be r
Julia, who should have been the scapegoat, had already been arrested. It was even recorded on video right in the police car. The footage was clear. Julia seemed agitated and had lost all her composure as a principal. She screamed and demanded to be released, even shouting, "Do you have any idea what you'll face from arresting someone at school? Does Mr. Meyer know about this?" She had not just dug her own grave—she had thrown Orson under the bus with her. Orson dropped all pretense. "That idiot! Who's behind this investigation? Mr. Daley, you can see it in this video, don't you? Whoever's gunning for us has to be an insider! "Don't you recognize that vehicle too? Your family's got deep connections in the police force. So, who would dare move against us without even giving you a heads-up? "Fine, maybe you were kept in the dark. But does Mr. Daley Senior not know anything about this too?" Orson's suspicions made sense. This was such a big operation with Julia already in custody
Gerald pretended to sound righteous as he asked those questions. Aria deflected effortlessly, "Public confidence is built on fairness. You're the ones making parents afraid to send their kids to school. "You're living off taxpayers' money, yet you're acting without basic humanity. Let me remind you, Mr. Daley Senior, your grandson Radley is one of the bullies." "Yes, he should be lectured for bullying classmates." Gerald narrowed his eyes. "The Daley family shows no favoritism, and there are proper procedures for handling this. Who'll take responsibility for the chaos you've caused by exposing our identities?" Aria's voice was light. "Exposing your identities? Mr. Daley Senior, do you have proof? I've been at the school, so how could I expose your identities?" "You just admitted to releasing the videos!" Even the experienced Gerald was irritated by her audacity. "Oh, that." Aria said carelessly, "Yes, I released the initial videos. However, the well-meaning online community
"A student like this wouldn't bully others. They probably just didn't get along. They're all minors, so we shouldn't judge kids so harshly. Let's hear their side of the story." "Exactly! I can't believe this young man would bully anyone. Look how patient he is with kittens! He's handsome and could easily study abroad, but he chose to stay and help develop our city. I'm literally crying!" "There must be some misunderstanding. This witch hunt feels too much. Since Radley's a top student, we need to investigate more. A bullying label can ruin a good student's life. Let's not destroy a kid's future." "Maybe ask yourself why out of the whole school, only your kid got bullied." "It's better to build mental toughness than blame the environment. No one can prevent suicide." "Right? I heard she lived a questionable lifestyle as she probably needed money... A young man of Radley's status wouldn't associate with people like her." "From those videos, he seemed to have solid values! I d
However, the airport ground personnel stopped Radley and Krissa in the next second."Are you Radley Daley and Krissa Meyer? You have been placed under travel restrictions."Radley refused to believe it. "No way. Here's my passport!"He wasn't a citizen of Farshya, so they didn't have the right to restrict his travel."That's right. Please come with us, " the ground personnel signaled to the person next to him.This was the first time Radley encountered such a situation despite numerous trips abroad. The reporters were inching in, and the camera lights were still on. Nobody seemed to be maintaining order either.Radley started to get impatient. Although he was underage and not really tall, the way he spoke didn't seem like an immature child at all. He shouted, "I have a passport that proves I'm an official citizen of Athara. You have no right to restrict my freedom! Get out of the way! I need to board soon!""Mr. Daley." Felix wanted to stop Radley, but he was holding onto too
The ground personnel knew he couldn't make a move on a minor. However, since Radley refused to cooperate, he could take proper action.With a swift move, the ground personnel flung Radley to the ground.Radley didn't expect the ground personnel to actually make a move. He yelled, "I want to go to Athara! Let me go! You have no right to stop me!"At that moment, everyone in the country knew he was a liar who pretended to love his country.Some commented online, "It's a wake-up call to those worshipping his status. He's Atharian, and I'm sure you can see if he's patriotic or not.""Having a cat cannot justify his bullying. How could you all praise him for being kind just because he fed a cat? He bullied a person!""Can all of you stop worshipping his face and money? Radley is just a scumbag!"Aria's voice also sounded through the loudspeakers. "Did you all hear that? To those who blindly sympathize with him, please rethink your choices. You're sympathizing with a bully today, but
For example, the airport was in chaos because of Sam. To smooth things over, Aria even used Landon's connections to give the airport personnel a heads-up. Naturally, she also offered them some compensation, as the incident might disrupt flight schedules.As everyone online watched the people involved being apprehended, Gerald's schemes were rendered ineffective.Ivor was the first to be taken away, followed closely by Orson. Although the families were together, each case was handled by different departments and required separate investigations.Gerald was also summoned to his workplace for questioning. He was much more cunning and thoughtful than the others. As he had contributed to the country before, he didn't believe their family would get into any major trouble.The most troublesome issue was that Radley had claimed he was an Atharian on camera. Gerald needed to find a way to settle this.Before Gerald entered the car, he gripped the walking cane. "Sir, can I have a word wit
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