"They're just being polite, it's not like they're asking you to report it."Such messages were not received in Apthon before. Every city has its dark secrets, as long as it doesn't surface into the light, only a small number of people are aware of it.However, a few incidents recently occurred in Apthon, particularly a heinous act where a woman was openly assaulted, and some kind of criminal force was involved.This incident had gained nationwide attention, resulting in heightened vigilance. This hotel seemed to be boldly flouting the law.Lucian furrowed his brows. His stern gaze was fixated on Calista. In this moment, the authority and pressure of one in power were vividly displayed by Lucian."If I can investigate, surely others can as well. If they dare to do something like this, they certainly have backers."Calista knew this. Otherwise, she wouldn't have changed her SIM card before making the call. However, she must've been too content with her life, as she had grown compla
Calista's eyes twitched as she saw the thing in Lucian's hand. She was both embarrassed and angered. She reached out to push him."Lucian, you bastard, get out!"She exerted quite a large force. When she pushed Lucian away, she moved forward a few steps due to inertia.He subconsciously held onto her waist. But he forgot that he was wearing disposable hotel slippers.The friction between the sole of the slipper and the carpet was greater than regular shoes, and they didn't fit snugly.As he moved forward, one of his slippers slipped off. He stumbled forward and lost his balance. And both of them tumbled to the bed.The bed in the five-star hotel was soft and bouncy. When they fell, they bounced off slightly again with the momentum. The back of Calista's head was cupped by Lucian, with her cheek tightly pressed against his chest.Underneath the fabric, she could feel his tense muscles and the scorching warmth of his skin. And his hand, which was still holding the toy, was press
Lucian leaned lazily against the wall with his arms crossed. His shirt opened wider with his movements, making the two red marks on his chest glaringly obvious."You're about to turn thirty, or to exaggerate a bit, almost forty. How can you still ask such innocent questions? I'm here because I slept here last night."If Paul was still able to maintain his composure as a gentleman earlier when the door was opened, now his expression had completely changed. His brows furrowed tightly, filled with an indifferent reproach."You took advantage of her?""Could it be that it was mutual consent between us? Paul, back when you refused to help her, you were already out of the picture. You have no chance with her anymore. Your persistence is going to wear off her impression on you during childhood sooner or later."Even though Paul knew what Lucian said only represented his personal opinion, he couldn't control his emotions. He grabbed onto Lucian's open collar, and finally, those glaring re
In this world, there were places with dark secrets beyond northern Myian. For someone like Calista, even if she were to be trafficked, her destination would be a wealthy country. She would be forced to engage in the dark web auctions—this was where the affluent individuals gathered. Sometimes, just one round of bidding could earn a fortune. Calista's dreams of being trafficked to northern Myian were purely influenced by the visuals of those videos. But the dark web was different, ordinary people only knew it was terrifying.But they weren't aware of how terrifying it was. There weren't any concrete images to draw inspiration from, so it was impossible to dream about it. Calista was dumbstruck. She ignored Lucian and lifted the covers to go to the bathroom to freshen up. After around ten minutes, only did she come out.The expression on her face was already back to normal. Only the rims of her eyes were slightly red, but it wasn't that obvious if no one paid close attention t
Calista lifted her head.Behind this street, which was overshadowed by the tourist hotspot, the shops facing the street didn't sell anything particularly appealing.Therefore, foot traffic was scarce. Given the wide street, it was highly unlikely that these two people were blocking her way for any other reason.After holding her breath all day, she finally let it out slowly."Who are you?""Ms. Everhart, our boss would like to meet you."Thanks to that faceless guy, she now associated the word 'boss' with his face."I don't know who you are, and I have no idea who your 'boss' is."After saying this, she turned to leave. The man was about to grab her, but a group of tourists approached from a distance. There were about a dozen people, so he retracted his hand and smiled apologetically."Sorry, I didn't express myself clearly. It's Ms. Simmons who asked us to invite you. She said she and your mother were old friends. Last night, she saw someone who looked somewhat like you at th
The expression of the two men in the car stiffened the moment they laid eyes on the person before them. They gritted their teeth."Fuck, why is this jinx here? Didn't Noah hold him back?"Initially, their kidnapping was planned last night. But they were forced to put everything to a stop because they were stopped by Liam Montgomery, a hitman who was hired to protect Calista.Although they weren't sure whether they were just being unlucky or Liam had been following Calista, today they had split into two groups. Upon arriving, they confirmed that he was indeed tailing them. Noah led a group to divert his attention, while they planned to abduct Calista.The guy in the passenger seat was still exclaiming, "How did he end up following her? Could it be that they already found out on their end?"Liam's features were cold and stern, making him seem like a drawn sword.The driver suddenly jerked the steering wheel, attempting to pass by from the side. In just a few minutes, he began to
Admittedly, he wanted to throw a tantrum.When Calista mentioned her plan to lure the snake to reveal its hiding place last night, he disagreed.However, it seemed this woman wasn't even consulting him for advice at all; she had already made up her mind. She had only informed him for added security.He said he would consider it, but she wasn't willing to wait that long either. Unfortunately, he had an urgent meeting that afternoon and had to leave for a few hours.Never would he have thought that this would be enough time for things to go south at this critical moment.Nevertheless, seeing Calista leaning there weakly, her eyes red and teary as she stared at him, he couldn't bring himself to lash out at her.Lucian pursed his lips. He gulped, reluctantly suppressing his anger.He began coldly, "Have you always been this stubborn?"She was then, and she still is now."If you think there's something fishy about Mom's death, I can very well investigate for you. You didn't need to
Had it been any other matter, Lucian could have investigated it himself. There wouldn't have been a need for Paul's input. However, this was something he had no way of finding out on his own.It was about Calista's inner thoughts, something only she could reveal. So, besides Yara, Paul was probably the only person who knew.The former was her bosom friend and the latter was his best buddy, as well as their intermediary. While he hesitated, Paul seized the opportunity and dragged Lucian out of the room.As soon as the door clicked shut, his hand dropped, and he turned toward his room next door. Lucian wasn't mad. It was all within his expectations.He raised an eyebrow and said, "Aren't we going for a drink?"Paul didn't look back."We've already fallen out like this. What's the point of a drink? You may have the nerve to help yourself, but I can't bring myself to buy you something."It was nothing more than an excuse to lure Lucian out of Calista's room."What impression did Ca