"Big bro, you've got to save me! I'm finished if you don't help me..."
Aria Grant furrowed her eyebrows as she listened to the anxious pleas from the other end of the phone.
"What's wrong, did you get yourself into trouble?"
There was a subtle chill in her voice.
She had met this guy only a few days ago by chance. He had never seen her face nor heard her real voice, which she had deliberately disguised to get him to help her inquire about her sister.
"Nothing much, I just owe some money, and now they're coming to collect. So..."
He seemed to be in a hurry as he was being chased, panting heavily and unable to speak clearly.
"Is it a lot of money?"
"Not much, just over 100,000 dollars..."
Upon hearing his shameless words, Aria sprayed out a mouthful of water, fortunately not on her computer.
"That's not a lot?"
"Bro, you have to save me this time. I got into this mess because I went deep into enemy territory for you. If you don't help me with the money, I won't tell you what I found."
Aria felt extremely uncomfortable upon hearing this. In her entire life, she hated being threatened by others. However, this person had indeed grasped her weakness.
"Stop right now and tell that person I'll help you pay off the debt. Give me their account number."
The man, with a look of relief on his face, stopped running. However, after waiting for more than ten minutes, Aria heard no response from the other end.
"Hey, did they beat you to death?"
"How can you say that, big bro? Obviously, that person ran too slow and couldn't catch up with me. I've been waiting here for so long, and they still haven't caught up."
Aria's lips twitched uncontrollably. This guy must have gotten himself beaten not only for owing money but also for being so annoying.
"Anyway, get their account number and send it to me. I'll help you pay off the debt. But if you don't give me what I want, I can still make your life miserable."
The man kept laughing and promised nonstop on the phone. Aria's lips curled into a cruel, vindictive smile.
"You better keep your word, or I won't mind seeing some blood."
After saying this, she hung up the phone.
"How could any man like you with such a temper, Aria Grant? Be a little gentler, okay? Help me find a dad, so I won't raise the teacher's suspicions in parent-teacher conferences in the future."
While eating a chocolate cake, Ivy Grant watched the stock market rates for the day and continued discussing potential candidates to be her father.
"You're still too young. Thinking too much can make you grow shorter. So, would you like to share half of the chocolate cake with Mom?"
"No, I won't. And don't try to deceive me with your lame lies. I'm not a three-year-old."
Aria stared at her clever, conniving daughter. If only she had taken advantage of Ivy's younger years to push her around, she wouldn't be losing every verbal battle with her now.
"By the way, I heard from Dean that you met your ex-boyfriend. Did that scumbag bully you?"
"Why does Dean tell you everything? And this matter is none of your business, don't ask about it again!"
Aria rarely gave such serious instructions to Ivy, but the less Ivy knew about this matter, the better. Now was not the right time for the two to meet.
Being scolded, Ivy kept silent and buried her head in eating the cake. Within a short time, she had finished it.
"Ivy Grant!"
No matter how loud Aria called, Ivy pretended not to hear. Her mother always used the excuse that she was too young and couldn't eat too many sweets, then would confiscate her snacks.
On one hand, the mother and daughter pair were having disagreements over a cake. On the other hand, George Flack was dealing with the crisis resulting from Sam Flack's disappearance.
"Still no news from that side? You should be able to find out where he had gone before he disappeared. Check all the places he went and the people he met these days. If you can't find anything, you can all quit!"
He usually wouldn't lose his temper this easily, but now his mind kept replaying the scene of Aria with that man, looking intimate.
She had returned, but there was another man by her side now, which made him extremely annoyed. Moreover, she was so close with that man that George nearly couldn't hold back his urge to beat him up.
Furthermore, Aria's attitude toward George was unbearable — both distant like a stranger and hateful. He couldn't understand why she still held a grudge against him. Was it because of that incident from years ago, which she still misunderstood?
At this time, Dean Taylor, who was being intimate with Aria, was reporting today's work and Ivy's background issue.
"Hmm? Ivy's biological father? They met him today? Does Ivy know who her real dad is?"
Dean wiped the nonexistent sweat from his face, even though the man wasn't around. He could still feel the immense pressure bearing down on him.
He really was innocent! He wasn't Ivy's father, so why was he suffering this undeserved pain?
"Yes, they met at a cocktail party today. However, Ivy doesn't know yet. Aria has been keeping this secret very well."
"Then you stay close to the mother and daughter and don't let George come near them. Since you said George doesn't know about Ivy's background, hide this information. If necessary, make up a story, just to confuse him."
Dean had a hard time not speaking out!
Was this something anyone should do? To prevent a father and daughter from acknowledging each other, let alone finding new ways to keep them apart? But he couldn't say anything because he was just an employee!
"Yes, I will arrange this matter well."
"And from now on, you must protect her 24/7 and not let other wild men get close to her, especially George. If you encounter him, give him a beating every time. You don't need to injure him badly; just disable him."
Was this not ruthless enough? How much hatred did it take to do this?
But he couldn't say anything. He could only agree and follow instructions.
This night was destined to be anything but peaceful since they didn't know that fate had already intertwined them together.
The next morning, Aria received the bank account number from the man as well as several urgent messages. Of course, he might have called, but she didn't see it since she always turned off her phone at night.
"Bro, if you don't transfer the money soon, I might die here!"
Aria had just transferred the money when she received a call from the man. His speed was astonishing.
"I was busy last night. Sorry about that. But now that I've paid your debt, you should give me what I want, right?"
She had never been one for doing good deeds anonymously; it wasn't her style. She always sought equal exchanges.
"That thing is not with me. It's with a friend of mine. I'll go get it and transfer it to you later!"
"Fine, but don't think about playing any tricks with me. My methods of torture are much more brutal than those of the casino gang."
The man on the phone shuddered in fear, swearing that he wouldn't deceive her.
It wasn't long before the man sent the information to the email address she specified. When she opened the email and began reading it page by page, she started to feel uneasy.
The email detailed the location of the incident involving her sister that day. Moreover, it also noted that her sister had indeed met George before the incident but what they had discussed remained a mystery.
However, one thing was for sure: her sister had encountered trouble not long after leaving the Flack family's residence.