Arianne’s denial was intuitive. “No! It wasn’t him, it’s got nothing to do with him! If mob consensus is enough to proclaim anyone as guilty or not, then what do we need the law for?! Look, I get that you’re his friend and this is something you must do, but Mateo’s fate saddens me too…”Geralt scanned her quickly. “Hmm, I can tell. The case is weighing you down, which begs the question: why? Is it only because Teo liked you? Deep down inside, you must be afraid as well, aren’t you? Afraid of the possibility that Mr. Tremont was the one behind it?” he said. “You’re on a spiraling track into the eye of the storm, aren’t you? You feel guilty… thinking that Teo’s death is related to you.”Was Geralt trying to bait her?The realization of his intention propelled Arianne to recover her composure. Deadpanned, she replied, “You people of forensic science have quite a unique way of expressing yourself, don’t you? And you guys are really adept at holding yourself together without a crack on y

Arianne was in so much pain that she couldn’t but grimace; she could feel her warm blood flowing downwards from her cheek. Soon, a red “flower” bloomed on the front part of her shirt, near her chest.Then, Arianne realized that her handbag was nowhere to be seen. ‘My phone’s in there, so it seems that I won’t even be able to call for help. Also, the acoustics in this basement must be very good based on its structure, so nobody will probably be able to hear me even if I shout as loud as I can. Furthermore, even if the Rodriguezes do hear me, I doubt anyone’s going to save me. They’re probably only going to torture me even more.’ Mrs. Rodriguez was in a crazed state when she found a fruit knife and forcefully pressed Arianne against the floor. Then, she gritted her teeth as she said, “My Teo’s thumb has been chopped off, so you’re going to suffer the same as him!”Arianne’s forehead broke into beads of cold sweat. ‘Mrs. Rodriguez is so strong, I can’t seem to wring free no matter how

Mark frowned when he saw the shocking wound on Arianne’s face. His tone also became panicked as he said, “What happened to you?! Where did you go? What happened?”Arianne did not dare to meet his gaze and could only lower her head as she calmly said, “I fell, hence the wound. I didn’t ignore your call on purpose. I lost my handbag, including my phone, wallet, and some other stuff. I’m sorry… for making you worry, but I’m fine.”Mark was no fool. He could tell whether or not the wound on Arianne’s face was due to a fall after looking a little more closely. “Tell me the truth, don’t lie to me. I’m very clear with your character. Who else would be more clear than me about your tells when you lie?”Arianne had expected Mark not to believe her, so she pretended to be calm as she dragged Mark back to the bedroom. Then, she whispered in his ear as she said, “I said that because I was afraid that Mary would be worried. Truth is, my handbag wasn’t stolen. Actually, I was robbed, and the woun

Soon after, a group of security guards rushed to the garage. Inevitably, there would be some form of physical struggle during the process. However, some of the paparazzi actually took the opportunity to record the process and then state that the security guards were “exerting violence” on them, reporting live that Mark was allowing his men to do so on purpose.Arianne felt both angry and helpless. ‘Would they even listen to our explanation if we were to talk nicely? Would they be willing to leave after that? The only choice is to act, but the moment that’s done, they’ll treat it as violence. What the h*ll do they want?!’While Arianne remained frozen, there were numerous times where she resisted her own urge to get out of the car to argue with the paparazzi. ‘It’d be better to let the matter die out on its own. The moment I get out of the car, the situation will only get even more out of hand.’After struggling for a long time, the paparazzi were finally chased out of the garage. Th

Arianne did not reply to what Melanie had just said. ‘I’ll definitely feel some kind of mental pressure since the matter happened close to me.’The weather was pretty humid that day, and feeling a little suffocated, Arianne took off her mask.The moment the scar on Arianne’s face showed, Melanie asked in shock, “What happened to your face? I was wondering why you were wearing a mask even under this hot summer’s day, but I just thought you were down with the flu and didn’t want your son to get infected!”Arianne determined that there was no need to hide her face from Melanie, since the latter definitely would not tell Mark anything. “If I told you that I was abducted by Mateo’s mom, would you believe me? I almost died in her hands and it was Mateo’s friend, Geralt, who saved me. Geralt’s the medical examiner who verified the finger belonging to Mateo; you might know him. Mark doesn’t know about this matter. I didn’t dare tell him because I don’t intend to pursue the matter.”Melanie