In the exclusive waiting room for honored guests at KCV News Station, Oscar tapped his fingers on the table. Occasionally, he wiped his forehead with a handkerchief, clearing away the beads of sweat that kept forming.“Mr. Oscar,” his assistant called from behind him.“What is it? More bad news?” Oscar asked, turning around.The word "more" was significant. From the moment he started his journey to the KCV News Station, he had been bombarded with bad news, all revolving around rumors of his involvement in a scandalous video that had gone viral.The assistant hesitated, not wanting to deliver yet another piece of bad news. Instead, he handed his phone to Oscar, letting him see for himself.Oscar glared at his assistant and snatched the phone.Displayed on the screen was a social media thread. The content was a barrage of gossip about Oscar, discussing his misdeeds since he became mayor.Of course, the main topic was the rumor of his involvement in the scandalous video. People seemed co

Oscar glared at his aide, his irritation palpable. He snatched the aide’s phone away roughly.His own phone was still ringing. Oscar ignored it for now, focusing on what was displayed on the screen of the aide's phone.His eyes widened. A thread on social media was spreading like wildfire, containing screenshots implicating Oscar in the viral scandalous video. It showed evidence of how he had asked Casey to trap Tony in the fake taxi.Oscar scoffed, feeling his blood boil. He wanted nothing more than to smash the phone and stomp on it.“What should we do, sir?” the aide asked. “If we don’t act quickly, this thread will spread and be seen by more netizens. Your situation will only get worse.”Oscar already knew that without his aide stating the obvious. But what should he do? Honestly, he had no idea.Ring! Ring!His phone's persistent ringing urged him to answer.Oscar glanced at his phone screen, sighed, and answered.“Hello, Hammond!” Oscar greeted.“Oscar, what’s going on? I just s

"Let go of my hand, Josephine," Tony said, glaring at his sister-in-law."No way! What do you think you're going to do to her? You're not a doctor, Tony. Stop pretending to be the most responsible person in front of us," Josephine retorted sarcastically.Tony clicked his tongue in frustration. Josephine talked as if she knew everything about him.He turned towards Jade, giving her a meaningful look.Jade looked confused. She knew Tony was seeking her support, but she could understand Josephine's concern. What could Tony possibly do?"Jade?" Tony tilted his head.Jade sighed, then looked at Josephine and said, "Let go of his hand.""Sis?" Josephine stared at Jade in disbelief."Let go of his hand, Josephine. Tony knows what he's doing," Jade said, trying to hide her worry.Josephine rolled her eyes, disappointed with Jade's defense of Tony. But she released her grip on Tony's hand.Tony lowered his hand again, directing it towards Esther's forehead."What are you going to do?" Esther a

Tony was just about to ask Josh what had happened at the hospital when his father-in-law abruptly ended the call.Frowning, Tony stared at his phone screen. He had a bad feeling about this.The taxi driver noticed the significant change in Tony’s expression but had to focus on driving. He was maneuvering the taxi at a speed above average on a fairly busy road.Tony was confused and anxious. If something bad had really happened at the hospital, and Jade was affected, he wanted to ask the taxi driver to detour to the hospital first. But if he did that, he might lose the thread maker he was currently tracking.It was a dilemma. He would feel guilty if he focused on chasing the thread maker and visited the hospital later.But there was a middle ground, and thankfully, Tony realized it. He glanced at his phone screen again, trying to call Jade.The ringing tone continued, but Jade didn’t answer. His anxiety worsened. He was increasingly convinced that something bad had indeed happened at t

That night, around eight o'clock, at the exit of the train station in downtown Karnaan.People were still milling about, though not as many as there had been a few hours earlier. A cold wind blew, sometimes with a sound that made anyone's chest tighten.Grain, moving cautiously, headed toward the nearby storage lockers. He glanced left and right repeatedly, ensuring no one was watching him.He shoved his hands into the pockets of his coat. A thick scarf was wrapped around his neck. The weather had turned extremely cold a few hours before, making Karnaan City feel like it was in the grip of winter.Walking steadily, Grain finally reached the storage lockers. Standing there, he searched for locker number 13. After spotting it, he glanced left and right again. Certain no one was watching, he crouched down and reached for the locker.The lockers were equipped with numbered buttons functioning as locks. Grain pressed the buttons in the order given in the last message from that scrawny yo