Chris's cousin, the daughter of his paternal aunt, grew up in Australia.

Since his aunt had severed ties with Steven a long time ago, Chris had not had many opportunities to see Wendy. As far as he could remember, his cousin was still just an innocent and ignorant little girl.

If Wendy had not been part of the student exchange program which allowed her to finish one year of her studies in the University of Arlington, and if his aunt had not specifically requested him to look after Wendy, Chris would not have the slightest idea that Wendy Moore had now grown into a fine young lady.

As a matter of fact, the young lady's words just now had struck him right in the heart.

The fact that a woman could make him jealous was a sign that he had genuinely fallen for that woman. But what about those "relationships" of his in the past, the ones that did not incite any feelings of jealousy in him at all? Did those even count?

"In the past, you were just looking for someone to spend your boring nights with," Wendy said, once again hitting the nail right on the head. "It's true that you've only just discovered your true love now, but I still don't think it's too late for you to do something about it. I mean, just imagine if you find out that you love her when she's already married to someone else. That's what I'd call a tragedy."

Love?

That word had made Chris's mind go blank for a moment.

He pinched his cousin's cheek. "You're still so young, and yet you're giving me a lecture on love and relationship? Now, spill. How many times have you been in a relationship before?"

Wendy gave him a tight-lipped smile. "Not even once! But... I've had a lot of chance to observe many of your relationships."

Chris laughed at that comment instead of getting mad. He reached out and feigned another attempt to pinch Wendy's face. Like an agile little monkey, she dodged his hands before running off.

Meanwhile, Freya found Candy at the banquet hall. She told Candy that she was leaving first.

"Miss Norris, why are you leaving so early?" A man came up and grabbed Freya's arms. "I haven't even introduced myself to you yet. From now on, I'm your go-to guy in this line of business. If there's any help you need in the future, you can always come to me. I'll settle any matter for you, big or small!"

The middle-aged man's expression right then clearly read "I'm the most awesome guy in the entire world". To any debutante of showbiz, the man's offer was like the sweetest kind of treat.

Men, however, would not offer you a treat without expecting something in return; this was especially true in the showbiz.

Freya knew these things far too well. She smiled at the man, "Mr. Dawn, I know you." "We should catch up next time. Something came up, so I have to take my leave first."

Mr. Dawn could only watch as Freya's figure vanished through the entrance of the banquet hall. After a moment, he smiled to himself, satisfied; since she already knew him, she would know just how influential he was in this business. He believed that Freya would come to him in the future.

Little did he know that Freya had only caught a glimpse of his name on the list of the show's sponsors. A coincidence, that was how she remembered the man. She did not look him up on purpose, nor did she know much about him at all.

After leaving the hotel, Freya headed straight for the carpark, where she retrieved her car and drove home.

The red Ferrari sped along the streets; the street lights on both sides morphed into streaks of glowing light, which swept past her eyes in a series of glimmers.

Chris's words just now had stirred up a tidal wave within the depths of her heart.

Although she dared not take Chris's words to mean "things are still possible between us", she could no longer suppress the joy in her heart.

At least Chris was still talking to her; that, per se, was already great news.

"I, Freya, am revived!" She thought.

The moment she got home, Freya gave Mr. Norris a huge hug.

"Crazy girl," Mr. Norris laughed. "Can't believe you're back from a dinner party this early. What a rare sight, indeed!" In the past, Freya would have fun until the party ended.

"You're the one who said that I've grown up," Freya said, chuckling. "Grown-up children should come home early, sleep early, and wake up early. Oh, and they should also exercise more."

"Is that so?" Mr. Norris said. "Then hurry up and take a shower. Your old man can't stand the perfume you're wearing. Seriously, those are just stuff that the foreigners use to conceal their body odor, and yet you people use it every day to suffocate old people like us."

"You just don't get it, old man. The use of perfume had long since gone beyond that. They aren't merely remedies for body odor. They are critical to any modern young woman!" Freya said. "Whatever. I'm too lazy to explain anything to you, anyway. I'll go take a shower. After that, I'll come down and play chess with you."

Mr. Norris watched as his daughter walked upstairs as if she had springs on her feet. Finally, a happy smile formed on his face.

Ever since she moved back home, Freya had not once been to the get-togethers thrown by those trashy friends of hers. Other than the occasional meet-ups with Joanne, most of her time had been spent in keeping him company. During this time, Freya had been speaking in her usual cheeky, teasing tone and had been continually smiling, too. But as her father, he knew that his daughter was not truly happy.

But today, after her return from the party, it was apparent to him that the old Freya was back.

Regardless of the reason, Mr. Norris felt honest-to-God happy. After all, there was only one reason he had spent nearly half of his life adrift in the ocean that was the business world: to make his daughter happy.

Still, the world was a vast place, and unhappy people were everywhere.

These unhappy people chose to hang out at a bar that night.

This bar, in particular, had its origin in the United States, where it had been a small pub used back in the old days as a gathering spot for the cowboys and pirates. That might also be why the bar had a relaxing air to it and was also filled with possibilities for nights of passion.

Ava was here with the same goal in mind as most men- to hunt for prey.

After the collapse of Bennett Enterprise, her parents were too ashamed to remain in Arlington; they moved south, into a city where nobody knew them. Ava had stubbornly remained in Arlington.

She was born and bred here. Whenever she spoke of Arlington as being her city of birth, her voice would be filled with pride. Besides, she was the daughter of the Bennett Family, which meant that her life was mostly associated with the city's upper class. Even from a young age, she was surrounded by affluence and had been living the life of a princess.

Having been thrown into sudden poverty, Ava was naturally dissatisfied. She wanted to find another man for support, regardless of age and appearance; the man could be young, old, handsome, or as ugly as a pig, and she would not even care. She would be willing as long as he had money as well as the ability to bring her back into upper society.

She did not expect to run into Mia the first thing she got here. Mia was Joanne's step-sister.

Mia had been arrested and thrown into jail after creating a scene back at the charity party. That incident had tainted her reputation considerably. As a result, she had now become a joke within her social circle. She had even gotten a new moniker, "the prison socialite".

Mia blamed it all on Joanne. She had been living in Joanne's shadow ever since she moved into the Scott Family. Considering all this, Ava figured that Mia's hatred of Joanne would not be any less than her own.

Ava sat down across from Mia. Without preamble, she asked Mia if she still hated Joanne.

"How can I not hate her? My mother and I hate her to death!" Mia gulped down half a glass of beer. "But what is there to do? Right now, she is under Brian's protection. Even my mom had warned me not to mess with her. We can't afford to piss off Brian."

Ava thought for a moment. "But what if she's no longer protected by Brian?"

Mia raised her head quickly. "What do you mean?"

Ava smiled, "I've been thinking about this plan for a long time." With that, she brought her lips closer to Mia's ear and told the latter her plan.

When she was done, Ava added one final thought, "The only flaw in this plan is that it can only be executed at the right time. The problem is that there's no way for us to predict when exactly the right time will come."

Mia could not deny that Ava had a good plan, but-

"It seems difficult for me to do it alone."

"I can help you on one condition." Ava lit a cigarette and took a long pull from it. Rims of smoke emerged from the corner of her lips. "Introduce a rich man to me. I don't care about anything else as long as he has money. I'm willing to do anything."

Mia had heard about the main reason behind the fall of the Bennett Family as well as Ava's disappearance from the city's socialite circle. Now seeing Ava's look of hatred, Mia could no longer hold back her curiosity. "Is it really like what people are saying, that you're in this state because you've messed with Joanne and pissed off Brian?" Mia asked.

"Well, there's no use in hiding anything from you at this point. It all began when I tried to run over Joanne with my car. And then..." Ava told Mia everything.

Mia felt a surge of fear after hearing Ava's account. Brian was willing to take things that far just because Joanne had sprained her wrist. If she...

"What, you scared?" Ava laughed derisively. "You seriously thinking about seeking revenge on Joanne with that measly courage of yours? Look, not only did she throw your ass into jail, she even sent your mom in there as well. Don't you feel any resentment at all?"

Mia was young after all; she could not bear to have herself slighted by her peers like this. She took a deep breath and lifted her chin. "Who says I'm scared? We're not even going to touch Joanne this time, so we have no need to fear Brian."

Ava laughed coldly. "Now that's more like it. I want to see how Joanne can still be jumping around without Brian protecting her."

In her head, Mia pictured Joanne looking all pathetic and pitiful. Mia could not help but laugh as well.

Joanne was utterly oblivious to the fact that a scheme was now enclosing her like a web; on the contrary, she thought that her life was slowly returning to normal.

Freya had pulled herself together and was now preparing for the Top Model competition with single-minded focus. Joanne could tell that Freya had become happier. When Joanne asked Freya about it, Freya had played coy for a long time before finally telling her the truth.

Joanne felt happy for Freya from the bottom of her heart. Freya said, "I wish the same for you and Brian, that things between you two will get better and better."

The only response Joanne could give to that was a smile.

Joanne honestly had no idea if things were getting any better between her and Brian. All she knew was that she was finding it harder and harder to leave Brian.

That night, she was pulled from her dreams by the ringing of her phone on the nightstand. It was Captain Turner calling to inform her of a murder case in a small district on the west side of the city. It was an emergency duty call.

She got out of bed and made herself presentable as quickly as possible. By right, she should not have woken Brian. Still, he was already awake when she came out.

"I'll drive you there," he said. "It's not safe for you to drive alone at this hour."

"It's okay," Joanne said after she noticed the fatigue on his face. "You still have work tomorrow. Go back to bed. I'll manage on my own."

Knowing that she was rushing for time, Brian did not bother with anymore conversation. Without further ado, he dragged her downstairs. Joanne had no choice but to comply.

Brian steered the car. "In the past, did you always get called to a crime scene during the middle of the night?"

"Actually, no," Joanne said. "The station had several medical examiners. I'm the youngest among them, so everyone's kind of pampering me, which is why I'm not usually involved in hard labor like this. I think today's a special case since Shawn, and the others have their hands full."

Brian stepped down on the accelerator, and the car picked up speed. He drove Joanne to the district as quickly as possible.

The crime scene was located in Block 14, around which the lights were all lit. Joanne unbuckled her seat belt. "Don't you own an apartment in the CBD? Don't waste your time and energy driving home. Go back to the apartment and get a few hours of sleep," she said.

"Mm," Brian answered. "Go do your thing."

Joanne nodded. She ducked under the barricade tape after flashing her ID. After that, she went upstairs.

It was already past 3:00am by the time she was done. She, Captain Turner, and a group of her colleagues came down from the block. Having been trained in a criminal investigation, Hannah had the sharpest eyes among them. "Hey," Hannah said. "Joanne, did your Mr. Brian bring you here?"

Joanne had a sudden feeling about something. She turned around, and indeed, Brian's car was still parked there. "He didn't leave?!" She thought.

What if she was not done until the next morning? Was he planning to stay here for the whole night?