Back in the apartment, Freya locked herself in her room.

Although she said she wanted to leave, when it actually came to it, she still felt sad and reluctant to do so.

After spending time with Bradley, she had been touched by his sincerity, and had even prepared herself to marry him.

It was not easy for her to let go just like that.

Lying on the bed, she hesitated for a moment before turning on her phone.

As she expected, there were dozens of missed calls and texts from Bradley.

She carefully read each one.

They were all explanations, and they paled in comparison to reality.

He said nothing had happened between her and Juliet, and that he was already investigating the matter with results to come soon.

Freya did not want to read them anymore and was prepared to turn off her phone when another message popped up on her phone.

It was a task reminder.

She threw the phone aside and picked up her computer, logging into the chat.

A message from Michael popped up.

Michael: Poppy, there have been changes to the plan to work with Austin Corporation tonight.

Poppy: ?

Michael: Bradley Austin has an additional condition. If you can help him resolve an issue, he will sign the contract with Cloudstone Corporation tonight.

Freya: What condition?

Michael: He didn't specify the details, just that he asked you to give him a call. He will discuss it with you over the phone.

Soon, Michael shared Bradley's phone number with her.

Freya knew that this number was not Bradley's personal number, but his work number.

She pursed her lips as hesitance rose in her.

Although she was supposed to meet him tonight, she did not want to hear his voice right now.

Michael noticed that she had not replied for a long time and sent another message.

Michael: Poppy, if you can complete this deal over the phone, I can arrange for you not to meet him tonight."

Not meeting him…

Freya thought for a moment and typed a reply.

Poppy: Ok. Can I skip the evening celebration?

Michael: Poppy, you can avoid meeting Bradley, but I would like to meet you.

Freya initially wanted to refuse, but then thought that she might leave tomorrow, so she did not reject the request.

Poppy: Okay. See you tonight.

With that typed out, Freya then logged off.

She sat on the bed for a long time, hesitating, before finally grabbing her phone and called Bradley with her personal number.

Her heart raced rapidly, thumping so loudly that even she could hear it.

"Hello?"

A male voice came through the receiver, making Freya anxious, but the next second, she breathed a sigh of relief.

That was because the person who answered the phone was not Bradley.

"Hello, I'm Poppy. I'm looking for Mr. Austin."

Freya used a voice changer on her phone so that others would not recognize her voice.

The person on the other end told her to wait a moment before a familiar deep man's voice came through the receiver. "This is Bradley Austin."

Freya's heart rate soared high again. After not hearing his voice for a day, the sudden appearance of his voice in her life caused her to feel rather upset.

She centered herself and said, "I hear that you're asking for my help. If I can solve the problem for you, are you willing to sign a contract with Cloudstone Corporation?"

"Yes," he casually replied.

"What do you need?"

"You are a legend in the hacking world. I have a video that has been tampered with, and I need your help to restore it."

Freya was startled. What video?

Before she could speak, he coldly continued, saying, "Of course, this involves my personal privacy. I hope you will abide by professional ethics and not disclose any information. If you can do that, I will personally deliver the contract to you tonight."

"No need. The later collaboration will be handled by you and the person in charge of Cloudstone Corporation. I can help you restore the video, but the meeting between us tonight is cancelled."

"Deal." Bradley readily agreed.

With both parties reaching an agreement, Freya soon received a document.

"The celebration ends before 10:00 p.m. tonight. I hope you can get it done by then," Bradley said as a last reminder.

"Okay, I will send the video to your email as soon as it is restored. Remember to check it," she replied.

After that, she immediately hung up without another word.

It was not until then that she realized her palms were sweaty.

Even though it was just a phone conversation, she was extremely nervous. Luckily, she used a voice changer. Otherwise, she would have definitely been exposed as soon as she spoke.

After calming herself down, Freya immediately opened the video and surprisingly discovered that it was surveillance footage from the villa.

The footage showed her and Bradley rushing into Juliet's bedroom for the first time upon hearing a loud noise. Then, the scene of Juliet falling off the bed, all of which seemed normal.

However, later on, there was no footage of Bradley going crazy and pinning her against the couch or when she headed out to buy sanitary products.

If things happened as Juliet said, that Bradley had done the deed with her, why was there no surveillance footage of the act?

That could only mean one thing.

The surveillance had been tampered with.

Freya carefully observed the footage and was surprised to find traces of its edit.

Although the timing was seamless, she still found many issues.

Suddenly curious, Freya wondered what had been deleted.

Was Juliet lying, or... Did something really happen between Bradley and Juliet?

As slender fingers tapped on the keyboard, Freya immersed herself in the task.

She kept herself busy until night when Ella knocked on her door.

"Freya, the Cloudstone Corporation celebration is about to start. We can start making our way."

"Just a moment. I'm almost finished."

At that moment, her phone rang.

It was a call from Bradley.

Freya ignored it, and after the ringing stopped, messages started coming in.

She glanced at the screen and read one of the messages.

Bradley: Freya, I will explain everything in person to you tonight.

Freya paused and hesitated for a moment before she replied to him.

Freya: I won't be going with you tonight. Find someone else.

After sending the message, she turned off her phone.

Until the investigation was over, she did not want to answer his calls.

Ella called out to her once more. "Freya, we're going to be late. Are you done?"

Freya stared at the video on the screen and replied, "Ella, come in."

Soon, Ella came in. Upon noticing that Freya had not gotten changed or put on makeup, she could not help but feel a little anxious.

"Freya, don't you plan to attend the celebration?"

"No, I received a last-minute task. It's almost done."

Ella glanced at the screen. There were 45 minutes left to completion, which was an impossible task.

"How about you get ready and head to the hotel? I'll watch this for you and send it to you once it's done."

Freya thought about it. She did promise to meet Michael. It would be bad to be late to their first meeting.

Thus, she decided to let Ella watch over her laptop. Ella was a renowned hacker and would not be daunted by this small task.