Early in the morning, a few hours after Ana had rested, a soft knock came at the door.

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    Elena, who was helping Aliana get ready after her shower, immediately went to open it. She was slightly surprised to find a maid standing outside with a worried look on her face.

    “What is it?” Elena asked in a low voice, not wanting to disturb Aliana.

    The maid bowed politely before replying nervously, “Mr. Ethan Zavier is here and wishes to see Miss Aliana. He’s waiting in the sitting room.”

    Elena’s face turned pale instantly. Panic set in, and her expression grew tense. She turned toward Aliana, who was still calmly seated at her dressing table

    “Miss… Mr. Ethan is here. What should we do?”

    Elena’s voice trembled, clearly anxious about Ethan’s famously harsh and temperamental nature.

    Aliana lifted her head, her expression remaining calm and cold. She let out a slow breath, as if she had already anticipated her father’s visit.

    “Calm down, Elena. I was nning to call him anyway. Tell the staff to prepare him a drink. I’ll be down to see him shortly,” Aliana instructed in her signatureposed tone.

    Elena nodded quickly, then ryed Aliana’s orders to the maid. Once the maid left, Aliana turned to Elena with a serious gaze.

    *Elena, go see my father first. Keep himpany for a bit. Tell him I’m getting ready and will be down soon.”

    Elena hesitated immediately upon hearing Aliana’smand. She knew all too well how harsh and frightening Ethan Zavier could be when angry. She feared bing the target of his wrath.

    But despite her fear, Elena knew she had no other choice but to obey.

    “Y-Yes, Miss.”

    She gave a brief bow, then left the room.

    Still in the room, Aliana sat quietly at her vanity, continuing with her light makeup. Her mind raced, trying to guess the reason behind her father’s early morning visit.

    “Father wouldn’te so suddenly without an important reason,” Aliana murmured to herself, her eyes distant in deep thought.

    Suddenly, she remembered her conversation with Andrian the night before about the important Titan Group wote. She suspected Ethan’s anger must be rted to the oue of that vote. That was the only logical exnation for his threatening messages and unexpected visit.

    After finishing her makeup, Aliana slowly stood from her vanity chair, smoothed her morning gown, and took a deep breath to steel herself. She knew she would be facing Ethan’s fury-but she wouldn’t bow to it.

    Calmly, she walked toward the bedroom door, exiting with measured steps and descending the stairs to meet her father waiting in the sitting room.

    Her face was cold, her eyes burning with unwavering determination-ready to face whatever wasing.

    As Aliana entered the sitting room, the first thing she saw was Elena, standing with her head bowed in fear as Ethan scolded her harshly.

    “You’repletely ipetent at looking after Aliana! How could you let her get sick just from exhaustion? Do you think I allow you to live here just to be decoration?” Ethan barked, his voice sharp with restrained fury.

    “I’m sorry, sir,” Elena whispered weakly, bowing even lower. Her face was pale, clearly terrified by Ethan’s anger,

    14:36 Thu, 28 Aug ? A.

    Noticing Aliana’s presence, Ethan immediately turned toward her. His eyes, full of rage, narrowed with suspicion when he saw his daughter looking healthy and perfectly fine. He shot a sharp nce at the still-trembling Elena, then looked back at Aliana.

    “Elena said you were sick,” Ethan said in a low, scornful tone. “But you don’t look sick at all to me.”

    Aliana sat calmly in front of Ethan, showing no sign of fear.

    “Elena, and the rest of you,” she said to the servants in a t but firm voice, “leave us.”

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    Elena and the other maids quickly bowed and hurried out of the room. Once it was just the two of them, Aliana leaned back into the sofa, staring at her father withposed indifference.

    “Father, it’s not good to get so angry this early in the morning,” Aliana said nonchntly, as if unaffected by the tense atmosphere Ethan was creating.

    Ethan frowned, his expression growing sharper. “I asked you a direct question, Aliana. Were you really sick yesterday?”

    Aliana remained silent, offering no response.

    Ethan’s suspicion deepened. “Why didn’t you answer my calls or reply to my I’m too stupid to realize you were faking it?”

    Do you drech

    Aliana took a short breath and calmly replied, “I didn’t have the chance to check my phone.”

    Ethan scoffed in anger. He immediately knew Aliana was lying. He was well aware of her strong-willed nature-unlike Alicia, who had always been obedient. And being raised in a mafia family only strengthened his belief that Aliana had sneaked out of the Velor mansion without anyone’s permission.

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    of liana Aliano

    “Stop causing trouble, Aliana,” Ethan hissed in a low but sharp tone, his gaze piercing straight into Aliana’s face. “The current situation is already unfavorable for our family. Don’t act recklessly. Stop doing things that could escte the problems!”

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    Aliana finally spoke, her expression still cold andposed. “What exactly made youe this early in the morning and start yelling like this?”

    Ethan exploded at her calm question. He stood up, his face flushed red with anger he could no longer contain.

    “You’re absolutely useless, Aliana! If only would have happened!”

    you could act a little more sweetly like Alicia and win Andrian’s heart, none of the problems we’re facing today

    Aliana, who had remainedposed until now, instantly hardened her expression when her father mentioned Alicia. She straightened up, her gaze sharpening as she looked at Ethan.

    “Don’t drag Alicia into this conversation, Father! I knew my sister far better than you ever did!” Aliana snapped, her voice tight with restrained anger.

    Ethan was momentarily stunned by Aliana’s sudden change in demeanor, but quickly retorted with a tone just as sharp.

    “Andrian has officiallyunched his new project. Do you even realize the impact it will have on our family? Zavier Corporation is on the brink! Many of our most important business partners will be affected by your husband’s damn project! Since yesterday, I’ve been under pressure from all sides. They’re furious with me because Andrian keeps moving forward with this n!”

    Aliana remained silent, not responding immediately.

    Ethan growled, taking a breath before continuing. “I expected you to do something to stop your husband, to protect Zavier Corporation’s standing. But what have you done instead? You’re running around doing God-knows-what!”

    Aliana met her father’s re, hiding the fury that was now rising inside her.

    “I’ve told you many times before,” Aliana said in a cold, firm tone. “I’m not here for you or your business. Whatever happens to Zavier Corporation is your responsibility. Don’t involve me!”

    Ethan froze, stunned by Aliana’s boldness. He hadn’t expected his daughter to speak so harshly to him.

    “You truly are ungrateful!” Ethan finally spat. “You should be thankful you even got to marry Andrian Velor. At the very least, try to make yourself useful to this family!”

    “I won’t be your puppet,” Aliana replied icily, rising from her seat with a firm stance. “If you came here just to scold me and me me for my husband’s business decisions, you should leave now.”

    Ethan red at her, his face still red with rage. But he realized continuing the argument would be useless-especially with Andrian’s people likely keeping tabs on Aliana at the pavilion. He didn’t want to be the subject of gossip.

    “You’ll regret your attitude today, Aliana.” Ethan took a deep breath, growling low. “Don’t me me when you realize toote that you made a huge mistake by refusing to help your own family.”

    Without waiting for a response, Ethan turned and stormed out, leaving Aliana sitting upright, watching his departure with a cold stare.

    Aliana knew the situation wouldn’t improve anytime soon, but at least now Ethan understood that she didn’t take orders from anyone-not even him. Her only focus was to track down and take revenge on those who had hurt Alicia.

    After Ethan left, Aliana returned to her room and opened herptop to search for information about Andrian’s current project. She scoured several financial news portals and Titan Group’s official site-and just as she suspected, the project her father mentioned had been officially announced the night before.

    The project was the development of thergest and most innovative green energy center in Zenith-a major step by Titan Group to lead the sustainable energy revolution. It included the construction of the biggest sr panel facility, awork of wind turbines, and high-capacity battery storage capable of poweringrge-scale regions. ording to the article Aliana read, the project aimed to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and position Titan Group as a pioneer in the future energy sector.

    However, just as Ethan had said, the project was bound to generate controversy and resistance from traditional energypanies that had long been key partners of both Titan Group and Zavier Corporation.

    Many saw Andrian’s project as overly ambitious, expensive, and premature-posing a serious threat to the current stability of the energy market.

    Even so, Aliana sitently admitted to herself that Andrian’s project was actually excellent. In fact, she believed it was a cause worth fighting for. Andrian had a visionary mindset, the courage to take risks, and strategic thinking. But Aliana quickly pushed those thoughts aside, because her main focus right now wasn’t the Titan Group project or the state of the energy market.

    What filled her mind now was Bianca-who had shockingly been appointed by Andrian as his deputy in the major project he was leading. That only further proved how much influence and trust Andrian ced in Bianca-something that had always deeply unsettled Aliana.

    Andrian’s trust wasn’t just confined to thepany; it extended into matters deeply personal to him.

    Aliana clenched her fists tightly, her gaze turning dark and cold. She knew very well that as long as Bianca remained by Andrian’s side, it would be nearly impossible to touch or take down the woman. Andrian would always defend her, even if Bianca was clearly in the wrong.

    Aliana recalled how, not long ago, Bianca had spread vile nder by leaking a video of her and Rafe, making it look like she was having an affair. Even though it was clearly one of Bianca’s deceitful schemes, Andrian had still chosen to protect her. That was solid proof of just how deeply he cared for

    Bianca.

    Aliana’s anger red once more, remembering Bianca’s cruel tactics. She suspected that Bianca had always used dirty tricks to eliminate any woman close to Andrian-including Alicia. Her desire to destroy Bianca grew even stronger.

    “I’ll erase you soon enough,” Aliana muttered bitterly.

    Suddenly, a vivid image of Alicia’s death shed through her mind. She clearly remembered Alicia’s body, burnt and nearly unrecognizable after her car exploded from crashing into a ravine.

    A tight pain filled Aliana’s chest. She couldn’t ept that her sister had to leave the world in such a tragic way.

    Her rage intensified. Now, she no longer cared about the risks. If she couldn’t bring Bianca to justice openly, the only path left was to end her life in secret -without anyone knowing.

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    In the silence, a horrifying idea formed, making Aliana’s heart pound with vengeance and bloodlust.

    She thought of eliminating Bianca through the identity of Nyx, the cold-blooded assassin known in the criminal underworld.

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    A slow smile curled on Aliana’s lips. She whispered, “If I can’t destroy Bianca openly, then I’ll eliminate her secretly-in a brutal, cruel, and excruciating way. Bianca will feel a pain no one ever imagined before.”

    With unwavering resolve, Aliana closed herptop. She stared at her reflection in the vanity mirror, her eyes zing with hatred.

    “will avenge your death, Alicia.”

    Aliana’s thirst for vengeance against Bianca was now non-negotiable. She would make Bianca pay for every tear Alicia shed and for every suffering she

    endured before her death.

    Aliana stood with burning determination in her heart. She knew it wouldn’t be easy to go against Bianca, who was now shielded by Andrian’s protection. But as Nyx, Aliana knew no limits. She would n everything meticulously-then strike.

    Bianca might never know who took her life. But Aliana would make sure she knew exactly why she had to die-to atone for every sin and cruelty she hadmitted against Alicia.

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