The bmovie /bbwas /bbgripping/bb, /bbut as bthey /bbstepped /boutb, /bJordan’s phone rang. His subordinate’s voice crackled bthrough /b“Monroe bgot /bbAnna /band Andrew bout/b.

    “bUnderstood/bb./bb” /bJordan’s tone was calmb, /balmost as if he’d expected this. He hung up and met Ste’s gaze. “You heard bthat/bb, /bbdidn’t /byoub?/bb” /b

    bShe /bnodded before he could apologize. “It’s fine. Don’t worry about my reaction. We don’t have enough evidence against them byet/b, band /bwe’ve done what we could. They slipped away this time, but that doesn’t mean I won’t find another way.”

    “Still… I’m sorry,” Jordan murmured.

    Ste waved it off. “Look, over there. I want to check out those clothes.”

    With a quiet smile, Jordan followed her lead.

    Ste had always suspected that Anna wasn’t acting alone. Locked in her room, she hunched over herptop, digging through digital trails.

    Three years wasn’t that long ago, but erasing all traces of a crime? That was entirely possible.

    Shebed through surveince records from the day of her kidnapping, but the footage was either corrupted or missing entirely. Even her best recovery attempts hit dead ends.

    Ste kept her eyes locked on the screen, analyzing. Then it struck her–she could dig into Anna’s trail. If Anna had a backer, there’d bemunication between them.

    Ste’s fingers flew across the keyboard as she attempted to breach Anna’s device, only to be blocked almost instantly.

    Ste mused, ‘Someone’s watching. Closely.‘ Whoever it was had reflexes sharp enough to detect her intrusion the moment she made a move. ‘What do they want? And what is their connection to Anna?‘

    Before she could probe further, a new email notification shed ion /iher screen. She clicked it open.

    [After all this time, aren’t you even a little curious about who Jordan really is?]

    The sender was the same as before, anonymous, taunting. Ste typed back: [Why does it matter? Do I know you? Why should I trust a word you say?]

    The reply came secondster: [Just looking out for you. Wouldn’t want iyou /ito get trapped without realizing it.]

    She fired off another response, but the system bounced it back, and the recipient blocked further messages. She tried tracing the IP, but the trail vanished like smoke.

    Ste wasn’t arrogant enough to call herself the world’s best hacker, but she was damn close. Yettely, it felt like elite yers were crawling out of the woodwork.

    ‘What kind of mess am I tangled in?‘ The harder she pulled at the threads, the tighter the iknot /ibecame.

    For once, Ste slept through the night. The pain still gnawed at her, but it wasn’t the agony that used to ikeep /iher awake. Dawn brought ba /bclear head–and unfinished business.

    bShe /bneeded bto /bbtell /bbJordan /bbabout /bst bnight’s /bbdiscoveries/bb, /bbbut /bbbefore /bbshe /bbcould/bb, /bbhis /bbphone /brang. His assistant b& /burgent cone sent him rushin out the bdoor /bwith bbarely /bba /bbgoodbye/b.

    bLater/bb, /bbthen/b, Ste thought.

    bToday /bwas the grand reopening of her supermarket. Theunch had been dyed after her “ident,” and now, every bminute /bcounted

    Before leaving, she reminded Mary firmly, “Stay inside today. No unnecessary outings, understood?”

    The grand opening was set for 9:58 AM. At the gship location near the business district, Ste cut the ribbon to cheers from ban /bimpressive crowd. The turnout was better than expected for a weekday morning.

    N, her trusted assistant, stood beside her, visibly moved. “After months of renovations, sourcing materials, and preparations, we’re finally open. The turnout is incredible. This is a good sign.”

    Ste smiled, pleased by the enthusiastic response, especially since they’d chosen a weekday rather than a holiday for theunch.

    N checked her tablet. “A lot of people n to swing by during lunch. We’ll see another surge then, and the evening rush should hit its peak around dinner.”

    “Make sure the staff inside keeps everything running smoothly,” Ste reminded her.

    N nodded.

    Unlike typical corporate strategies, Ste hadn’t poached high–level managers frompetitors. Instead, she’d recruited capable but overlooked talent from ordinary positions, promoting them directly within her new venture. N admired her unconventional thinking. It was one of the many reasons she respected Ste.

    Then,motion erupted near the entrance. N gestured for Ste to stay back and hurried over to handle it.

    When she returned, her expression was tight. “It was Lionel. He was shouting about our products being counterfeit, spreading all kinds of damaging rumors. I called the police, but he bolted as soon as he heard me dial.”

    Ste had heard about Lionel’s recent downfall. After failing to secure a loan, he’d turned to gambling, only to drown further in debt.

    She felt no sympathy. Some people forged their own ruin. Lionel had spent years making ruthless choices; karma was just collecting its due.

    Not long after, another troublemaker arrived, this time from the Quinn family. But Ste’s team handled them swiftly.

    Later, outside Hayes Group’s headquarters, Lionel spotted Ste and lunged for her, his fingers digging into her arm. His eyes were wild with terror. “Ste, please. You have to help me!

    “You’re my only hope. They’ll carve me up for parts if I don’t pay. I can’tb! /bI’m scared-”

    N moved to intervene, but Ste raised a hand, stopping her. Lionel’s grip was painful, but she didn’t flinch. She stared at him, her gaze

    icy.

    “You were my only hope once,” Ste said, her voice low. “Then you crushed it yourself. Do you have any idea what that feels like? No. bBut /bI can give you a taste. How much do you owe?”

    Lionel, too desperate to think straight, took her words at face value. “Ny million. No, wait, a hundred and fifty million,” he blurted.

    “Fine. Give me your ount details,” Ste said.

    Lionel’s face lit up with manic relief. He fumbled for his phone, hands shaking as he pulled up his banking app. “Here! It’s right here-” He thrust the screen toward her like a lifeline.