Chapter 71

King Tiki’s glowing blue eyes darted between the two, who pressed close together. Then, bouncing around excitedly, he chanted, “Kiss! Kiss!”

Shermaine thought to herself, ‘Honestly, I’m starting to regret upgrading this thing!’

Joshua felt amused.

After King Tiki spoke, the atmosphere became indescribably awkward. Still, Shermaine lived by one golden rule: if anyone was sweating, it sure wasn’t her.

She had no idea if Joshua was squirming, but she sure wasn’t.

Shermaine deadpanned, “Shut up.”

Upon receiving the command, King Tiki fell silent.

Shermaine stepped back, putting some space between them, while Joshua remained composed, as if nothing had happened.

“I’ll go change,” Shermaine said.

Joshua simply replied, “Mm.”

When Shermaine came out after changing, Joshua was already gone. He had taken King Tiki with him, leaving a note on the table: I have to leave for an urgent matter.

Shermaine raised an eyebrow slightly. ‘Just as well he’s gone,’ she thought.

Seated in the chair, Shermaine was lost in thought for a moment before picking up the dessert on the table and taking a bite.

Shermaine was only briefly curious about Madeline at first, wanting to learn more about Ruth’s past. She never expected to find out that Madeline had died in a car accident.

Of course, she could ask Janice about the past, but after sharing only the bare essentials, Janice refused to say another word about Ruth. Ruth must have been such a drama queen over the years that Janice couldn’t even stand to mention her name anymore.

Recalling the details of her conversation with Freya earlier that day, Shermaine couldn’t help but notice how unnaturally calm Freya had been when Madeline’s death was brought up–there was no grief at all, only a guarded wariness toward her.

That was why, after leaving, Shermaine couldn’t shake the feeling that the car accident was far more suspicious than it appeared.

The car accident must be recorded in the police database. Shermaine set down her dessert, her fingers dancing across the keyboard.

Accessing data…

Access successful.

Undetected, Shermaine infiltrated the police department’s security system–slipping in silently, stealing the data, and vanishing without a trace.

Shermaine pulled up the case file, only to find the records pitifully scant–barely any information about the accident. But there was one crucial lead: a mere ten-second clip of surveillance footage from the scene.

The surveillance footage, captured on a rainy night, was badly blurred by the rain and glare, making it virtually unusable.

Through the blurry footage, she could faintly make out Madeline walking into the middle of the road with an umbrella. For some unknown reason, Madeline paused there for a moment–and in that split second, a car suddenly sped out of nowhere, slamming into her and sending her flying several yards away.

The surveillance footage didn’t capture the license plate, but after the crash, the driver stuck his head out again and cast a suspicious glance in Madeline’s direction.

‘Way too dark–can’t make out who it is,’ Shermaine thought.

‘But that doesn’t matter. Now that I’ve got the footage, clearing it up won’t be a problem,’ Shermaine thought confidently.

Just then, a sharp knock at the door interrupted her.

Shermaine got up to answer the door.

It was Janice at the door.

Janice peered inside. “Has Joshua left already?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Shermaine replied.

Janice muttered, “Left so soon? Could’ve stayed a bit longer.”

Shermaine of course heard that.

‘Looks like Grandma is just as invested in our relationship as Mr. York,’ Shermaine thought, rubbing her temples. ‘All this meddling from the elders is really starting to get on my nerves.’

Shermaine wondered, ‘If Joshua and I break up, will those two just lose it on the spot?’

Meanwhile, Wendelyn sat at the bar, heavily made-up and drowning her sorrows in alcohol.

Dressed like this in the dim, noisy bar, she was a far cry from her usual self–making her nearly unrecognizable, just as she’d planned.

It had been ages since Wendelyn dressed up like this and hit the bar, but she’d finally reached her breaking point. Shermaine’s constant provocations were driving her insane–she desperately needed to vent.

As she downed one drink after another, the frustration inside her only grew stronger. Suddenly, she slammed her glass to the floor.

Wendelyn, her eyes bloodshot and teeth gritted, screamed hysterically, “Shermaine! You fucking bitch!”

Little did she know, this outburst had already caught the attention of a man watching from the shadows.

Sitting in the shadows, the man swirled his glass. Turning to the woman beside him, he said, “Go invite that woman over here.”

After that woman swayed away with serpentine grace, the other women in the bar began to stir. This was Kingston Wright, the second heir of the Black River Company–rumor had it he was extremely generous. A night with him could mean serious benefits.

‘But wait, isn’t the Black River Company in the middle of picking an heir? Shouldn’t he be busy fighting for his inheritance instead of hanging out in bars?’ they thought.

Just as the other women were about to strut over and show off their charms, she brought another woman over to him–she looked quite familiar.

Wendelyn scowled, her voice dripping with irritation. “What do you want?”

Kingston poured her a drink with a charming smile. “Have a seat, Ms. Jean. Rather than drowning your sorrows alone, how about I keep you company? Let’s have a little chat.”

At his words, Wendelyn’s face paled again.

Shermaine stayed up extremely late that night–she was swamped, juggling hacking missions while working to enhance the surveillance footage. At this rate, she’d be burning the midnight oil for days to come.

That morning, Shermaine dragged herself to school, yawning a few times before slumping over her desk. The moment she closed her eyes, she was out like a light, instantly catching up on lost sleep.

By late morning, Summer finally managed to wake her and dragged her off to the cafeteria for lunch.

Suddenly, a student’s scream pierced the air.

Shermaine turned toward the scream and saw a girl collapse on the floor, foaming at the mouth. The surrounding students stood frozen in shock. Without hesitation, she dropped her fork and rushed over.