A deal with the devil

Chapter 77

Evan stepped out tonight on the bunt, armed with a potent pill capable of incapacitating an adult with just one dose. He trailed Shirley from a distance, watching as she entered a private room guarded by only two bodyguards

Lingering near a corner. Evan waited. When a waiter delivering drinks exited the room, Evan intercepted him.

At the Moore residence, Sophia, wracked with self–doubt after years of captivity, was left sobbing uncontrollably after being humiliated by Eleanor. Tearfully, she insisted that she wasn’t good enough for Samuel

It took Sarguel a long time to comfort her. By the time Sophia finally fell asleep, it was late, but even in his own room, Samuel couldn’t rest. His mind was consumed with the image of Shirley

-her shy, aturing expression lingering vividly in his memory

What exactly had she done with Benjamin in the car earlier?

Was Benjamin spending the night at the Weiss residence?

The mote Samuel thought about it, the more irritable he became Grabbing his phone, he instinctively searched his contacts, typing “5” into the search bar.

came up blank.

only to

to his

him–Shirley

last time Shirley had moved Samuel’s contact, Sophia had found her number and called her, stirring up trouble But that day,

blocked him right in front of

his messaging app and sent a simple question mark Moments later, a red exclamation mark appeared next to the message, followed by a system notification: “Message sent but

it was gone–she had removed him

all ties with him, leaving no

Samuel’s face grim

first app, he attempted to view Shirley’s profile feed but found he lacked permission to see anything Frustrated, he opened their last

sent on her wedding day–a selfie of her in her

gown adorned with a delicate well. Her radiant smile filled the frame, her eyes brimming with warmth and joy. Happiness seemed to emanate from her.

but recall the image of her running out in that same dress, her