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.

results came up blank.

only to see

call history with Shirley, and to his surprise, every record

on him–Shirley had blocked

her number and called her, stirring up trouble But that day, Slay ha Now, there was no

blocked him right in

Moments later, a red exclamation mark appeared next to the message, followed by a system notification: “Message sent but rejected

app, be searched for Shirley’s profile, but it

now painfully dear that Shirley had severed all ties with him, leaving no roots even for

realization left Samuel’s

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

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

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

in that same dress, her