Ariana collapsed onto the sofa. "Honestly, I don't know what to do now."

Thoughts weighing heavily on her, Ariana found herself in a gloomy mood. She said, “Now, Sadie is using Adele as a bargaining chip to threaten me. If I try to clear things up, it will inevitably involve Adele. Adele's still so young. I don't want the netizens to find out about Adele's illness, and I certainly don't want her exposed to public scrutiny."

Sonia fell silent, the weight of the situation settling in.

Thinking of the sweet, fragile girl, Sonia couldn't help but sigh.

"That poor child. Stuck with a mother like Sadie..."

After a moment of contemplation, she spoke up. “Well, let's deal with this tomorrow. We need to come up with a solid plan and figure out how to minimize the impact on Adele. We must keep her away from this mess as much as possible.”

"Alright." Ariana nodded in agreement. "No need to rush; we can discuss this tomorrow."

Their conversation flowed for a while before they ended the call.

The sudden silence in the villa was almost deafening to Ariana.

Melon had gone to keep Adele company at the Fredrick family's place.

Since Ariana still had some work to deal with, she had come back to the villa alone.

Exhausted both physically and mentally from the day's events, Ariana shed her clothes, ready to unwind in a soothing bath.

The warm water did wonders, washing away the tension and leaving her pleasantly drowsy.

Suddenly, a disturbance jolted Ariana from her peaceful state. A faint sound, like footsteps, drifted up from downstairs.

Ariana's heart hammered against her ribs. She held her breath, straining to listen. The sound persisted, sending her scrambling out of the tub. Throwing on clothes and grabbing her phone, she crept downstairs to investigate.

But the house was empty. Ariana brushed it off as tiredness-induced hallucinations, shaking her head as she returned to her work upstairs.

Just as she reached her room, the sound returned, more distinct this time. She froze for a moment. Then, she heard obvious footsteps.

Gripping her phone tightly, a flicker of hope sparked within her.

Could it be Holden?

She quickly sent a message to Holden. "Did you come to my house? I heard footsteps downstairs."