Octavian's suspicions then turned toward Anthony, who he believed was linked to his rival organization, Heaven. The chaos within the Wilson family was supposed to provide a cover for investigating Anthony's true identity, but the failed poisoning attempt meant no such opportunity arose.

With Michael's fortunate recovery and the Wilson family's lack of significant response, Octavian was left in a precarious position. He chose to keep Joelle from returning to his hideout immediately, fearing it might expose his involvement.

Just moments ago, Octavian had received confirmation of Joelle's safety. Joelle had not fallen into the hands of the Wilson family or any other influential groups in Highwyn so far.

Initially, he had intended for her to act as a shield against any retaliation from the Wilson family. Now, it seemed that precaution was unnecessary.

Anthony had yet to apprehend Joelle, leading Octavian to speculate about Anthony's competence. If Anthony was indeed from Heaven, his rank within the organization was likely not as high as Octavian had feared. This realization brought a tinge of disappointment to Octavian.

Empire faced a significant challenge in its quest to overcome Heaven.

At least one of their top hackers was needed. M and Night were on Octavian's radar as his primary targets.

Despite pushing his intelligence network to its limits, Octavian only managed to gather that M was elusive and impossible to positively identify. Night, on the other hand, was Heaven's managing director.

Chances were his identity could be revealed.

Lately, Octavian's biggest wish was that Anthony might be either “M" or "Night." He mused to himself, "If Joelle remains safe until noon today, then Anthony is insignificant."

As Octavian sipped his red wine, he contemplated Anthony's worth. If one of Heaven's top hackers were targeting Joelle, they should be able to capture her by noon at the latest. However, if she was apprehended after that, it would indicate that Anthony was not among Heaven's elite.

Octavian remained in his safe house, avoiding any contact with Joelle.

In front of him were two cell phones: one black, the other white.

The black phone lay silent, while the white one buzzed continuously with incoming calls. Octavian ignored these calls, watching the screen of the white phone light up and then go dark repeatedly.

Time ticked by, and the battery of the white phone drained significantly, over half its power depleted.

Joelle was the persistent caller. Eventually, realizing that Octavian would not respond, she sent a desperate text message instead, reading, “Mr. Octavian, please save me. I'm in serious trouble, expecting to be captured any moment now!"

Octavian dismissed Joelle's frantic phone calls and ignored her messages.

He glanced at his phone to check the time.

It was just ten minutes before noon.

He gauged Anthony's true capabilities by doing nothing to rescue Joelle before noon to see whether Anthony could apprehend Joelle within this critical timeframe.

Meanwhile, Joelle was nervously hiding in a room, constantly fearing an intrusion.

Joelle sent an urgent message to Octavian, her tone betraying her desperation, "Octavian! Please, come to my rescue. You promised you'd meet me in this room. Where are you now? This isn't what we agreed upon! Why are you tricking me?"

Her message revealed her emotional turmoil, a stark contrast to her usual demeanor.

In her frustration, she lashed out, “Liar! You're a liar! Pretending to be of noble lineage, but you're just using me, making me face danger alone!"