Chapter 6
Rex, who was buried up to his waist, flailed his arms and begged for mercy.
Lucius leisurely wiped his perfectly clean hands with a silk handkerchief and shot him a mocking look. “Are you ready to confess now?”
Rex bobbed his head frantically.
Lucius walked to the edge of the pit, looking down at him. “Give me a straight answer, or you’re dead!”
Rex had just nodded when Silas kicked him square on the chin.
With a sharp crack, his jaw popped back into place.
As soon as he was about to speak again, Rex pointed at the crowd. “It was Mr. Levi! He instructed me to tamper with the car.”
The one accused was none other than Lucius’ fifth brother, Levi White, who was blindsided by the sudden turn of events. “Don’t you dare slander me! Why would I ever harm my own father?
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He hurriedly looked at Lucius. “Don’t believe a word he said, Luc! He’s merely trying to drag me down with him.”
“I have a phone recording!” Rex yelled. “It’s saved in
my email!”
To avoid being buried alive, he hurriedly gave up his email address and password.
Keane immediately logged in and pulled up the email with the recording. He played it on speaker, and Levi’s voice came through, instructing Rex to get rid of Melvin and his wife, Kate
Caldwell.
With evidence and a witness stacked against him, Levi couldn’t wash his hands of this. He panicked and tried to run, but several agile bodyguards kicked him to the ground and pinned him there.
Desperate, he looked at Lucius. “Luc, you have to believe me! That recording is fake. I’ve never said anything of the sort before!”
Lucius raised his hand to silence him and declared apathetically, “Levi committed patricide. The evidence is conclusive. After he receives our family’s punishment, send him and the
evidence to the authorities.”
Turning a deaf ear to Levi’s wails, Lucius left with his bodyguards. Behind him, hundreds of voices rang out together. “Have a safe journey, Mr. White!” Their voices shook the air.
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While Lucius was tied up with his family affairs, Valerie was busy with her own stuff. She usually set up a fortune-telling stall beneath the overpass on the first day of each month. This month, she didn’t feel like going out, so she booted up a live-streaming app and created an
account.
Valerie couldn’t think of a good username, so she tried “What Ev”.
However, it was taken.
Then, she tried “WhatEvz.”
But it was still taken.
After several more attempts, she finally settled on “GrandFennec”.
It was a success!
As soon as she started the stream, Valerie used a filter to hide her features. Valerie appeared as
a fiery red fox with a sly grin on-screen. To stay anonymous, she also used a voice changer to make herself sound neutral and genderless.
Her brand-new channel had no followers, and after half an hour of streaming, the viewer
count never climbed past three.
A viewer named StaRyn asked in the chat, “Are you a guy or a girl? Why don’t you show your face? Is it because you’re too hideous?”
Valerie responded, “My looks don’t matter. Would you like your fortune read? I only take one client a month, so you should snag the chance before it’s gone!”
StaRyn said, “Big data is the worst. It keeps feeding me fortune-telling streams.”
“So, do you want the slot or not?” Valerie inquired.
“Is it free?”
“That’ll be 200 dollars. Cheer for me, and the slot’s yours.”
“Why don’t you just rob me instead?”
Their banter gave the quiet stream a bit of life.
After lurking in the stream for a few minutes, a viewer named MaskAgent asked, “How do you tell fortunes?”
Valerie answered, “Through video call. I read faces.”
MaskAgent continued, “If it’s wrong, do we get a refund?”
“I don’t do refunds.”
MaskAgent was at a loss for words. Clearly, they thought the whole thing was a scam.
Still, the stream’s viewer count had climbed to 15. Several sharp-tongued viewers started heckling in the chat, claiming that Valerie must be a fraud since she didn’t even dare to show
her face.
Just then, someone sent 288,800 Bits. Based on the platform’s rate, that was 2,888 dollars. The donor’s username was LilAnnieB.
Valerie wasted no time sending a video call request. Moments later, a sweet -looking young woman with her hair in a bun appeared on the screen.
Valerie cut straight to the chase. “Career, love, or fortune. Pick one.”
Viewer A: “You’re charging 2,888 dollars for a single question? This stream is daylight robbery!”
Viewer B: “FaeFox only charges 50 dollars. Y’all should go there instead.”
Viewer C: “FaeFox is poaching customers from a newbie’s stream now?”
Valerie paid them no mind.
LilAnnieB said, “I want to ask about love. When will my boyfriend propose to me?”
Valerie studied the young woman’s face. “You’ll meet the one at 32. Right now, your true love hasn’t shown up.”
“Nonsense!” LilAnnieB snapped. “I’ve been with my boyfriend for nearly two years. My family even helped him find his job.”
Valerie responded flatly, “You’ve run into a man who’s both out for your family’s resources
and a cheat at heart.”
LilAnnieB argued, “You’re way off! My boyfriend’s super hardworking. He even said he’ll give me the dreamiest wedding ever.”
Valerie chuckled. “Don’t hang up. Grab your phone, go downstairs, turn left, and knock on Unit 701 in Building 2. See what happens.”
“What? Why?”
“It’s a surprise,” Valerie answered.
Viewer A: “Go on, pretty lady. Help us expose this fortune-teller.”
Viewer B: “Maybe they’re in on it together.”
Viewer C: “FaeFox may pitch her services all over, but she still seems more reliable than this
fortune-teller.”
Under the mounting pressure, LilAnnieB grabbed her phone and went to the floor that Valerie
mentioned.
Right then, the stream’s viewers rose to 68. Some watched silently, while others tossed out ideas in the chat.
Mustering her courage, she knocked on the door of Unit 701.
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Before long, the door opened, and a woman named Chloe Holden stepped out, cradling a babbling baby who was about one or two. “Who are you looking for?” she asked.
Valerie’s voice came through the stream. “Tell her you’re looking for your boyfriend.”
LilAnnieB froze for a moment before blurting out, “I’m looking for Cecil.”
Chloe turned to the living room and called out, “Honey, someone’s here for you!”
That one word detonated like a bomb in the stream.
Viewer A: “Whoa, are we going to catch someone in the act?”
Viewer B: “She called him honey, and they even have a kid! Who’s cheating on whom?”
Viewer C: “This has to be staged. New streamers pull stunts like this all the time to get attention.”
The livestream chat was buzzing with excitement, while LilAnnieB could only watch as the man she’d dated for two years emerged from another woman’s apartment.
Realizing who it was, Cecil Long’s eyes widened in surprise. “Lily, what are you doing here?”
