CHAPTER 431: CHAPTER 431: BLACKMAIL

Aurora chuckled. "That would make my day. But for now, just tell me about your work. It’s been so long since we talked properly."

Spencer smiled faintly at her attempt to change the subject. "Well," he said, "if everything goes well, I might be able to return to New York within three years."

"Three?" Aurora repeated, surprised. "Didn’t you say it might take five?"

"Yeah," he replied. "But the situation’s changing. Things are improving faster than I expected."

Aurora’s smile widened. "That’s amazing. I can’t wait to see you again, Spencer."

They spoke for a while longer, laughing and teasing as usual, until Aurora suddenly asked, "Oh, by the way... that girl who tried to seduce you... what happened with her?"

Spencer’s tone turned cold. "I talked to her father. She won’t be bothering me again."

Aurora laughed in relief. "Good. Remember, even if you were my canary at first, you’re still mine. No one else gets to touch what’s mine."

Spencer chuckled softly, warmth returning to his tone. "Yes, ma’am. You’re the only one who pays enough to keep me alive, after all."

Aurora laughed, her voice bright and sweet through the receiver. "You’d better remember that."

...................................................

Aurora and the Waters siblings finally decided to put their plan into full swing.

After all, due to Aurora’s sudden coma and the delay it caused, five precious days had already slipped away.

Sitting in her room, Aurora’s eyes glimmered with determination.

Her fingers moved swiftly across her phone screen as she crafted three distinct yet equally calculated messages... each one designed to corner a different enemy: Lovely, Hansa, and Milo.

Her plan was deceptively simple but built on psychological precision.

Each of the three had a dark secret buried deep beneath their polished façades.

Aurora had gathered fragments of evidence from various sources, and now she intended to use those secrets to manipulate their actions without alerting them.

Her goal was to lure all three out of the apartment simultaneously, but to different locations, ensuring that none of them suspected they were being set up.

If they were all absent at the same time, Aurora and her siblings could finally search their apartment undisturbed.

After reviewing each message carefully, Aurora hit send.

The trap had been laid.

............................................

At that very moment, in a sleek office overlooking the city skyline, Milo sat hunched over his desk, reviewing financial ledgers.

His mood was foul; his company’s quarterly numbers were off by nearly two percent, and he was already stressed from the mounting pressure.

Just as he flipped to another report, his phone chimed.

Without much thought, he grabbed it, expecting a routine email. But the moment his eyes landed on the notification, his expression shifted from indifference to shock.

The message read: "Mr. Milo, we have all your black data. Come and see what you’ve been hiding from the world."

Attached was a short video.

Milo’s heart sank. Trembling, he opened the file, and there it was. Footage of him in several exclusive clubs, surrounded by women, laughing and drinking, spending lavishly with money that clearly wasn’t his.

Worse yet, there were documents showing wire transfers from company accounts to fake shell companies... his own handiwork.

A chill ran down his spine. Someone had everything.

He immediately typed back in panic: "Who are you? What do you want?"

The reply came seconds later.

"If you wish to negotiate, come to the old warehouse in the eastern suburbs. Tonight. Alone."

Milo swallowed hard. His mind raced. Was this Adam or Mary? They had the most reason to ruin him after what he, Hans, and Lovely had done to them.

He clenched his jaw and quickly called his private investigator, a man he’d hired a week ago to spy on the Waters couple.

"What’s the update?" Milo demanded, his voice sharp.

The investigator replied calmly, "Mr. Milo, everything is normal. Adam and Mary haven’t contacted the police or any lawyers. Their routine hasn’t changed. If they planned to act, we’d have known by now."

Milo’s hand tightened around his phone. "And what about their children?"

"Their children are the same. Aurora just woke up from her coma, but there’s no sign of any suspicious activity," the man reported.

Milo let out a shaky sigh. That meant it wasn’t the Waters family. But if not them... then who?

"Keep watching them," he muttered before hanging up. His mind was spinning, but fear ultimately pushed him to comply with the anonymous demand. He had too much to lose.

............................................

Meanwhile, Hans was sitting at a cozy café in the downtown district, sipping his cappuccino while his on-and-off girlfriend, Abby, chatted about shopping and vacations.

His attention was elsewhere, lazily talking with her, until his phone vibrated repeatedly on the table.

"Who keeps messaging you?" Abby asked with mild irritation.

Hans frowned and checked his screen. When he saw the flood of notifications, his heart skipped a beat. One particular message stood out like a scar on his conscience:

"Your black deals are truly impressive, Hans. But I wonder how your law firm would feel if they saw this."

Attached was a video, footage of him blackmailing a client into silence. His face was visible, his voice clear. If that video went public, his entire career would go up in flames.

His mouth went dry. "What the hell..." he whispered under his breath.

He typed back immediately: "Who are you? What do you want from me?"

The reply came almost instantly:

"No questions. If you want to negotiate, come to the warehouse in the western suburbs. Tonight."

Hans’s fingers trembled slightly. He forced a smile and turned to Abby, who was now giving him a curious look.

"Just scam calls," he lied, laughing weakly. "Some idiots trying to scare me."

Abby, ever the opportunist, smirked.

"Scam calls? Ignore them. You’ve got money now. Don’t forget our plan. We’ll milk the Waters family slowly, four hundred thousand, then three-fifty, then two-fifty, then a hundred thousand every month. Steady money, steady life."

Hans forced another smile and nodded. "You really are the best schemer, Abby."

She giggled proudly, unaware that Hans’s stomach had twisted into knots.

He couldn’t stop thinking about the message. If anyone exposed that video, everything would be over... his job, his reputation, his future.

He excused himself soon after, claiming a work emergency. As he left the café, his steps grew heavier with every block.

Meanwhile, Abby watched his back with interest and murmured, "Hm... Should I contact the Waters family and blackmail them on my own?"

...........................................

Across town, in a brightly lit parlor filled with gossiping women, Lovely sat among her friends, sipping tea and bragging about her grandson’s achievements. Her laughter was elegant, her posture composed, until her phone started to vibrate.

She excused herself politely and looked at the message.

Her blood froze.

"We know what you did, Lovely. The past has a way of resurfacing. Would you like your friends to know about your youthful sins?"

Attached were scanned images... letters she’d written years ago, detailing her involvement in a fraudulent charity scandal. Her name, her signature, everything was there.

Her hands began to tremble. "Who... who sent this?" she muttered under her breath.

Then came the second message:

"If you resist or tell anyone, your secrets will be made public. If you want to stop this, meet us in the suburban area between east and west. Tonight."

Lovely’s face turned pale. Her first thought was of Adam. "That beast," she whispered angrily. "It must be him. Or that wretched girl."

But fear won over rage. She quickly typed back her agreement, then pocketed her phone, her heart racing.

That night, the trap snapped shut.

All three, Milo, Hans, and Lovely, left their respective homes under the cover of darkness, each convinced they were walking into a private blackmail negotiation.

They didn’t know that Aurora’s plan had worked perfectly.

Inside the Empty Apartment

A few blocks away, Aurora stood with Olivia, Theodore, Lucas, Alex, and Adriana outside the apartment complex where their enemies lived. Olivia had already done her reconnaissance earlier that day.

"The place is empty," she whispered. "No one’s inside. They all left around the same time."

Theodore grinned. "Perfect. Time to move."

Lucas used the master key, something Adriana had prepared while Aurora was in a coma, and within seconds, the door clicked open.

The apartment was lavish but eerily silent. A faint scent of perfume lingered in the air.

Aurora took a deep breath. "Let’s split up. Olivia, you and Adriana search the left wing. Lucas, Theodore, and Alex, check the right."

Everyone nodded and moved swiftly but carefully, their footsteps muffled on the marble floor.

The search was grueling. Every drawer, cabinet, and safe had to be examined quietly. They couldn’t afford to make noise or leave traces.

Minutes turned into hours as tension grew. Finally, Olivia’s voice came from one of the rooms.

"Found something!"

Everyone rushed over.

In front of her was a sleek, metallic locker built into the wall, hidden behind a false painting.