Dominic suddenly recalled he was chatting at that time, so he merely got a glimpse of the name list.

    The name on the list belonged to Emily''s husband. At that moment, he found the name vaguely familiar but couldn''t remember his full name.

    "Eden, I have something to handle. Talk to you soon." Dominic ended the call without waiting for Eden''s response and left his study room.

    While walking, Dominic gave Vespera a call, but couldn''t get through.

    Dominic then called Calvert. "Enter the banquet hall and see if there''s anything strange going on. I tried calling Vera, but I couldn''t reach her."

    At that moment, Calvert was leisurely ying his games in the car. Upon hearing Dominic''s order, Calvert immediately said, "I''ll be there right away."

    "Send me the address."

    "Got it."

    Dominic nced at the address. After walking into the elevator, he ordered someone to investigate the private residence and find out who else had been invited.

    At the ball in the private residence, the sudden dimming of the lights and the appearance of a mysterious, fully masked woman had gained everyone''s attention. Those who remained in the dark were rather excited.

    It was normal for a hostess to include extra activities to make a ball more interesting. After all, it was far too boring to just chat over food and drinks.

    Vespera and the others, who knew the truth, as well as the targeted Fawn, thought otherwise. They knew the appearance of the mysterious woman meant the n had begun.

    Fawn sat there, lookingpletely frightened. She couldn''t text anyone, nor could she make any calls. In fright, she quickly borrowed a phone from the woman next to her, but the same thing happened.

    Fawn exined that something was wrong since she couldn''t call anyone. The other woman was shocked but clearly didn''t think anything was off. Instead, she merelyforted Fawn and exined that perhaps the signal in the private residence was rather poor.

    Fawn was about to say more when Emily and a few others walked toward them.

    "Ladies, let me bring you to the front for some fun. I''ve arranged for something exciting by inviting the legendary fortune teller, Maude Wyndham."

    Although everyone echoed in agreement, only Fawn remained seated in her chair, not wanting to get up. She held her head and said, "I have a headache. Please go ahead. I won''t join you."

    But Emily stepped forward to pull her up. "Let''s have some fun together. I hope you''ll feel better soon. We still have lots of exciting things tonight."

    Fawn wanted to object but was afraid that she woulde across as rather suspicious. She could only agree and get up.

    While walking, Fawn scanned the crowd, looking for Vespera''s familiar mint green dress. However, she was practically dazzled by the dimmed lights andrge crowd in front of her.

    "Good evening." Felicia, whom Emily had invited, greeted Fawn, who was still looking around.

    "Good evening. Good evening," Fawn replied perfunctorily. Was it really a good evening? She wasn''t in the mood for a chat. She was desperate to leave this horrible ce.

    Although Felicia told herself to ignore Vespera and not talk to her, she still paid attention to everything Vespera did. Earlier, she even realized that Vespera and Fawn were whispering and found them to be rather suspicious.

    Meanwhile, Vespera, Reba, and Yasmine walked ahead. They stood in the third row as they watched Maude Wyndham, who had already made her way to the bottom of the stairs.

    Since Mauge was fully masked, they couldn''t tell how old she was. The only exposed parts of her body were her arms. Although they looked slender, the skin didn''t seem firm. Clearly, she wasn''t a youngdy.

    The ck gown and mask Maude wore were extremely shy. It seemed like a cheap way to draw everyone''s attention.

    "She looks like she''s here to perform magic," Yasmine remarked in a low voice.

    Vespera tensed as a bold idea struck her mind. "Magic? Is she going to make Madam Rich disappear before our eyes?"

    Yasmine clutched her chest in fright. "Really...?"

    Reba scoffed. "Nothing''s impossible. There are so many people around, so they can''t just kidnap Madam Rich outright. Perhaps the original golden mask has some kind of substance to numb her nerves.

    "I''m sure they''ve been keeping an eye on the time. Once the substance starts kicking in, they''ll get her to participate in the magic performance and whisk her away."

    "Then, they''ll get someone with a simr build to return in her clothes and mask. After that, the ball wille to an end. Everyone would be gone, and no one would be any wiser about the switch.

    "Once they start looking into her disappearance, all of us will be witnesses. Now, do you know why this was set up as a masquerade ball? The puzzle fits perfectly!"

    Vespera and Yasmine were speechless as they stared at Reba with widened eyes, taken aback by her deduction. Although it sounded exaggerated, it seemed to weirdly make sense.

    Emily led Maude to the front. "Ms. Wyndham, all of my guests are wearing masks. You told me you can see everyone''s past lives, their biggest fears, and darkest secrets, but don''t believe you. Why don''t you show us what you can do? You can pick whoever you like."

    Upon hearing Emily, all the guests knew who Maude was. She was someone who

    used tarot cards for fortune telling.

    Vespera and Yasmine stared at Reba wordlessly.

    "You guys guessed that she''s here to perform magic." Reba didn''t seem embarrassed. "It''s the same thing. It''s just trickery. I can do that too."

    In front, Maude walked toward Felicia, who couldn''t help but wave her hands nervously. "No need."

    But Maude ignored her and stood in front of her adamantly. Clearly, she refused to leave.

    The other guests encouraged

    Felicia, asking her not to back out of the game. Besides, someone said once Maude had made her choice, no one could refuse her-That was the rule. Everyone was there for the drama and couldn''t care less if things got out of hand.

    Vespera waspletely perplexed. Wasn''t Fawn the real target? How did it be Felicia?

    Meanwhile, Fawn was frightened out of her mind. She felt as if she might faint anytime. Upon seeing Maude approaching her in her terrifying ck getup, she felt like she was about to scream for help.

    In the end, Maude chose Felicia, who stood next to Fawn.

    Maude stood in front of Felicia and did not move to take out any tarot cards. She merely stared at her silently like a demon.

    Then, Maude bent down and whispered in Felicia''s ear. No one else could hear what she said.

    Suddenly, Felicia''s expression shifted drastically. Within the next second, her legs gave out beneath her. She looked as if someone had sucked her soul away.