CHAPTER 54: PRS 55

Time flies so quickly, like flowing water, that it’s been a full month since Isabella and Alesio Xander have been in a sweet and caring relationship.

Although the long-distance relationship is challenging, with Isabella in the XX city and Alesio Xander in the capital, intense daily communication through video calls, chats, and constant phone calls has made this fledgling relationship work smoothly without any major issues.

They support each other, trust each other, and give each other space to develop in their respective careers. Isabella feels comfortable with this relationship, which isn’t overly binding but still full of care.

Until one day, a call from Demon, her biological father, brings a little shock that changes everything.

"Next week is your great-grandmother’s 85th birthday, Isabella," Demon said solemnly over the phone. "You must attend because that day, Alegra’s family will announce your existence to the world and the media. This is very important. The enemy has also begun to reveal themselves, so be well prepared. Don’t let your guard down."

Her father’s words echoed in Isabella’s head over and over again, making it impossible to focus on her work. Before Demon contacted her with that tense tone, her uncle, Andra, had already contacted her with a similar, unnerving warning.

The person who separated her from her family as a baby—a cruel and inhumane kidnapper—had begun to emerge from his tightly hidden lair.

Isabella’s presence in country S was essential to lure the enemy out of hiding, allowing the Alegra family to eliminate them without a trace and without mercy, preventing them from causing significant problems for their extended family in the future.

"This is dangerous," Isabella muttered, biting her lip. "But this must be done. I must end all of this."

After Andra contacted her and provided her with this sensitive information, Isabella immediately searched for the perpetrator who kidnapped her 22 years ago using all her hacking skills. However, no matter how hard she tried, using various methods and sophisticated technology, the perpetrator’s trail remained untraceable, even with the help of the Phoenix System.

Not only did the perpetrator leave no digital traces, but the crime was also so meticulously planned and perfectly coordinated that even a mafia of Dark Evil’s caliber, with its worldwide information network, couldn’t find any clues until recently, after Hendi’s organization was completely destroyed. Only then did her uncle have a very vague but sufficient clue to begin an investigation.

"There’s no way Hendi’s organization could have done something of that magnitude—kidnapping the Alegra family’s baby without leaving any traces at all, unless someone powerful and influential was behind it," Isabella thought, slightly uneasy, staring at the laptop screen displaying incomplete data. "But, who is behind this? How powerful is he? And what is his motive?"

According to Andra’s cautious account, the mysterious family enemies only emerged from their nest after Hendi’s organization was destroyed and discovered that Isabella was the mastermind behind the destruction of the massive organization overnight.

Isabella herself was very surprised and a little frightened that the enemy had clearly identified her, even though she had acted so cleanly and neatly, leaving no digital evidence behind.

"How did they know?" she whispered, her face pale. "I’ve been very careful."

This was also what challenged and frightened her to come to Country S, wanting to meet her family’s mysterious enemy in person and see the extent of their power and abilities.

"Phoenix System, is there anyone else in this world who possesses something as special, magical, and illogical as what I possess?" Isabella asked worriedly. "Is it possible that my enemy also possesses a similar system?"

[The Phoenix System cannot be confirmed with certainty whether it exists in this world. However, given that the Host was able to obtain a Phoenix System like this through some inexplicable miracle, the possibility of someone else possessing a similar system or program is also very high, even if we cannot track their whereabouts due to the different frequencies.]

Faced with such a serious threat, Alekso could only surrender and signal his mouth with his finger to seal it shut, indicating that he would keep it shut and not open it even if forced or tortured. This prompted Alesio Xander to immediately throw him out of the room with a satisfied and pleased expression.

***

In the country of South Korea,

In a magnificent and exclusive seven-star restaurant in the center of the capital of South Korea, four young men from the five families renowned for ruling the capital—the richest and most influential families—aside from the Alegra family, represented by Leo as their primary heir, were enjoying a sumptuous lunch while discussing the birthday invitation of the elder of the second richest and most influential family in South Korea, one week later.

What was causing the commotion and hot discussion was not Grandma Berta’s lavish birthday party, but the surprising news that Berta’s great-grandson, who had been missing for 19 years, would appear and be officially introduced at the lavish event. This made everyone in the upper class extremely curious and excited because they had received no information about the young woman, whose full name was Daviona Isabella Geovanny—no photos, no data, as if she were a ghost.

"How do you feel, King, after hearing the shocking news that your long-lost fiancée has been found?" asked David teasingly, Morgan Elio Cromson’s best friend, Isabella’s fiancé, heir to the Cromson Group business empire, commonly referred to as "King Cromson" in the business world for his extraordinary dominance.

"Quite curious," Morgan replied curtly, calmly cutting the steak on his plate, as if discussing something ordinary.

"Is that all?!" Aron exclaimed in disbelief. "You’re not more enthusiastic than that? You’re not curious about the person the Geovanny family has so carefully hidden? Is she beautiful or ugly? Is she smart or stupid and unattractive? Is her personality kind or annoying? Are you not curious about any of those things at all?"

Aron asked, his expression filled with disbelief at his friend’s composure, who for some reason was still faithfully waiting for the woman his family had betrothed to, even though most people already thought her dead or never to be found.

William, suddenly glared at by Morgan, simply sighed harshly and raised his hands in surrender.

"It’s not that I haven’t tried to find out anything about her, King," William said defensively. "It’s just that there’s no information about her—not even her name appears in any database. And I’m absolutely certain this isn’t the work of the Dark Evil organization, as I know their unique working patterns. If my guess is correct, it seems your fiancée isn’t simple and isn’t an ordinary girl," he said, raising his hands high, unable to search any further. "She must have special abilities. Because only a great person could pull off such a sophisticated disguise without a trace."

"I’ve also received word from an insider," William said again in a low voice, drawing his three friends closer to listen. "If this girl is the one who destroyed Hendi’s organization overnight, with all their members dead or in prison."

Hearing this classified information, Aron and David’s jaws dropped open, their eyes wide in disbelief.

"Impossible!" they both shouted spontaneously at the same time, their voices so loud that several of the restaurant’s patrons turned their heads. "A girl destroyed an organization as big as Hendi?"

"Lower your voice," William hissed, glancing around. "Only a handful of people know about this news because it’s so secret and dangerous. I also overheard it in a conversation with the Dark Evil. And it seems the Dark Evil organization is trying hard to keep it from leaking to the public. If it gets out, there will be major chaos."

William’s serious explanation made Morgan even more excited and curious to meet the fiancée her beloved grandfather—the man who raised her—had chosen for her since she was 10 years old.

Even though her fiancé had been missing since she was a newborn, neither Morgan nor her grandfather had ever had the slightest desire to break off the engagement, despite Geovanny’s family’s repeated requests for such a break. They didn’t want to restrict the Cromson heiress and deprive her of her freedom to choose a partner if she continued waiting for someone who might never be found or who might even be dead.

"I don’t mind waiting," Morgan said calmly at the time. "This is my decision."

As an orphan whose parents died in a plane crash when he was 8 years old, and raised solely by his grandfather with strict discipline, inheriting the Cromson Group business empire was not easy and was fraught with trials.

Many flies and bedbugs—women seeking wealth and families seeking connections—tried to land and swarm around him because of the benefits and advantages he offered.

With an engagement to the family’s youngest daughter, Morgan didn’t need to expend much energy to repel these women. With a single, firm statement, "I’ve had a fiancée since I was little," the flies would retreat without further ado.

For those who persisted in their attempts to win his heart by any means, their lives were at stake, as Morgan would not hesitate to kill or destroy anyone who tried to disturb him or threaten his position.

This also meant that everyone—especially the women vying for the position of his wife—could only patiently wait for Morgan to tire and voluntarily sever ties with the Geovanny family.

And the shocking news that the youngest daughter of the Alegr family would be officially introduced at Berta’s birthday party naturally shook everyone in the upper class, especially the beautiful young women who yearned to be with the most handsome, richest, and most powerful man in the country.

Many of them, unmarried at a ripe old age, were simply waiting for luck to strike, hoping that Morgan Elio Cromson would open his heart to another woman and break off the engagement he’d been engaged to since childhood.

But now, those hopes seemed to be shattered forever.

"I can’t wait to meet him," Morgan murmured with a faint smile—the first smile on her face that day.