Everyone turned to stare at him in shock, their eyes wide.

Theodore bit his lip, immediately realizing his mistake. He glanced at Aurora, who looked genuinely confused.

"...I was joking," he muttered quickly before turning away.

Just as Aurora was about to call him back, Olivia stepped in front of her.

"Let it go," she said lightly. "By the way, I will sleep with you tonight."

Aurora frowned slightly but didn’t press further. Then Adriana suddenly spoke up.

"No, Aurora is sleeping with me tonight."

Olivia immediately snapped back.

"What do you mean? She slept with you yesterday!"

The argument escalated almost instantly, both of them glaring at each other.

"You always hog her!"

"And you don’t?!"

Their voices overlapped as they bickered, dragging up past instances and competing like children.

Aurora, sitting in the middle of it all, couldn’t help but smile.

’These idiots ...’

For once, she actually enjoyed the chaos.

Just as she was about to intervene, Mary walked in, her presence immediately commanding attention.

"What is going on here?" she asked firmly.

Without hesitation, both Olivia and Adriana turned toward her and started explaining at the same time, pulling her into the argument.

Mary raised her hand, stopping them both.

"There’s no need to fight like this," she said calmly.

Then she looked at Aurora.

"Aurora, what do you think?"

Aurora shrugged casually, stretching her arms slightly as if none of this concerned her.

"Anything is fine," she replied.

Hearing Aurora’s indifferent reply, Mary gave a small, satisfied nod, her expression calm yet firm.

"Then I’ll sleep with Aurora tonight."

The declaration landed like a stone in still water.

Olivia and Adriana froze instantly, their mouths slightly open as if the words had stolen their ability to respond.

Even Adam, who had just stepped in behind Mary, went completely silent, his gaze shifting sharply toward Aurora.

Aurora, caught under their stares, slowly raised both her hands in surrender, her expression innocent.

"Don’t look at me like that," she said lightly. "I’m not at fault here. You can’t blame me."

There was something so carefree about her tone that Adam felt his irritation dissolve almost immediately.

His stern expression softened, and for a brief moment, his heart inexplicably melted at her unbothered demeanor.

Meanwhile, Olivia and Adriana snapped out of their shock and immediately began arguing again, their voices overlapping as they protested Mary’s decision.

"This is unfair!"

"You’re just taking advantage of your position!"

Mary, however, remained composed. She raised her hand slightly, her voice calm but authoritative.

"That’s enough. There’s no need to argue over something so trivial."

Her words carried weight, and slowly, both Olivia and Adriana quieted down, though reluctant frustration still lingered on their faces.

That night, Mary slept beside Aurora.

Once Mary had completely fallen asleep, her breathing deep and steady, Aurora slowly opened her eyes.

Her gaze shifted toward the ceiling for a moment before she carefully reached for her laptop.

The screen flickered to life, casting a pale glow across her face.

Her fingers moved swiftly across the keyboard as she issued silent commands, instructing the system to scan and infiltrate her siblings’ devices.

’Let’s see ...’

Her eyes narrowed slightly as data began to flow across the screen.

She was searching for anything unusual, messages, hidden chats, or anything that didn’t belong.

But there was nothing. Nothing out of place. Except one group.

"Four seasons ..."

Aurora’s eyes paused on the name for a brief second.

It was the same group she was part of.

Since there were no new messages, she dismissed it without much thought and closed the scan.

’Nothing suspicious...’

What she didn’t realize, however, was that the "Four seasons" group she was in was entirely different from the one Olivia, Theodore, Lucas, and Adriana were actively using.

In that separate chat, messages continued to pour in rapidly.

"She must be protected at all costs."

"Treat her like royalty."

"She’s basically the golden pillar of this family."

None of them wanted Aurora to ever face harm again. Instead, they discussed ways to care for her better, to make her life easier, almost as if she were a princess they were sworn to serve.

Meanwhile, far away from them, in a completely different place, another plan was unfolding.

Shay sat in silence, her fingers tapping rhythmically against the table.

Her eyes were cold. ’This time... I won’t fail.’

She had already made her decision. She would kidnap Aurora.

Not just that, she would implant a control chip inside her.

As long as the chip was in place, Aurora would be forced to follow a system that assigned her missions. Any resistance would result in immediate punishment, electric shocks strong enough to break her will.

A faint smile curled on her lips. ’Let’s see how long you can resist then.’

Without hesitation, she began outlining the plan in detail.

Once everything was set, she turned to Lily for assistance.

"I need your help," she said calmly.

Lily, however, froze, her face draining of color.

"Even if I call her to an abandoned place... she won’t come," Lily replied, her voice trembling slightly.

Shay tilted her head, her lips curving into a faint, dangerous smile.

"If I didn’t know better," she said slowly, "I would think you’ve learned to rebel."

Lily’s entire body stiffened.

"I’m not rebelling," she said quickly. "I’m just telling the truth. She’s not that easy to trick."

Shay studied her for a moment before exhaling softly.

"...Fine."

’Then I’ll need someone else.’

Her mind raced through possible candidates.

Alana was already under Aurora’s influence, and no matter how much she searched, she couldn’t locate her.

’That girl... she’s being protected too well.’

After a long moment of silence, a new idea surfaced.

Her eyes lit up slightly.

’If I can’t reach Aurora directly... I’ll go through her siblings.’

A slow smile formed. ’Once they’re under my control, she won’t have a choice but to obey.’

The next day, she set her sights on Olivia.

She got into her car, heading toward the university, the road stretching endlessly ahead.

But just before she arrived, something felt off.

The brake pedal. It didn’t respond.

Her heart skipped a beat as panic surged through her. She pressed it again, harder this time, but the car didn’t slow.

"No... no, no!"

Her hands tightened around the steering wheel as she tried to regain control, her breathing turning erratic.

’The brakes... they’ve been tampered with!’

Suddenly, a memory flashed in her mind.

That morning. At breakfast. Her family had been unusually insistent.

"Are you going out today?"

"You should stay home."

"There’s no need to rush."

At the time, she had brushed it off, assuming they were simply being overprotective—worried she might die and take the family’s wealth with her.

She had ignored them.

Just like she had ignored the message that arrived shortly after.

Her phone chimed again in her memory. "Your luck isn’t good today. You shouldn’t go out."

She had scoffed at it. ’Aurora must be mocking me...’

But now... her grip trembled.

’It was a warning...?’

Before she could react further, everything spiraled out of control. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

The next moment, a truck collided with her car. A deafening crash echoed.

Pain exploded through her head. Darkness swallowed everything.

When she opened her eyes again, the world felt distant.

A hospital. A doctor leaned over her, checking her condition.

"You’re awake," he said gently.

She tried to move. Nothing happened. Panic surged instantly.

Her eyes widened as she struggled, but her body refused to respond.

The doctor noticed and spoke calmly.

"There’s no need to panic. You’ve suffered partial paralysis," he said. "But with modern treatment, recovery is possible."

Those words hit her like a blade.

’

Paralyzed...?’

A wave of hatred rose within her chest, burning fiercely.

’Aurora... this must be your doing ...’

She didn’t know how, but she was convinced.

Her lips trembled as she tried to speak, trying to beg the doctor to treat her faster, to fix her, to do something, but no words came out clearly.

The doctor frowned slightly, unable to understand her broken attempts, and could only sigh helplessly.

Seeing that, her heart sank even deeper.

Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes as she slowly closed them.

’I won’t forgive this ...’

Meanwhile, news of the incident spread.

Within a hidden facility, far from the public eye, a meeting was already underway.

The place looked like something out of the future.

Cold metallic walls reflected dim blue lights, and countless screens flickered simultaneously, displaying endless streams of live footage.

One entire wall was covered in surveillance feeds, showing thousands of different scenes unfolding in real time.

Each movement, each moment, captured.

Behind the scenes, ten thousand viewers watched.

These weren’t ordinary people.

They were wealthy... absurdly wealthy.

Every reaction, every interesting moment triggered a flood of digital tips. Thousands of dollars exchanged hands in seconds, as if money held no value to them.

The surveillance wall wasn’t just a monitoring system.

It was entertainment.

A twisted, high-stakes spectacle designed for the elite, where real lives played out like a never-ending show, and the viewers paid generously to keep watching.