He continued to ask.

Mia fell silent.

In principle, she should have treated him the same as anyone else and avoided Adrian like the plague.

But for some reason, she always had a soft spot for him. Perhaps it was because... whenever she found herself in an embarrassing or difficult situation, he had always been her rock, both before and after their marriage. He had never once let her down.

Unlike Chase Lockwood, who had disappointed her time and again, leaving her heart so cold that she eventually grew numb.

Chase Lockwood always weighed the pros and cons, always choosing the side that benefited him most. She was always the one left behind.

But Adrian had never given up on her.

Inside the room, the atmosphere was tense.

Mia didn’t know how to answer. Just as she was fretting, she suddenly saw her grandfather’s eyelid twitch.

’Is he waking up?’

"Grandpa... Grandpa, the corner of your eye just moved."

Hearing this, Adrian stepped forward, wanting to roll his eyes.

’Can’t this old man work on his acting? Is he getting too into the drama?’

"It didn’t move. It was probably a hallucination. You’re exhausted. Go get some rest; I’ll take over."

Mia nodded. It seemed she really was exhausted.

She didn’t leave, though. She lay down on a recliner in the room, but her sleep was fitful, and she frequently got up to check on her grandfather.

The two of them took turns watching over him, and it wasn’t until the next day that their grandfather slowly woke up.

When the old man saw Mia, his first words were,

"Mia, how have you gotten so thin again?"

These words brought tears to Mia’s eyes.

The grandfather and granddaughter spoke for a good while. Adrian, taking the hint, went outside to give them some privacy.

"I thought you and Adrian would be happy together. I never imagined you two would actually get a divorce."

"Grandpa, I’m sorry..."

"There’s nothing to be sorry for. It must be that boy’s fault. Can you tell Grandpa what really happened?"

Mia certainly couldn’t say that Adrian had assaulted her. She didn’t want anyone to know about this stain—Adrian’s stain.

In the eyes of others, he was an upright and fearless hero. Even she didn’t want to tarnish his reputation, even though he had undoubtedly done wrong.

She was more protective of Adrian than anyone.

"Grandpa... it’s my fault. The truth is, I only married him on a whim to get revenge on Chase Lockwood. After I calmed down, I realized marriage isn’t something to be trifled with. It was my fault..."

She took all the blame upon herself, bracing for her grandfather’s scolding.

But to her surprise, her grandfather simply stroked her head.

"My child, you’ve suffered. It’s all that Lockwood boy’s fault for hurting you so deeply. I was in the wrong, too. I shouldn’t have pressured you into getting married. When it comes to you and Adrian, you have to be the one to decide. No matter who you choose, Grandpa will respect and support you."

"Grandpa..."

Mia’s eyes welled up with tears again.

"Good girl... My illness has been a bother to you. I’m better now, so you should go on back. There are plenty of people here to take care of me."

"No, I want to stay here with you, Grandpa."

"Alright. With you here, I’m sure I’ll get better even faster."

Her grandfather smiled and patted her hand.

By the door, Adrian overheard some of their conversation.

His chest felt like it was boiling, about to explode.

He wished Mia would be more selfish—that she would go around bad-mouthing him, telling everyone the divorce was because of his own moral failings and lack of integrity.

But instead, she protected him so fiercely.

The more she acted this way, the harder it was for him to let go.

’If only she were a little meaner, a little worse, a little more selfish... Wouldn’t it be better if she thought more of herself?’

When she and Chase Lockwood broke up, she never spoke ill of him to others. It was Chase Lockwood and Vivian Lynch who had gone too far. All she had wanted was a clean break, to never have to see them again, but the two of them just had to keep dancing on her last nerve.

Mia was too good. He had to become even better to be worthy of her.

Even if it was just an act, he had to make it utterly convincing.

Just then, Adrian’s phone rang. It was Theo Thorne.

"Adrian, we got Blackie, but his subordinate, K, escaped. The rest have been handed over to the Anti-Smuggling Bureau. I brought this one back secretly."

Adrian’s heart tightened.

"I’m on my way."

Without even a moment to say goodbye to Mia, Adrian rushed straight to Theo Thorne’s location.

Blackie was of Chinese descent, but he’d gotten his nickname because his skin was as dark as an African’s.

He and William were both based in the Trivium region, connecting with the North Myria and Veridia areas, and running smuggling operations throughout Soutoria.

"Who the hell are you people? Why did you grab me!"

If the police were handling this, he should have been taken in for interrogation. So why had he been secretly brought here?

"Adrian, you’re here."

Theo Thorne ignored Blackie. Hearing footsteps, he immediately went to greet the newcomer.

When Blackie saw Adrian, his pupils shrank, and the color drained from his lips.

"You... You’re Adrian Preston?"

The undefeated legend of the seas, who at a young age had racked up countless merits in anti-smuggling operations. Who knew how many others in the same line of work had been taken down by Adrian.

Before every mission, people like them would swear an oath: if they ever encountered Adrian Preston at sea, they had to kill him without hesitation.

Everyone wanted to kill Adrian Preston to send a message to the Anti-Smuggling Bureau.

But to this day, no one had succeeded.

His early discharge from service was unexpected, but his pivot to becoming the CEO of the Preston Group was even more so.

Killing a cop was one thing, but the Preston Group had deep roots, vast connections, and countless methods at its disposal.

Trying to kill Adrian Preston would come at too high a price.

They had all stopped thinking about it. After all, once he was discharged, their smuggling runs at sea became much less of a headache.

Blackie thought he would never cross paths with Adrian Preston again in this lifetime, but here he was.

"Adrian Preston, aren’t you a cop anymore? What right do you have to meddle in my business!"

Blackie roared.

"It’s true I have no authority over you now. I invited you here today for another matter, one unrelated to smuggling."

"Then what else could it be?"

"Because you touched someone you never should have touched."

Adrian’s voice suddenly turned chillingly cold.

"What do you mean...?"

Before Blackie could finish, Adrian produced a sharp knife and slit open his flesh.

A clean, long wound, so deep the bone was visible.

Fresh blood gushed out.

Blackie was a tough man; he gritted his teeth and endured, his forehead beaded with sweat.

Then, another cut.

Not fatal, but agonizingly painful.

And that wasn’t all. He slowly shaved off his fingers, his toes. His ears, his nose...

No matter how tough he was, Blackie couldn’t take it anymore and screamed in agony.

His body was covered in cuts, all of them oozing blood.

A sticky substance, seemingly syrup, was poured over his body, plastering his wounds, the searing pain making him gasp.

But even that wasn’t enough. Adrian had somehow procured rice-sized ants. Attracted by the sweetness, the creatures swarmed madly into his flesh, burrowing into his nasal cavity, his ear canals, his navel...

And finally... that place.

’Filthy things should be gouged out.’

With a flash of the knife, the cut was clean. An ugly thing fell to the ground, twitching once or twice.

Blackie convulsed, his body trembling in agony as he let out a soul-tearing scream.

Though tied to a post, he still writhed into a grotesque shape.

Like a maggot.

"AARGH..."

After a long while, Blackie finally came to, only to pass out from the pain and then wake up again, over and over.

Through it all, he was kept alive.

Clearly, Adrian planned to torture him slowly.

"Why... Even if you want to kill me, at least tell me why."

"If... if this is because I broke the law smuggling, you could have just handed me over to the Anti-Smuggling Bureau... Why resort to vigilante justice...?"

He managed to force the words out.

He was already a wanted criminal, guilty of numerous offenses.

Sent to prison, he’d just end up facing a bullet anyway. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

It was death either way, so why did Adrian have to torture him to death like this?

"June thirteenth. At sea. Who did you meet?"

"I went to find William. I... I also know that William fell into your hands."

"You touched my wife."

Blackie’s pupils constricted.

"Impossible! I didn’t touch anyone that day!"