Chapter 203

The afternoon sun blazed overhead as Mr. Graham personally drove Aria Bennett to the construction site of his new mall. The moment the car window rolled down, Aria frowned.

"Something wrong?" Mr. Graham rubbed his hands nervously. Ever since wearing the talisman she gave him, his chronic insomnia had vanished overnight, deepening his trust in the young mystic.

Aria tapped the window lightly. "A gathering of miasma, but nothing severe yet."

Yellow caution tape cordoned off the site, where workers huddled in small groups, whispering. Spotting his boss, the project manager rushed over. "Mr. Graham, this morning someone saw—"

"I know." He cut him off, turning to Aria. "What do you think?"

She walked slowly around the site, pausing abruptly before a stack of lumber. Bending down, she picked up a wood chip and rolled it between her fingers. "Yin-infused timber."

"What?" Mr. Graham paled.

"These logs grew in a place of extreme darkness and were deliberately transported here." She tossed the chip back. "Another two weeks, and lives would've been lost."

The developer immediately summoned his secretary. Within ten minutes, the man returned sweating. "The supplier was contacted by... your brother-in-law."

"Perfect." Mr. Graham's laugh was icy. "Couldn't wait for me to die, could they?"

Aria retrieved cinnabar from her bag and drew sigils around the lumber pile. "Burn it all—every last piece." She then instructed adjustments to key construction points.

As they left, Mr. Graham handed her a contract. "The mountain property we agreed on—"

Aria scanned the deed's "free transfer" clause and shook her head. "Market price."

"Absolutely not!" he protested. "You saved my life!"

"Then take this instead." She suddenly smiled. "When the mountain yields its treasures, you'll get the first taste."

He was still objecting when his phone rang. After the call, his expression darkened. "My wife—no, that woman took my son to make trouble at the old estate."

"Need to handle it?" Aria asked.

"No." He gritted his teeth. "Let them keep that cursed house!"

During the return trip, Aria called Damian Cross. He answered on the third ring, background voices faintly calling "Director Cross."

"Busy?" she asked.

A chair scraped on his end. "Just finished a meeting. What's up?"

"Dinner tonight with you and Elias. Also, I'm collecting that jade."

Damian's voice brightened noticeably. "Six o'clock, usual place?"

Hanging up, Aria gazed absently at the passing scenery. In the rearview mirror, a black sedan trailed at a steady pace, its driver's face obscured by a baseball cap.

At her apartment building, Damian was already waiting. He naturally took her bag as she emerged. "Silas Kane has a twin brother."

Aria's fingers paused on the seatbelt. "Silas Kane?"

"You knew?" He started the engine. "Their background's complicated."

"Figured." She watched the black car suddenly accelerate past them. "Such elaborate efforts to get close to me means they want something big."

Damian followed her gaze, eyes turning glacial. "From today on, I drive you."

She didn't refuse. Sunset patterns flickered between them through the windows. Neither noticed the faint glow from the jade bracelet around her wrist.