Quite a few words can be used to describe Tom’s feelings, but tragic and miserable would do for now.

Why isn't the card working? His plan was to gamble with that rich woman then agree to spare her the 10 slaps if she paid for his new car. He never thought that he would lose this bet.

“Try it again.” He told the clerk, who was losing his patience. “Sir, this is the fifth time already. Your card just returns invalid. Are you sure this card is yours?” He asked politely. As the middle-aged woman watched with a smirk from the back. What a fool, she thought as she looked at the signed paper in her hand. This foolish kid made her write and sign their gambling agreement. Now he is hers for the night.

Maybe she should take him to be her little pet at the party tonight. Her friend would be very jealous.

“Wait a minute,” Tom said as he called the bank.

“Sorry sir, there was a suspicion of money laundering on your account, so we froze it for investigation. It should return to normal tomorrow.” The bank support said before he hung up.

“Damn it” Tom cursed as he looked back to see that the old woman had taken a leach and a collar out of her bulging handbag. What? Why does she carry this stuff around?

“Will you put it on yourself, or would you like me to do it?” She asked Tom with a faint blush.

…

Victor sighed as he relaxed on the couch while looking at Iris, Saving this girl has drained him. At first, he thought that using the S-level Armor he bought for Alex would work, but the death flag didn’t disappear. So his second plan was to take her to a safe room. This place here, as every family building contains such a room. But that didn’t work either. He checked her many times but there was no poison or abnormal status or curse on her body, so he believed that whatever was threatening her was something external and it must be using a soul attack, so he used his disguise skill to create a double for her while giving her the Horas’ Jewel after setting it to dead mode.

It worked, and that demon ate the couch while licking its lips because he disguised the taste of it. Who would have thought that such a useless feature in his skill would come in handy?

Seeing that demon made him think of a possibility he never considered before.

“Tell me about yourself,” he asked Iris, as he gave her a water bottle from the mini fridge to the side. She was still a little shocked.

“I was an orphan, My real parents have left me at an orphanage’s door, where I was adopted with with another girl who became my new younger sister by My stepfather and stepmother when I was 8 years old.” She said, refusing to sip from the water bottle, “My stepmother passed away early, so my stepfather took care of us alone. That was until he fell very ill two years ago. So I left the high Academy to work and support him and my little sister who hadn't finished her education yet, but that was not enough when he needed an emergency operation. So I had to make a bet with a friend of mine. And you know the rest.” She said as she looked at him expecting him to explain what that thing was. He didn’t. He knew that her story was something like that, and he realized that the incident he was waiting for had probably happened. His phone suddenly rang confirming his guess. So he quickly answered.

“Boss…, Young master... I am Susan,... Vice president Carla’s secretary.” the woman said.

“I know who you are. What happened.” He asked although he didn’t need to.

“Mrs. Carla has….. She has committed suicide.” She said,

“Where is Aria?” He asked, he already knew the answer.

“She was arrested by men wearing black. I don’t know what to do….” She said,

“I will give you the authority to run the company until I sort things out. Be warned though, If you mess up you will end up like Carla.” He said, making her gasp in shock.

“Lock Carla’s room, don’t let anyone in. I will send someone later, let them investigate the office.” He added.

“But the police have already sealed the place,” Susan said.

“Good, Then you wouldn’t be disturbed by anyone. Do what I tell you.” Victor said, then hung up. He quickly sent a quick message to Lily with some instructions after that.

“I don’t know if this would be good or bad for you. And I don’t think that you would believe me, But there is something you need to know.” Victor said to the frightened Iris.

“I have firm reasons to believe that you are my sister.” He said as he looked her deep in the eye.

“I….If this is a joke it is not funny.” She replied. While her face turned whiter than before.

“It’s not. Your real mother has just been killed, and that thing that attacked you must have attacked her first then sniffed you here.” He said, making Iris not know what to think. Her mother is dead. If this was real, She felt nothing. In Fact, she loathed her real parents for leaving her in an orphanage.

“That thing… Is this some kind of a scam? I don’t have anything for you to steal.” She said while wondering if this is real? She was very confused.

“I will explain things later, now we have to meet our father,” He said as he dialed his father’s number while she watched him closely. Not knowing if this is real or a hoax. But can she escape now? She thought as she looked at the steel door.

Soon the phone connected, and Victor heard his father’s tired voice.

“Victor, I can’t help Aria. Carla was lying to me. Aria was not my real daughter. Now that bitch has committed suicide.” Theodore said in a frustrated voice when he answered.

“I already know that,” Victor said.

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“What? When?” Theodore asked.

“Since the moment I saw her, I needed to make sure though, so I said nothing,” Victor said, making Theodore shocked.

“Does it have something to do with your class?” Theodore asked.

“Yes, Can you do me a favor and save Aria for me?” Victor asked,

“If it’s up to me, I would. But you must know that after Nick’s death the family launched an operation to investigate Jacob. And they found out that 21 years ago he roamed the country searching for a baby with purple hair. He was trying to scam us with Carla. They thought that the color of the hair was the only criteria for entering the main family. But Aria, who was not my daughter, didn't have the family’s bloodline. And Carla wasn't able to become the main wife. Now Aria is being escorted to the family’s island for an additional investigation. She is really lucky. If she was not a player she would have been executed immediately, she knows many family secrets. Now they are hesitant whether to kill her or make her a servant.” Theodore said with a sigh, he really wanted to help Aria, but he also held part of the blame. And his mother already told him to stay low. Family politics was at play here.

“Can you delay her hearing for two days? I believe I can convince grandma to give Aria to me.” Victor asked.

“I will try, but I need a good reason,” Theodore said, Victor was able to convince Ann once, maybe he can do it again, and save Aria. Although she was not his real daughter, He still felt that he was her father. He raised her and taught her himself. And she was one of his favorites.

“I believe that I just found my real sister. Carla’s real daughter. I think that Carla replaced her with Aria right after birth. But we should let her touch a core rune to make sure.” Victor said as he looked at Iris who was flabbergasted.

“What? Are you sure?” Victor can hear Theodore’s shock, then doubt.

“Yes, someone tried to assassinate her. If my guess is not wrong Carla didn’t commit suicide. She must have been an agent, someone killed her to hide the tracks. I am at the Lover’s Den, can you come here?” Victor asked.

“I am already there. Come meet me at the top floor.” Theodore said, making Victor curse at him, “Your concubine has just been killed, can’t you act a little sad instead of going to your other lover? “ He thought as he stood up and looked at Iris who didn’t know what to say.

“You heard it. Our father is on the top floor. Let’s go meet him. We will do a test, If I am wrong I promise to return you home with compensation” He said as he grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the room.

Iris wanted to resist, but didn’t, she said nothing, choosing to believe him for now. His firm eyes told her he was telling the truth, and what else could she do? Would they let her escape?

Victor dragged her to the elevator and pressed the button for the top floor. Which flickered a little as if waiting for some kind of confirmation then went green as the elevator began to ascend after a few seconds.

Suddenly Iris who was looking at Victor began to feel the world revolve around her then felt her body fall to the ground. But Victor’s firm hand supported her.

“You are a little shocked, I know. The truth would come clear in a few minutes,” he said in a gentle voice as he watched her eyes look at him with doubt. Was he really my brother? She really wanted to believe, but what if this was a scam.

Victor knew that meeting her at the last moment had something to do with his fate. In the glimpse back then he saw the faint thread connecting her to him reaching out as if asking for help. Fate was a mysterious thing indeed. Was it the world trying to kill him or save her? He didn’t know, but whatever the reason was, he would never let her die.

In his past life, he heard about her from his father, who lamented that he didn’t save her on time. When they traced her after discovering Carla’s plot some years later. They discover that she was raped then killed by some young master in his previous life. Probably that Lucas she talked about. Too bad they didn’t find her corpse back then. could it be that she didn’t die? Many things remained unknown.

Victor’s actions have made things start a little bit earlier this time. But that may be a good thing.

Soon the elevator door opened, and Victor helped Iris enter the super luxurious apartment, where he guided her to an empty cozy living room, and gently placed her on a couch.

“Is it her?” Asked Theodore as he entered the room in a hurry to look at the girl who was looking at him with some expectations. He didn’t believe Victor at first, but after seeing her he thought otherwise. She had some semblance to Carla when she was young.

“Yes, “ said Victor as he sat down next to her. “She was being haunted by a hyena demon. If my guess was correct, Carla was some other force’s agent. She must have a demonic curse on her. Those guys must have a spy in our family, when they heard that Carla’s scheme was discovered, they must have activated the curse to kill her. That demon might have tracked Iris by instinct, she may have the same aura as her mother. That’s my theory anyway," Victor said, "When that demon tried to attack Iris here I was able to trick it and save her life.” Victor added, making Theodore frown. What Victor said was completely logical. But how did Victor know about these things? His son had too many secrets. But he would never ask. All Players had secrets, including him.

Theodore sat down next to Iris and asked about her life. She hesitated then told him the same story she told Victor, as she watched him. Was this man really her real father?

“George, go get me the core rune in the vault below. And check what she said. Theodore said to George who was silently standing in the back.

“You don’t need to lie. I know you are not my father.” She said timidly.

“Why?” He asked.

“My parents threw me away. Why would a rich man like you do that? And even if you are telling the truth, I would never leave my adoptive father.” She said stubbornly.

“Ah, the one who threw you away was your dead mother and uncle,” Theodore said as George entered the room with a velvet box.

Theodore slowly opened the box to reveal a silvery brown square-cut stone. The Nether stone.

“Touch this, if you are really my daughter, we would know immediately.” He said.

“Isn't a DNA test more practical?” She asked as she hesitated. That thing gave her a dangerous feeling.

“We would do that later. But this one is more important.” He said, not explaining to her that even if his child had his DNA, without bloodline, the family wouldn’t care about them. So usually, no one in the family does it.

Iris slowly touched the stone to draw her hand back in shock as if she were electrocuted. Then she grabbed her head as a piercing pain passed through her. She could only scream as she rolled on the ground holding her head.

Theodore was shocked as he watched while a smile crept on his frowning face. While George hurried to move a glass coffee table to the side, fearing that Iris would get hurt if she struck it.

Victor long expected this result. The nether stone was made from a material that their bloodline originator, the elder dragon, loathed. So when an heir who has a pure enough bloodline touches it. His blood would react. It’s not enough for it to awaken. But certain features would manifest.

The pain she was feeling right now was the effect of the blood boiling in her veins. Usually, the test would be done when the heir was a baby, and the changes would be minimal, so he would not be hurt a lot. But Iris was already an adult.

Iris’s hair was turning purple at an accelerating rate, while her body was getting a little taller. She was still a little shorter than Victor.

Many fools thought that the Von Weise heirs were born with purple hair, but that was wrong. It was a rumor that was spread by the family. Every baby in the family would be made to touch the nether stone. And if he has enough pure blood, the bloodline would manifest. And the child would be considered an heir.