“Very well,” Rafael said, sitting with his hands sped in front of his mouth, his gaze focused on Jaden, his tone carrying a hint ofplexity. “Jaden, I need to ask you something. In your opinion, how does Enrico feel about Paige?”


    Ever since he received the anonymous letter, his headache hadn’t subsided. A fugitive from the slums, now involved with the Public Law Council, and tangled with Enrico-if mishandled, it could cause chaos in A-country.


    Jaden stood tall and serious in the office, his face solemn as he looked at Rafael. “Mr. President, forgive my bluntness.”


    Rafael nced at him, waiting.


    “If Miss Paige loses her life in Gangnam Hall, your position may notst long,” Jaden said each word carefully.


    Rafael’s face froze at those words, then he gave a bitter smile. “Has it reallye to this?”


    Looking back now, he recalled ying pool with Enrico once, where he constantly praised Paige, only to see Enrico’s expression grow darker. It turns out Enrico was jealous.


    The sound of the door opening caught his attention.


    The butler entered with coffee. After a long silence, Rafael looked up at the butler and said, “Go make some arrangements with T-country, temporarily cutting off all of Enrico’s channels to return to the country.”


    Jaden’s face changed dramatically at those words. He looked at Rafael in disbelief, almost gritting his teeth as he said, “Mr. President, are you really nning to abandon Mr. Gustin abroad? Do you truly intend to do this? Don’t forget how much support Mr. Gustin has provided to get you to where you are today!”


    “I don’t need your reminder,” Rafael responded, somewhat irritated, as he stood up from his desk, his gaze cold as he looked at Jaden. “I know how much power the Gustin Group wields. I also know that if Enrico truly wants to return, there are plenty of ways to make that happen even if you make a move.”


    Jaden was filled with a mix of anger and panic.


    With Mr. Gustin out of the country and Miss Paige captured, everything now rested on his shoulders.


    “That’s why I want to talk to you. Enrico has always trusted you the most. With him gone, his domesticwork is entirely in your hands. As long as you cooperate, he won’t be able to return,” Rafael said, standing there. “We just need to solve the issue with Paige first, and then we can bring him back in grand style.”


    Jaden couldn’t help butugh at the absurdity of it all. “Are you asking me to betray Mr. Gustin?”


    “Is it betrayal?” Rafael sighed. “Do you think what I’m doing now is betrayal? You’re loyal to Enrico, and I see him as a brother. Do I need to remind you of the hardships he has endured?”


    Jaden’s gaze stiffened.


    He had known Enrico and Rafael since childhood. He was only seven when he met them-Rafael was a bit older. He came from the lowest background, amoner with no connections, living not far from Rose Estate. By chance, he met two young masters who were disliked by their own families-Enrico and Rafael. They were so disliked that they attended the same elementary school as him, a meremoner.


    At first, they didn’t know each other, until one day when a group of older bullies picked on Rafael. He and Enrico happened to pass by and were dragged into the fight, mistaken as aplices.


    That day, Jaden waspletely bewildered. A seven-year-old boy had never experienced such a thing. It was Enrico who first fought back, and then Rafael joined in. The three of them fought their way out of the situation, leaving a trail of blood behind.


    They didn’t have much inmon back then.


    But for some reason-perhaps out of blind admiration-Jaden often found himself following Enrico from a distance. He discovered that Enrico lived at Rose Estate and would often sneak over, too shy to say anything. Even back then, Enrico had an intimidating aura that kept people at a distance.


    Eventually, Rafael starteding along too, hoping to get closer to Enrico. They would climb the high walls and watch from a distance, seeing a cold winter day where a boyy in the courtyard being whipped by servants. Hey there expressionless as the whipshed him repeatedly, while a beautiful older sister tried desperately to shield him with her body.


    It was then that Jaden realized not all young masters anddies lived privileged, happy lives. Some had it worse than ordinary people.


    From that moment on, Jaden and Rafael began to approach Enrico more often, helping him find ways to deal with those servants. Eventually, when Mr. Gustin’s sister passed away, Mr. Gustin changedpletely, bing more withdrawn, terrifying, and lonely.


    Later, Rafael was taken back by his family, leaving only Jaden to stay by Mr. Gustin’s side, right up until earlyst year, when Mr. Gustin stormed into Jeremy’s study with a gun.


    The Gustin family’s vi, and by extension the entire situation in A-country, was irrevocably altered.


    Now, as Rafael brought up those old memories, Jaden remembered that Enrico’s suffering wasn’t something he alone had witnessed; Rafael had seen it too.


    Seeing Jaden’s expression soften, no longer treating him as an enemy, Rafael’s face also rxed. He picked up a document from his desk and pushed it toward Jaden. “Take a look at this.”


    Jaden nced down, the first few pages were screenshots of online news. The events had only been unfolding for less than two hours, yet all kinds of damaging news about Paige had already surfaced.


    The pages were filled with old reports using slum dwellers ofmitting heinous crimes after escaping from Wind Ind-rape, murder, and other atrocities. Jaden flipped through a few more pages and was shocked to see surveince footage of Arjun meeting with Paige, along with clear images of Mr. Mohan and Isabe’s throats being shed, and a photo of Paige smashing a bottle at a bar. The images were all crystal clear.


    The news portrayed Paige as a violent criminal, perpetuating the typical narrative associated with slum dwellers.Belongs to ? n0velDrama.Org.


    “Slum dwellers… must never be allowed to leave Wind Ind.”


    All of this in just two hours! What on earth was going on?


    Jaden’s breathing grew heavy as he continued flipping through the pages, finding screenshots ofments, all condemning Paige, calling for her trial, her execution, even mourning Mr. Mohan.


    Ridiculous-Mr. Mohan was nothing but scum in his eyes.


    “This is a conspiracy!” Jaden realized. “This whole setup is a conspiracy targeting Miss Paige.”


    Was it Molly?


    But could that person really pull off something this big?


    “Yes, it’s a conspiracy. The person who tipped me off about Enrico harboring Joss is the mastermind,” Rafael said, looking at Jaden. “But right now, it doesn’t matter who the mastermind is. What matters is that Joss is indeed a slum dweller, caught on camera with an electronic bracelet; what matters is that countless powerful families and old-line ns are waiting outside the presidential pce, eager to see how I’ll handle this situation.”


    Rafael added with a sigh of resignation, “What matters most is that you’re telling me she’s extremely important to Enrico.”