Under the Heiress' Facade

Queenie's secretary said, "1.05 billion might sound like the price tag for a few items. Over a dozen treasures were auctioned off tonight.

"Based on the price algorithm, the total price of the items successfully auctioned added up to 1.05 billion. There were five groups who won the bids, but the bidder's information couldn't be traced. So, we can't rule out the possibility further."

The algorithm seemed too complex for Queenie to attribute it to a bidder.

If it wasn't a bidder, then the most likely scenario remaining was that the receiving account belonged to Astral Nova, and Raven was associated with them.

At that moment, a message popped up on her WhatsApp. She immediately opened it. All content © N/.ôvel/Dr/ama.Org.

Raven replied, "Payment received. Mission accomplished."

Following the message was an image file.

Queenie clicked on the attached image. It was a screenshot showing Raven's response to a task on Cyber Web.

"Mission accomplished."

Her frustration bubbled up. She couldn't believe that all that effort and anticipation was all for them to receive a two-worded response simply. She wondered if it had really cost her 1.05 billion for such brevity.

She asked, "Is this it? Have you completed all the requests I sent you? You're asking for 1.05 billion from me. Do you think I wouldn't report you for fraud?"

Queenie rattled off a bunch of words in her text. As expected, there was no response from the other end.

The silence was so cold it made one suspect they were dealing with an automated customer service bot.

At the sight of Queenie's dark expression, the secretary asked weakly, "Mrs. Gaskell, do you think we might have stumbled upon a fraud syndicate?"

Even the secretary felt like she was dealing with a scammer.

Queenie became even more suspicious and wondered if she had really been cheated. But even if she reported it to the police, their chat records wouldn't be enough to prove that the other party was a fraudster.

Instead, it would show her actively trying to get the other party to complete assignments and send money. Queenie's reputation as a savvy person would be ruined if this got out. So, her intention of reporting it was merely to scare the other party.

At that moment, the secretary's phone rang again. She picked up the call, and whatever was said on the other end of the line made her face light up with joy.

"Really? Okay, okay."

She hung up the phone and immediately turned to Queenie.

"Mrs. Gaskell, the attackers targeting our company's firewall system have all ceased their activity."

"Really?"

Queenie raised an eyebrow skeptically.

The secretary nodded firmly.

"Yes, it's true. The head of tech just called to report that all the malicious activity suddenly stopped during their efforts to intercept the attacks. Now, they're focused on resolving the bugs."

Another message popped up on Queenie's WhatsApp.

Raven texted, "Inspection complete. Transaction completed."

The swift completion of the inspection stunned Queenie. Mere minutes had passed, and it was already over. The efficiency was unnerving.

Hence, she rushed back to the company and focused on ensuring the security of the firewall system before sending a message to Raven.

As soon as Queenie hit send, a red exclamation mark reminded her that her message was undelivered.

It was then that Queenie realized that Raven had blocked her.

…

Meanwhile, Hera had returned to the Everett residence. She took a shower and exited the bathroom with damp hair.

Hera chuckled when she thought of Queenie being unable to message her. She picked up the conch bracelet she had placed on the table before showering and began fiddling with it.

She recalled the incident when Queenie broke the herbal remedy jar that Daphne had stayed up late to prepare for Albert.

Not only did Queenie not apologize, but she also soiled Daphne's dress, resulting in Albert's stern rebuke.

The indifference in Queenie's eyes back then as she watched the chaos unfold left Hera with a chill. The recent events were just the beginning of something about to unfold.