Poppy stopped in her tracks and looked around warily. "Who are you?! Hiding there in broad daylight-what are you up to?!"
A laugh came from the shadows, followed by a figure slowly stepping toward her.
Instinctively, Poppy's heart leapt in alarm. Her first thought was-a mugger!
The person emerged from the shadows, giving Poppy a once-over before asking, "You have a grudge against Serena, don't you?"
"I..." Poppy felt a chill run down her spine under that gaze, and she subconsciously backed away a few steps. "What's it to you?!"
"Relax," the woman said soothingly. "I'm not your enemy. Would you be interested in working with me?"
"Working together?!" Poppy looked in confusion at the unfamiliar woman draped in jewelry. Her heart began to race uneasily.
Who is this woman? Judging by her outfit, she was clearly someone from a wealthy background.
But Poppy-an orphan with no one to rely on but Clint-was far beneath her in status.
What could they possibly cooperate on?
"Don't worry, I don't mean you any harm." The woman looked down at Poppy with an air of superiority. "We share a common enemy-Serena."
Her gaze was naturally cold and aloof, as if she was born looking down on others. It made Poppy deeply uncomfortable.
She frowned. "Who are you, really? And what exactly do you want to work with me on?"
"My name is Karina Carter," the woman replied, head held high. "I heard your entire conversation with Serena just now."
Looking at Poppy's still flushed face, she curled her lips into a mock-concerned smile. "Serena has always been good at twisting words. She can make black into white! Being humiliated by her like that must've made you furious and aggrieved, didn't it?"
Thinking back to the recent confrontation, Poppy's anger reignited, roaring like wildfire inside her.
Her eyes turned bloodshot as she clenched her fists and cursed through gritted teeth, "That damned vixen Serena! She's infuriating! I don't know what kind of spell she has over men-they all go crazy for her!"
"Exactly!" Karina echoed in agreement. "A woman like her is nothing but trouble. We should take justice into our own hands and get rid of this witch!"
"Right!" Poppy tightened her fists, glaring hatefully at a pine tree in the distance.
After a moment, she came back to her senses. "Miss Carter, what kind of grudge do you have against Serena?"
Karina blinked innocently. "Just like you-my man was also bewitched by her! She came after me, and yet my man only believes her and not me! So trust me-I totally understand your pain."
She even dabbed at her eyes with fake sorrow.
Seeing her pitiful act only made Poppy hate Serena even more.
"That woman deserves to die a thousand deaths! Miss Carter, tell me-how do you want to work together?"
Seeing that Poppy had taken the bait, Karina's fake sorrow vanished instantly. Smiling, she leaned in and lowered her voice to reveal her plan.
As Poppy listened, her expression shifted several times.
After laying out everything, Karina lifted her chin proudly. "Well? Isn't this plan absolutely flawless?"
"Isn't this... a bit too vicious?" Poppy hesitated.
"Vicious?" Karina fanned the flames. "Did you forget how Serena treated you? We're not even trying to kill her-we're just making her pay for what she's done!"
Suddenly, an image flashed in Poppy's mind-Clint watching Serena's departing figure with a lost, broken expression.
She clenched her jaw. "Fine. I'm in."
...
After returning to her room and just sitting down on the sofa, Serena's phone rang.
She picked it up and saw an unfamiliar number. After a moment's hesitation, she answered. "Hello?"
A familiar voice sighed in relief. "Oh thank goodness, Serena, I finally found you!"
"You're... Vega?!"
"It's me! Don't tell me you don't even recognize my voice!"
"You... changed your number?"
"Nope! I borrowed someone else's phone! I've been trying to reach you with my number, but I could never get through. I thought something had happened to you!"
"What do you mean? How come you couldn't reach me? I haven't turned my phone off at all lately!"
"I don't know! But from my end, it's like you vanished! Ever since you ditched me last time, I haven't been able to reach you. Every time I called, it either said the number was unavailable or out of service!"
"That's impossible..." Serena frowned.
"Let's not talk about that for now. I'm just glad I finally found you!" Vega said excitedly. "Guess where I am right now?!"
"You're always going somewhere fun-where this time?"
"I'm at the Blaze family's brand-new hot spring resort!" Vega turned to glance at the lavish hotel lobby behind her. "This place is huge and so fancy! the Blaze family is loaded! Like, loaded loaded!"
Serena was stunned.
The opening of the Blaze family's hotel was invitation-only, meant strictly for family friends, business elites, and high-ranking officials.
Vega's family might be decent, but compared to those people, she was basically a nobody.
"How did you get in, Vega? As far as I know, today's event is strictly invite-only. Without an invitation, no one gets in. So... how did you get in?"
"Well..." Vega's voice softened, suddenly shy. "A... friend brought me!"
"Friend? Male or female?"
"Uh... male."
Serena's suspicion deepened. "Anyone who can get someone in today has to be either rich or powerful. When did you make a friend like that-and why didn't I know?!"
"Oh come on... it was while you were MIA recently! We only met not long ago!"
"You barely know him and you already came to a hotel with him?!" Serena's voice tightened. "Vega, listen to me-there are a lot of creeps out there pretending to be friendly but actually preying on young women. You cannot be this naive!"
"He's... not a creep!"
The more Vega defended the guy, the more uneasy Serena felt.
She spoke earnestly, "Vega, seriously-be careful. You can't let your guard down! Especially with men you barely know-you can't trust a single word!"
"It's not like that!" Vega insisted, still making excuses for him.
The more she tried to defend this mystery man, the more alarm bells went off in Serena's mind.
***