The plan had worked perfectly. To her surprise, the thugs Johanna hired—those useless fools—had actually pulled it off! That night, they lured Mina out with a phone call and carried out Johanna's instructions. To ensure the blame fell on the Fullers, Johanna even had them draft an unfinished text message on Mina's phone, begging the Fullers for mercy. Later, the phone was recovered, the data restored, and the message went viral, sparking outrage online.

Where was justice? Was the law merely for show? How dare the Fullers do such a thing? As the mastermind, Johanna was pleased with how things were progressing. Originally, she'd planned to blame Felicia, but reconsidered, deeming it safer to shift the blame to Kayla, a murderer. As for Felicia, Johanna decided to let her enjoy her triumph; there would be ample opportunities to deal with her later.

Johanna was fanning the flames when her phone rang—the thugs. Initially reluctant, she answered impatiently, "What do you want?"

"Ms. Rosario! We've completed the job. No trace left!" one of the thugs exclaimed.

"Not bad. At least you were useful," Johanna sneered.

"Ms. Rosario, about your promise... When can we work for the Russell family? We'll work hard!" the thug said.

Johanna cursed them silently. This bunch of lowlifes was unfit for the Russell family. How ridiculous! She dismissed them, saying, "Don't you know how busy my brother is? You'll get your rewards when he's free. Just wait and stop pestering me!"

"Yes, Ms. Rosario—" Before they could finish, Johanna hung up.

A knock interrupted her. She quickly hid her phone and laptop, tidied her hair, and called, "Come in!"

It was one of Stephan's subordinates. "Ms. Rosario, Mr. Russell wishes to see you."

"I'll be right there!" Johanna's eyes lit up. She quickly touched up her makeup, adjusted her hair and dress, plastered on her sweetest smile, and left the room.

In the living room, the crystal chandelier illuminated the space. Stephan sat on the couch, his lashes concealing his emotions. His expression was cold, intimidating. Before him lay sheets of data Johanna couldn't decipher. She approached cautiously, "Stephan…"

"Did you kill them?" Stephan asked bluntly.

Johanna's heart skipped a beat. Instinctively clenching her hands, she forced an innocent, puzzled look. "Stephan, what are you talking about? How could I possibly kill someone? Don't scare me…"