...


    After browsing the inte, Hera saw how Alice’s poprity had plummeted—now, she was like a rat scurrying across the street, with no one willing to support her. But Hera felt no sympathy. Alice had brought this upon herself.


    When she chose to harm others, she should have expected retaliation, or at the very least, understood that karma would eventually catch up to her.


    <i>’Hurting someone is hurting yourself.’</i> The saying had never felt more true, and now, Alice was experiencing it firsthand—reaping exactly what she had sown.


    <i>Ding!</i>


    [<strong>Betty:</strong><i>Hera, what do you think we should do now?</i> Being the goddaughter of the Lowery family turned out to be a great marketing opportunity to boost your poprity, and honestly, I didn’t even see thising. But just as I was about to have our PR team fan the mes, Alice’s scandal broke out, pushing your news down the rankings.]


    [<strong>Betty:</strong> Do you think we should reignite the buzz after this? Since we’ve already made our move against Alice, it might be a good chance to maximize the momentum.]


    [<strong>Hera:</strong><i>No. Let’s wait a little longer and let Alice stay in the spotlight for a bit more.</i> After all, hasn’t she always wanted fame? She’s ndered me more than once—did she really think using me as a stepping stone would be that easy?]


    [<strong>Hera:</strong> ?(｀▽ ′*)]


    [<strong>Hera:</strong> I’m petty, and I own it. I embrace it. I embody it.]


    [<strong>Betty:</strong> I didn’t even say anything, though.]


    [<strong>Hera:</strong> I know, but just in case, I’m letting you know in advance.]


    [<strong>Hera:</strong> (? ????)]


    [<strong>Betty:</strong> You really are something...]


    [<strong>Hera:</strong> I know, right?!]


    ...


    In a good mood, Hera set down her phone just as their ordered dinner arrived. At the same time, Cindy had sent over herptop so she could work on her sses and designs. She and the others enjoyed a rxing dinner, then lounged around the presidential suite.


    By then, the master bedroom had already been cleaned by the hotel staff—a fact that made Hera immediately find somewhere else to hide while they worked.


    The aftermath of her night with four men was just too embarrassing for her to face, even if the cleaning staff pretended not to notice anything and remained professional.


    Still, Hera couldn’t shake her lingering embarrassment. This wasn’t her space, and it wasn’t like she could act overly confident about it. Besides, Athena hadn’t contacted her since their earlier call—she had even turned off her phone to avoid being disturbed.


    Hera didn’t feel like stepping out of her room for now, so she stayed inside with Luke, Dave, Zhane, and Rafael.


    As usual, they busied themselves around her, each immersed in their work—reviewing files on theirptops and phones, answering calls one after another.


    Dave, in particr, was constantly on his phone, as the gunfight from the other day had already reached his ears. No matter how much the mafia tried to suppress the news, there was no way topletely hide it from the government.


    Not only that, but Dave also delved deeper into the investigation against the cartel and the drug operations spreading across the country after reviewing the information Leo had sent to Zhane.


    Now, Dave and Zhane were working together to analyze the perfume-based aphrodisiac and trace the forces behind it. However, the culprits were proving to be incredibly elusive.


    Dave couldn’t help but wonder how Leo had managed to obtain such crucial intelligence when, as the country’s Young Minister, he himself was struggling to get ess to the same information.


    Luke asionally lent a hand, using his undergroundwork to gather intel, but even he was hitting dead ends. His investigation into Minerva’s possible involvement in the kidnapping and murder of innocent women had yet to yield any concrete results, furtherplicating matters.


    And just as they were struggling to make progress, yet another casended on their te, making them feel as if they were being buried under an endless pile of investigations without fully grasping the bigger picture.


    Luckily, they had Leo and Gerald’s assistance from time to time. Though they had no idea where Leo was getting his information or why Gerald Troy was willing to help them, they chose to ept the support without question.


    Now that they were working together on this, Hera couldn’t get too involved without risking exposure. Instead, she allowed Gerald to assist them asionally.


    If anyone questioned his involvement, he could simply use the excuse that he was leveraging their manpower to address the drug cirction in the ck market—a problem that had previously tarnished his business’s image due to the drugging incident at his hotel, where Leo and Hera had been caught up. This exnation would be convincing enough to throw off any suspicions.


    And so, the night passed in much the same way—everyone engrossed in their work until it grew toote. When exhaustion finally set in, they all retreated to bed, naturally gravitating toward Hera as they cuddled together.


    By now, Hera had grown ustomed to this routine. She no longer protested or feigned resistance, instead embracing their warmth and attention. After all, it would be hypocritical to pretend she didn’t enjoy it while secretly relishing their presence. In return, she gave back the affection she received tenfold.