At that moment, a poisonous thought suddenly surfaced uncontrollably inside their hearts.

’If only Brenda had never returned... If only we had never acknowledged her existence...’

There was someone else who believed that the situation was slowly spiraling out of control.

That person was none other than Lucian.

Long ago, after creating a misunderstanding between him and Thessy, he noticed something important.

Thessy had started dropping by more frequently, sometimes even staying longer than necessary.

Those tiny changes were enough to make him reconsider his original plans.

At first, Lucian had intentionally approached Thessy because he wanted to establish some kind of connection with the Peterson family.

The Peterson family stood at the very top of the country’s social hierarchy.

Their influence stretched through politics, business, and even underground networks.

Because of that, it was almost impossible for the current Lucian to directly approach them.

Families like the Petersons never allowed outsiders to casually interact with them.

There were simply too many barriers. Too many people standing in the way.

Not to mention, if Thessy even slightly suspected that her position inside the Peterson family was being threatened, she would definitely use all of her influence to eliminate Lucian before he could ever meet an actual Peterson family member.

However, over the past half year, Lucian had slowly and steadily built his own power.

His influence in the business industry had expanded rapidly, and with the knowledge from his previous life combined with his private investigations, he had already selected his target.

That target was Conrad Peterson.

In the entire Peterson family, if there was anyone reasonable and intelligent like Lana, then it was Conrad.

Unlike the others, Conrad was an emotional person beneath his cold exterior.

Because of that, Lucian carefully arranged an "accidental" encounter.

At that time, Conrad was preparing to leave for an overseas business trip.

Lucian sat calmly near the large glass windows, leisurely drinking tea as though he were simply relaxing.

The moment Conrad noticed him, his sharp blue eyes flickered slightly.

After all, Lucian had already become a well-known figure in the business world recently. Almost everyone believed that Lucian was destined for tremendous success in the future.

Especially Conrad.

Previously, after the incident at Moonspire Mountain, Conrad had secretly conducted an investigation into Lucian. The more information he uncovered, the more interested he became.

In the end, Conrad only arrived at one conclusion. He wanted to cooperate with Lucian.

Unfortunately, because both of them were constantly busy, there had never been a natural opportunity for them to meet.

And now, that opportunity had appeared right before him. How could Conrad possibly let it go?

Thus, he directly walked toward Lucian.

Meanwhile, Lucian calmly continued sipping his tea while pretending not to notice Conrad’s approaching figure.

"Lucian."

Hearing his name, Lucian finally looked up.

For a brief moment, Conrad’s appearance reminded him strongly of Lana.

Just like her, Conrad possessed silver hair and deep blue eyes.

If Lana had not accidentally awakened her cultivation abilities in this life, her true hair color might have remained hidden forever.

Many people would probably still question whether she truly belonged to the Peterson family.

Pushing aside those thoughts, Lucian calmly stood up and shook Conrad’s hand.

"Conrad Peterson, right?"

Conrad smiled faintly and nodded.

After both of them sat down, Conrad glanced toward him curiously.

"What are you doing here?"

Lucian chuckled softly. "I came here with my therapist."

His tone sounded relaxed.

"I needed a short vacation from the business world. Everything has been getting a little overwhelming lately."

Hearing those words, Conrad nodded understandingly.

"I can understand that feeling."

After a brief silence, Conrad suddenly smiled. "If that is the case, why don’t we exchange contact information?" 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Lucian agreed without hesitation.

However, even after obtaining Conrad’s contact, Lucian did not immediately reveal the truth.

Instead, he carefully arranged three more "accidental" encounters.

Sometimes they met at restaurants.

Sometimes during business conferences.

Sometimes while walking through high-end shopping districts beneath the dim golden city lights.

After several repeated encounters, even Conrad began noticing the strange pattern.

By the fourth meeting, Conrad finally looked at Lucian with an amused smile.

"If meeting once is an accident, and meeting twice is coincidence, then meeting four times means one of us is intentionally creating these encounters."

His deep blue eyes narrowed slightly. "So tell me honestly."

A faint smile appeared on his lips. "Why are you following me?"

This time, Lucian did not beat around the bush anymore.

"There is indeed something important I want to share with you."

His expression slowly became serious. "However, I need your absolute cooperation first."

Conrad’s smile faded slightly.

"How can I trust someone whom I barely know in this business world?"

Lucian leaned back slightly before speaking again.

"I will not ask you to believe me unconditionally."

His dark eyes stared directly into Conrad’s. "But I will provide you with the truth."

His voice lowered dangerously. "My only request is that you do not reveal this information prematurely."

A cold smile slowly appeared on his face. "Otherwise, there will be losses that I cannot recover from."

The pressure surrounding him suddenly intensified. "And if that happens, I will be forced to attack the Peterson family myself."

Conrad’s expression finally became completely serious.

The joking atmosphere disappeared instantly. He stared at Lucian quietly before speaking with a faint smile.

"Do you truly believe you stand a chance against the century-old Peterson family?"

Lucian simply chuckled. "You are welcome to test me."

His eyes darkened slightly. "A desperate man fears no one."

Conrad fell silent for a long moment. Finally, he spoke again.

"Is this related to the Peterson family?"

Lucian nodded slowly.

Seeing that reaction, Conrad took a deep breath.

Honestly, he had already guessed as much. Otherwise, Lucian would never have approached him so cautiously.

After organizing his thoughts, Conrad finally spoke. "Fine."

His gaze sharpened. "Tell me everything, and I will personally judge how much of it is true."

His voice became colder afterward. "But understand this clearly. If my investigation proves that you fabricated all of this, then I will take revenge against you."