Calin glared at him but still lowered her eyes toward the screen.

Gradually, her expression shifted. Shock, disbelief and confusion, then something far more complicated.

"What... is this?" she whispered. "I don’t understand. Where did you get this?"

Bryce smiled slowly. "From Yeri Zhi’s phone. Let’s just say I had the opportunity to look through it and found this very interesting contract."

His smile widened like a blade sliding from its sheath. "I already had someone verify it. It’s authentic."

Calin stared blankly at the screen. It was a marriage contract, a terrifying one.

Once married, in the event that Shin wronged her in any way, all of his holdings would immediately be transferred to her ownership.

Calin’s mind buzzed violently.

This wasn’t a normal prenuptial agreement.

This was practically handing someone the keys to an empire and saying, ’Please don’t burn the castle down.’

Bryce watched her reaction carefully before speaking in a low voice. "What do you think would happen if this got leaked to the public?"

Calin’s fingers tightened around the blanket. She could already imagine the headlines exploding across every platform.

But forget about public opinion. She couldn’t believe Shin Keir was willing to risk and hand over his entire net worth to a woman just like that.

It was almost as if he was completely confident he would never wrong her.

No man, especially someone like Shin, would be foolish enough to create such an unfavorable contract for himself, even as a joke.

Did this mean he truly loved Yeri Zhi?

Seeing her lost in a daze, Bryce put down his phone and said, "Don’t you realize how badly this could ruin Shin Keir? I knew that bastard was a pathetic simp. He walks around with that indifferent face every day, yet lets a woman lead him by the nose. Once this contract gets out, the entire business world will erupt."

Only then did Calin snap out of it.

"You can’t leak that!" she exclaimed. "You said it would make me feel better. How exactly is this supposed to help?"

"Why?" Bryce’s gaze sharpened. "Afraid that bastard will finally fall off his throne? Are you worried about him?"

But that wasn’t the only reason. To Calin, leaking the contract was the same as letting the entire world know Shin’s feelings for Yeri.

How could she bear that?

The resentment, envy, and grievance in her heart churned violently, ticking like a clock meant to haunt her.

"That contract practically says Brother Shin would do anything for her!" she shouted.

Bryce paused, finally realizing what she meant. Clearly, they were not on the same page.

"Right." Calin suddenly looked at him. "Then why don’t you do the same for me? You want me to ask my brother for a favor, right? Then make a contract with me too. Promise that if you ever wrong me, you’ll hand over all your net worth."

Bryce was stunned for a moment before bursting into laughter.

The audacity of her demand was almost unbelievable.

"Calin Ricci, have you lost your mind? I already injected massive funding into your family, something no one else would’ve done, and now you’re demanding that I hand over my entire life’s hard-earned fortune to you?"

"Then how am I supposed to be assured you won’t betray me?" Calin shot back. "We both know this relationship is nothing more than mutual interests and shared goals. You already cheated on me before we were even married. In this arrangement, I’m the one at the losing end as a woman. Besides, with my reputation, there’s no way I’d be the one betraying you."

Looking at Calin’s reddened yet greedy, desperate eyes, Bryce sneered. "I think you need more time in the hospital. Clearly, you’re still unwell."

Calin glared at him, still arguing incoherently.

Bryce ignored her and turned to leave. "Do what I asked you. I have to go."

"Wait!" Calin called out. "You said you hacked Yeri’s phone. What else did you find out about that vixen?"

Bryce tilted his head slightly.

Back then, when he tricked Yeri with the fake bomb threat, he hadn’t had much time. Using his company’s tech device, he downloaded all the information from her phone. But as expected of a programmer, most of the data triggered security alarms. If he forcefully bypassed her phone’s security shell, Yeri would definitely discover what he had done later.

Cracking all her encrypted files would take time, so he only checked a few folders along with the gallery and chat logs.

Unfortunately, aside from the contract he had just shown Calin, everything else on Yeri’s phone was utterly useless.

Most girls her age were obsessed with their appearance, constantly taking selfies, maybe even keeping provocative photos hidden somewhere. But Yeri Zhi’s gallery was filled with nothing but pictures of a golden retriever, random food photos, and a few snapshots with friends.

Was she some kind of old woman trapped in a young girl’s body?

Bryce couldn’t help wondering if the phone she used back then had merely been a spare.

"Nothing worth paying attention to," Bryce said with a shrug.

"What about photos with Brother Shin?" Calin pressed.

Bryce gave her an indescribable look before leaving the room.

Left alone, Calin remained motionless. One moment her face twisted as though she were staring at a mortal enemy, the next she sank into miserable self-pity.

Even back then, it had never once occurred to her that Shin Keir would hand over all his assets to her, even if they had ended up together.

How did Yeri do it?

How had she managed to make Shin Keir sign such an unfair and outrageous contract?

The more Calin thought about it, the deeper her resentment toward Yeri became, spreading through her chest like poison ivy crawling up palace walls.

--

At the penthouse, Yeri had just returned from school. She casually emptied the contents of her bag onto the bed, organizing her things one by one when something unfamiliar caught her attention.

Her eyes narrowed instantly, instinctively sensing what it was.

Taking out her phone, she snapped a photo and searched it online. Sure enough, it was a listening device.

When did this get into her bag? And more importantly, who put it there?

Just then, a knock sounded on her door before Shin walked in.

"There’s something I want to ask," he said.

Yeri quickly placed a finger against her lips, gesturing for him not to speak. Then she silently showed him the tiny bugging device resting on her palm.

Naturally, Shin recognized it immediately.

Without another word, Yeri left the device in her room before dragging him outside.

"That was a listening device, right?" she whispered. "I just found it in my bag."

Shin’s expression darkened slightly. "When was the last time you checked your belongings? Have you been using the same bag for school and whenever you go out?"

Yeri scratched her nose awkwardly. She wasn’t exactly the type to organize her bag every day, and changing bags whenever she went out sounded unnecessarily troublesome to her. So yes, she had been using the same one everywhere lately.

"What do I do about it?" she asked quietly.

Shin pinched her cheek lightly before replying, "I’ll take care of it."

Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he narrowed his eyes at her.

"By the way, why were you investigating that idiot, Hadi? You even hacked the Mafia Association’s network."

Yeri’s eyes widened in shock. Wasn’t that months ago? How did he even find out?

"Are you really underestimating the mafia’s network?" Shin chuckled at her guilty expression. "Even if it takes time, there are still ways to trace it back to you."

Realizing there was no point trying to lie her way out of it, Yeri finally admitted honestly, "I was just curious about Venice’s wealthy boyfriend back then. Originally, I only wanted to find out who owned the car with the plate number I saw her get into, but I accidentally uncovered all sorts of information about him instead."

"Well, I already took care of it," Shin said casually. "If the association caught you, you’d be paying a massive fine at best. At worst, detention."

Then he smirked teasingly. "So, what do I get in return for covering up for my very ’curious’ fiancée?"

"Thank you very much." Yeri immediately bowed politely without hesitation.

The corners of Shin’s mouth twitched. She really knew how to exploit him shamelessly while pretending innocent.

Just as he was about to tease her further, his phone suddenly rang. Seeing Junho’s name on the screen, Shin clicked his tongue softly before answering.

The penthouse was quiet enough that Yeri unintentionally overheard parts of the conversation regarding the ongoing investigation into Allen’s accident.

After the call ended, she casually asked, "How is he? I ran into Brother Tristan and Young Master Lin at the hospital a few days ago. Coincidentally, Sergei Ricci was there too. They almost got into a fight."

Shin already knew about her regular hospital checkups, but hearing that only confirmed their suspicions. Sure enough, Sergei’s side was deeply invested in Allen’s accident as well.

--

On the other hand, Sergei had been like a restless soul ever since Calin’s matter spiraled out of control.

Although the issue with the dash cam had already been dealt with, handling Allen impulsively was impossible.

The hospital security was far too tight, and Hexion’s people were also closely monitoring the situation.

During his argument with Zoren Lin a few days ago, Sergei had managed to slip a listening device into Yeri’s bag. But so far, he hadn’t heard anything particularly useful.

She never mentioned what happened that day at the hospital.

Most of what he heard consisted of Yeri randomly talking to a dog, chatting with classmates, complaining about schoolwork, or rambling about food. That was it.

There wasn’t even a single moment where she properly spoke with Shin Keir. Or perhaps she simply hadn’t been close enough to the listening device for it to pick up their conversations.

Still preoccupied with the matter, Sergei suddenly received a forwarded file from one of his men.

Seeing that it was surveillance footage from the hospital, he immediately opened it.

The moment the video began playing, Sergei’s expression stiffened, then surprise flickered across his face followed by unmistakable relief.

By the time he realized it himself, he was already smiling.

Without wasting another second, he abruptly stood up and called for his secretary.

"Buy a bouquet of roses," he ordered hurriedly. "And book a reservation at a high-end restaurant tonight."

For the first time in days, the crushing pressure in his chest had eased.