Chapter 676 - 675: Hypnosis
Her voice was full of confidence. "I’ve already prepared for that. Everything you’re saying is passing through a voice filter before reaching me."
She smiled. "Your hypnosis works through vocal patterns."
Another chuckle escaped her lips.
"Unfortunately for you, all of those frequencies are being filtered out."
Hearing that, Shay nearly crushed the phone in her hand. Still, her expression remained calm. She continued acting innocent. "Abby, you’re misunderstanding me."
Her tone was pitiful. "Please, little sister, come meet me."
Before she could continue, Abby interrupted. "You know what? I think I made a mistake by calling you. I only wanted to see whether you were suffering."
She chuckled. "Now that I’ve confirmed it, I’m going to celebrate with a grand dinner tonight."
She paused intentionally.
"Oh, by the way, I’ve started my own company. It’s doing very well. So if you ever need help, don’t come looking for me."
Her voice turned ice cold.
"After all, I’m living a much better life than I ever did in the Brown family."
Without giving Shay another chance to speak, the call disconnected.
Beep. Shay stared at the dark phone screen. The next second, she slammed the teacup onto the floor.
Crash!
Porcelain shattered across the marble tiles. Her eyes burnt with fury. "ABBY!"
She screamed through gritted teeth. Since hypnotising Abby was no longer an option...
She immediately changed her target. There were still countless wealthy businessmen who had fallen under her hypnosis in the past.
As long as she could manipulate enough millionaires, she would survive.
Without hesitation, she arranged several private meetings. One after another, she subtly hypnotised influential businessmen.
Money quickly flowed back into her accounts. Within only a short time, she had repaid every outstanding debt.
Finally, she leaned back in her chair and let out a long sigh of relief.
A faint smile slowly appeared. ’Now... all I need... is a comeback.’
However, she had barely begun making plans for her return when disaster struck once again.
For reasons she couldn’t understand, several of the billionaires she had hypnotised suddenly regained their senses.
And the very first person they wanted to settle scores with was Shay. Her face gradually turned pale.
’Impossible, someone broke my hypnosis? Did someone warn them? Was it Abby...?’
Just then, her phone vibrated. A new message had arrived.
When she opened it, her pupils shrank. The sender was Aurora.
The message contained only one sentence.
"Did you like my gift?"
Shay immediately misunderstood the situation, believing that Aurora was the one responsible for everything that had happened.
Her expression twisted with fury. Since Abby had vanished without leaving a single trace and was nearly impossible to locate, Shay quickly shifted her target.
Aurora, on the other hand, was right in front of her. She was visible and accessible. A perfect target.
A vicious smile slowly crept across Shay’s lips.
’If I can’t find Abby... then I’ll destroy Aurora instead.’
Without wasting another second, she quickly typed a message. "Aurora, I’ve realized my mistake. Could you please let me off? I truly want to apologize to you in person."
Meanwhile, Aurora stared at the message on her phone with an indifferent expression. Her first instinct was to ignore it completely.
There was no reason to waste her time on someone like Shay. However, a memory from the original novel suddenly surfaced in her mind.
In that original timeline, she had been destined to die because of Shay’s schemes. ’Let’s see...’
A dangerous smile slowly appeared on Aurora’s lips. ’I’m genuinely curious what kind of ridiculous plot she’ll come up with this time.’
With that thought, Aurora accepted the meeting request. The moment Shay saw Aurora’s reply, she let out a cold laugh. "What a fool."
Her eyes were filled with vicious delight. Leaning back in her chair, she smirked maliciously. "Aurora... you’re finished this time."
With renewed confidence, she immediately began preparing every detail of her plan.
............................................
Not long afterward, both of them agreed to meet inside a private room at a quiet café.
Just as Aurora was about to leave, her phone suddenly rang. The call came from home.
The moment she answered, an anxious voice came from the other end.
"Miss Aurora! Nia’s condition has suddenly worsened. We’re taking her to the hospital right now!"
Aurora’s expression immediately changed. Her brows knitted together tightly.
Without hesitation, she prepared to cancel the meeting. However, before she could send the message, Shay immediately called her.
The moment Aurora answered, Shay spoke in an almost pleading voice. "Please..."
She sounded pitiful. "This will be the last time I’ll ever trouble you."
She paused before continuing. "After today... I’ll never appear before you again."
Aurora rubbed the bridge of her nose. She was already irritated. Still, she had already informed Spencer about the meeting beforehand.
If anything unexpected happened, Spencer would already know where to find her. ’Fine. Let’s end this once and for all.’
With that thought, Aurora headed toward the café.
...............................................
Several minutes later, Aurora arrived inside the private room. She sat quietly with an impatient expression.
The faint aroma of coffee lingered in the room, while the air conditioner emitted a low humming sound.
The room itself appeared perfectly ordinary. Nothing looked suspicious.
A few moments later, the door suddenly opened. Shay hurried inside while pretending to pant heavily.
Sweat glistened on her forehead as though she had rushed all the way there. Looking embarrassed, she smiled apologetically. "I’m sorry."
She caught her breath dramatically. "I wanted to take a taxi..."
She awkwardly scratched her cheek. "...but I didn’t have enough money."
With that, she pulled out the chair opposite Aurora and sat down. She let out another exaggerated breath before smiling.
"Now that we’re both here..." She leaned slightly forward. "...let’s begin."
Then, her smile became strange. She tilted her head. "But first... Aurora... are you hearing that?"
She softly whispered, "Tick-tock, tick-tock..."
Only then did Aurora subconsciously notice the old clock hanging on the wall. Its second hand moved steadily. She hadn’t paid attention to it when she entered.
After all, the clock had already been there long before she arrived. She never imagined that Shay had secretly prepared everything in advance.
Gradually, Aurora’s vision became blurry. Her thoughts slowed. The ticking sound seemed to grow louder and louder. Shay couldn’t help laughing. "What?"
She rested her chin on one hand. "You didn’t expect this? Well..."
She shrugged casually. "...sometimes being overly smart doesn’t make much difference."
She chuckled again. "I knew that if I arrived before you, you’d become suspicious."
She pointed toward the clock. "So instead... I arrived late. I knew you’d lower your guard."
She slowly leant forward. Her voice became strangely rhythmic. "Now, listen carefully."
Aurora felt as though her consciousness was slowly sinking into darkness.
Shay continued, "The first thing you’re going to do is save the Brown family."
Her tone gradually became commanding. "I don’t care how you get the money."
She waved her hand dismissively. "Sell drugs. Become a prostitute. Rob your own parents. Or spend every last cent of your own fortune."
She slowly tapped the table. "But pay off every debt the Brown family owes."
"The second thing you’ll do..." She folded her hands together. "...use every connection you have to destroy the evidence against us."
She continued, "Forge documents if necessary to prove the Brown family’s innocence."
"And if you can’t..." She stared directly into Aurora’s unfocused eyes. "...then give me one billion dollars."
Her voice became increasingly hypnotic. "Prepare a perfect escape route for me. After that, you’ll continue sending me one hundred million dollars every month. You’ll treat it as a normal expense. You won’t question it."
She smiled. "And you won’t allow anyone else to question it either."
At that moment, Aurora felt her entire world spinning. Her mind screamed at her to reject every single command. Yet, another force continuously urged her to obey.
She bit the inside of her lip so hard that the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth. Still, she refused to answer. Seeing Aurora’s resistance, Shay burst into laughter.
"My..." She slowly clapped. "...what incredible willpower."
Her smile gradually turned cruel. "Unfortunately..."
She slowly took a silver spoon from the table.
"...it’s completely useless."
Clink... she gently struck the spoon against the porcelain cup. The crisp sound blended perfectly with the ticking clock. Aurora’s vision became even blurrier.
Her lips slowly parted. She was just about to agree... Bang!
The private room’s door was suddenly pushed open with tremendous force. A tall man walked inside.
His sleek black hair framed his handsome face, while his cold sapphire-blue eyes immediately locked onto Shay.
The temperature inside the room seemed to drop instantly. His terrifying aura swept across the entire room like an invisible storm.
Looking directly at Shay, he growled in a dangerously low voice, "What are you doing to my girlfriend?"
The moment those words echoed through the room, both Aurora and Shay abruptly regained their senses.
Shay instinctively looked toward the newcomer.