Nova was busy eating her peeled mango when her phone vibrated twice. She brought out her phone and unlocked it. Noticing it was a video message, Nova smiled lightly.
"Can I use the washroom?" she asked gently in a whisper.
Delilah immediately held Nova’s hand. "I’ll lead you there," she said, and Nova stood up, following her.
Inside the washroom, Nova clicked the play button on her phone and watched the footage. Her tongue searched her cheek for a while, and a low, devilish smile appeared on her lips.
"A live porn it is. Oh, Abigail, I didn’t expect the man you love to carry out his revenge on you in such a brutal way. This is so satisfying," she murmured and chuckled darkly.
"You must be feeling so bad right now. You must have wished for death, haha," she laughed, turning off her phone screen. "Ruining you physically and emotionally... I’m finally satisfied. Whether you die or not is up to your luck now. I wish you the worst in the world," she murmured, knowing full well that even if Abigail were able to move again—which was totally impossible—she wouldn’t want to live a second more in this world.
"The next is you, Dora... don’t disappoint me, my good soon-to-be sister-in-law," she smiled, revealing her sharp teeth.
She put her phone inside her jacket pocket, moved closer to the washing basin, and opened the tap. Just as she was about to wash her hands, her eyes suddenly narrowed, and she stared into the huge mirror against the wall.
Immediately, a blue translucent screen appeared in front of Nova, and the familiar detailed text appeared on it.
[Ding!]
[Threat detected!]
[Two different airborne poisons hidden inside the mirror. It slowly releases poison into the air every minute for five hours. It is odorless; inhaling too much of it leads to absolute death after a year. Threat rate to a normal human: 95. Threat rate to you: 0.00.]
"And who’s the bastard targeting my husband’s family?" she thought, her eyes hiding murderous intent.
[Identity confirmed.]
[Name: Luke, a distant relative of Mrs. Thomas, ordinary human carpenter.]
A low smile appeared on Nova’s lips. "Someone is definitely behind him. The person’s target is Raymond," she thought.
[Correct! Mastermind identity confirmed: Mr. Halka Kim. Currently targeting you as well. Threat level: 60.]
The dark smile on Nova’s lips widened. "His daughter is eyeing my Cassian, while he has already made a move against my Raymond and is even planning against me. Tell me, how do I let him have a taste of his own medicine?" she thought, her blue eyes glowing softly with danger.
[Murdering ideas system activated. Starting with sending the poison back to him: there are 60,784 tasteless, odorless, and deadly poisons available. Gifting him a hat containing 5,000 poisons... a staff with 7,000 poisons... clothing with 10,000 poisons... eyeglasses with 6,000 poisons—a total of 28,000 poisons. Slow effects guaranteed... sudden death in exactly 1 year with a rotten body.]
Nova raised one of her brows in excitement. "Sure... let’s start with the poison. Tomorrow night after the auction, the task starts," she smiled.
[Task updated: Poisoning Mr. Halka Kim with 28,000 slow poisons.]
"Sister-in-law, are you okay in there? Do you need help?" Delilah’s voice echoed from outside.
Nova washed her hands immediately. "I’m fine," she replied, and opened the door, flashing Delilah a warm smile. "Sorry for worrying you."
Delilah shook her head. "Not at all," she giggled happily, locking her arm around Nova’s arm as they walked back to the living room.
"Here! Lunch is ready!" Mrs. Thomas announced.
Raymond walked up to Nova and separated her from Delilah. "We are staying over tonight," he whispered to her, placing a kiss on her cheek.
Nova chuckled and leaned in. "Carry me," Nova instructed, and Raymond happily lifted her into his arms immediately.
"Can you take the washroom mirror to the lab for an investigation? I suspect it’s not clean," she whispered into his ear.
Raymond was surprised but didn’t question her. Instead, he nodded and pulled out his phone, texting someone before putting the phone back inside his pocket.
"You didn’t ask why I suspect it’s not clean?" Nova asked, staring unblinkingly at him.
"Asking that question would mean I doubt you," Raymond replied.
"Aw... so sweet."
Raymond laughed. "That sounds familiar," he replied, and carried her to the dining table where everyone was already seated.
"Mum, I’ll need to take the washroom mirror for a test," Raymond commented as he set Nova on the chair and started filling her bowl.
Mrs. Thomas was surprised. "Is everything alright? Your uncle brought it as a gift for us. It was naturally meant to be in our room, but our room already have one and in order to avoid breakage, I placed it there," she said.
Raymond paused. "Uncle?" he repeated, and the room’s atmosphere dropped immediately.
Mr. Thomas noticed the atmosphere getting awkward and sighed. "Your uncle might have been bad before, but he has really changed. He sincerely apologized," he said.
Nova lowered her head. "I’m afraid he’s the only one to apologize sincerely with a mirror as a gift," she murmured, but her voice was loud enough for everyone to hear.
The atmosphere became even more tense as realization dawned on everyone.
Mr. Thomas gently patted his wife’s clenched knuckles, noticing her mood had dropped. "Just take it if you want to take it. Let’s eat first, don’t let the food get cold," he said, adding more food to his wife’s bowl.
"It’s fine... let’s eat," Mrs. Thomas smiled and started eating.
Nova picked up her spoon and started eating as well. "Oh," she commented.
All eyes fixed on Nova, wondering about the reason behind her reaction after eating just one spoonful of the food.
Nova sensed their gazes on her and smiled beautifully. "My apologies, it’s just that I suddenly realized why Raymond’s cooking is so good. Turns out he learned from Mum," she said, chuckling.
Everyone laughed. Her statement successfully diverted Mrs. Thomas’s attention, making her feel proud of herself.
"Let me tell you, sweet daughter-in-law, when Raymond was young, he loved following me around in the kitchen, always wanting to learn to cook while wearing only his pants," she said.
Nova’s smile widened as she stared at Raymond, who was flushed with embarrassment.
"Ugh... let’s eat," Raymond murmured, feeling embarrassed while everyone laughed wholeheartedly.