Dorris felt a little surprised upon hearing the unfamiliar voice. It wasn’t the same bishop she was used to conversing with.“Where’s Father Modric? Who are you?”“The old Father has fallen ill. He needs to rest. But I am here to fill the void,” Enrico replied. “My name is Ezio Marlone.”“I haven’t heard of any Ezio Marlone before,” Dorris replied skeptically.“That would be because I am new to this church. I joined last night.”Dorris had mixed feelings about this one.She was used to Father Modric and had developed a closeness to the old man. He had been her confidante all along.However, she wasn’t averse to the idea of confessing to a stranger since it was better to spill her secrets to someone who didn’t know her than to a person close to her.“What gives, my child?” Enrico asked, putting on his most austere voice. “Is your heart still confused?”“I…just haven’t confessed to anyone else before,” Dorris mumbled.“There is always a first time for everything. But I am a man of the c

Enrico held his breath and stuck to the chair like a terrified lizard.He still wanted to believe that no one would notice if he just stayed quiet, but his heart kept thundering inside him.“Whoever you are, come out with your hands in the air, or I will shoot!” The guard yelled, slowly moving in the direction of the couch. “This is your last warning! There is no way out!”Enrico opened his eyes and took a deep breath.He realized staying silent was only going to get him in more trouble.He was ready to get up and surrender when suddenly there was a noise on the other side.The guard turned around and caught a glance of a black bobcat as it knocked a vase off the table before bounding out of the window.“God damn it!”The guard radioed in to his team again.“No need to come upstairs. It was a false alarm. It was a damn cat!”Behind the couch, Enrico thanked his lucky stars and breathed a sigh of relief.Once the guard had walked out of the room, the lights went out again, plunging the

Alex’s business partnership with Xavier Cortez felt like a tight slap on the Governor’s face.They had tried to scare him off and crush all his business plans with the help of the system, but instead of running away, Alex had come back stronger.Going public with his business secured him the media’s undivided attention, and his plans to build new hospitals and labs in Ivera received tremendous applause from the public.Now that Alex had announced his arrival in public, Governor Morton understood it would be impossible to drive him out of Ivera so easily.But little did he know, this was only the beginning of his troubles.The very next day, Xavier Cortez’s lawyer filed defamation charges against the state and dragged Frank’s name directly into the mess.The media soon went abuzz, accusing the Governor of tarnishing Xavier’s image out of personal prejudice and past grudge.Governor Morton’s phone buzzed in the early hours of the evening, exploding with messages and calls.He ignored mo

The next day, Enrico approached Alex as he was reading the newspaper headlines, all of which were pointed at Martin Iverson.“Your plan worked really well. But Martin’s pulling all his strings now. His restaurants have already started reopening. All the safety allegations have been dismissed, and the negative reviews removed in bulk.”But Alex wasn’t fazed.“It doesn’t matter. I knew Martin was going to use his influence to resolve the issues. But the damage has already been done,” Alex replied, smiling to himself.“I don’t understand. What was the point in all this then?”“The goal wasn’t to put Martin Iverson out of business. That will take time. The goal was to damage his reputation and taint his public image,” Alex replied, putting the newspaper down and looking at Enrico. “Sometimes you need to weaken your enemy with skirmishes before you can win the battle. It’s all about taking one step at a time.”Enrico understood that Alex was planning to play the long game. And this was just

Ginny froze where she was standing, and her blush evaporated in seconds, leaving behind a pale aura on her cold, terror-stricken face.“I asked you a question,” Frank reiterated, stepping even closer. “Who was it on the phone?”“It was a friend,” Ginny blurted nervously, hardly able to stop herself from trembling.“A friend?” Frank’s eyes widened, and a deep crease formed on his wrinkled forehead. “I never knew you had friends.”“She’s from the church,” she mumbled, looking away.“Is that right?” Frank asked in a deepening voice. “Then perhaps you should call her over for some tea. I’d like to know this friend of yours.”“She’s married,” Ginny quipped. “Her husband doesn’t like to leave her alone.”“Then invite her husband as well. I have no problems,” Frank replied.Ginny swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded.“I’ll tell her when I meet her again.”“No. Just give me your phone and let me do the courtesy.”Frank extended his hand, looking fixedly at her.“I am sure your friend a