Chapter 3 Knowing someone is married and still choosing to be the third party.

Eva Joseph's instincts kicked into high gear.

She lowered her gaze, avoiding the striking face of the man in front of her. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a string of sandalwood prayer beads on his wrist. They seemed vaguely familiar.

Quickly, she recalled a past event.

Years ago, at an auction, she had her eye on a string of prayer beads she intended to buy for her grandfather. The auctioneer, aware of her interest, planned to let her have it without much fuss. But a fool decided to compete with her, driving the price of the item from millions to half a billion. Amused yet annoyed, she ultimately paid a billion to let him have it.

As she remembered this, her eyes narrowed slightly.

Could it be that the person who competed with her back then was him?

Her presence had clearly put the group of black-suited bodyguards on alert. Their sharp eyes tracked her every move until both parties passed without incident, and they finally relaxed their vigilance.

Once she was at a safe distance, Eva allowed herself to relax a bit and headed towards the third floor. She didn't notice the young man suddenly stop, turn around, and watch her retreating figure with interest until she disappeared from view.

"Find out who she is," the young man said, casually fiddling with the beads on his wrist.

"Yes, Harvey," one of the bodyguards responded.

Eva reached the third floor, where she scanned her fingerprint and retina. The heavy door opened silently.

Everyone in St. Jude's Bay knew that the third floor of The Velvet Room was off-limits to the public, regardless of how high or powerful their status might be.

Upon entering, Eva Joseph was greeted by an entire wall filled with electronic screens, displaying real-time surveillance from various countries around the world.

In front of the screens, a group of people were hard at work. Eva stood at a distance with her arms crossed, observing without interrupting.

Soon, the bar manager hurried over, visibly excited and thrilled.

"Miss, you're back."

Eva offered a slight smile, "Long time no see, Uncle Joseph."

The Joseph Family's business empire spanned a vast array of sectors, from agriculture and finance, real estate, jewelry, entertainment, healthcare, daily chemicals, and mining. They were involved in nearly every profitable industry, with a secret focus on the military industry, ranking among the top ten international arms dealers.

After Eva took over the family business, she established an extremely secretive intelligence organization called XY. No one knew that its headquarters was located right here at The Velvet Room.

In the past few days, Tom Pearson had reported all the intelligence information from recent years to her. Today, she was here to reassure her team and to arrange some matters.

After finishing her tasks, she remembered the man she had seen in the hallway. Curious, she walked over to an empty computer, pulled up the surveillance footage, and pointed to the young man, asking, "Who is this?"

Uncle Joseph looked at the screen with a serious expression. "That's Harvey Twist from the Twist Family, known simply as Harvey. The Twist Family is based in Europe. A few years ago, after Harvey took control of the family business, he expanded part of their operations and influence back into the country. Now, the Twist Family has become a formidable force domestically, one that no one dares to underestimate."

"This guy is really not someone to mess with! We once took a job to investigate him, but before we even got close, he noticed us. The people we sent were returned half-dead, and a shipment of ours mysteriously disappeared, only to be found six months later..."

The money they lost was exactly the amount they earned from the investigation job, a clear act of retaliation and warning from the other party.

"What does he want today?"

Uncle Joseph frowned deeply. "He wants to meet with you to discuss the merger with XY." Calling it a merger was more like a takeover.

Eva Joseph chuckled softly, "Interesting."

It had been a long time since someone dared to covet what was hers.

She pulled out a chair and sat down, her fingers flying over the keyboard as lines of code appeared on the screen. Meanwhile, in a moving car, Owen held his phone and turned to the young man resting in the back seat. "Harvey, there's a hacker trying to breach the T-net backend. Our IT department can't hold them off."

Harvey Twist opened his eyes, his dark gaze deep and unfathomable. He extended his hand, and his assistant quickly handed him a laptop.

Eva quickly realized her intrusion was being blocked, and she felt a thrill of excitement. "Finally, someone who can put up a fight."

She hadn't expected that the Twist Syndicate had an intelligence organization backing them. No wonder they wanted to take over XY. After all, there can't be two tigers on one mountain.

An hour later, the screen in front of Eva Joseph suddenly went black. An ink-painted cat paw pressed down on a struggling fish, and with a flick, it gobbled up a line of command code. As the lines of code disappeared, the information she had found on the Twist Syndicate was completely shredded and destroyed.

Eva glared at the screen, where the cheeky ink-painted cat was now licking sunflower seeds, grinding her teeth in frustration.

How could she, a world-renowned hacker, be defeated just like that?!

Even though part of it was due to her skills rusting over three years of inactivity, the fact remained that she had lost.

Uncle Joseph looked at her with concern, but Eva reassured him, swallowing her pride, "Don't worry, they can't trace my identity."

Just as she finished speaking, a line of text flashed across the screen: [You lost!]

[I have a business proposal for XY. Meet up?]

Clearly, the opponent had already figured out that it was XY who had hacked in!

Eva scoffed. Did they think she would just agree to meet?

Yet, what she typed on the screen was: [Time and place.]

As soon as she agreed, an electronic invitation popped up, a charity gala invitation from a John Doe.

Eva narrowed her eyes as she stared at the invitation.

She was determined to find out who exactly was on the other side!

Inside the car, Harvey Twist's alluring lips curled into a knowing smile.

Owen had just received the message that the attack had failed and sighed in relief, turning back to say, "Harvey, the data is intact, nothing was lost."

"Could this be XY's doing? We just tried to meet their boss, and then the system got hacked..."

Harvey replied coolly, "If they don't even have this capability, then they're not worth my time."

"XY has regressed quite a bit over the years, overlapping with T in many areas. Merging them doesn't seem very beneficial," Owen mused. Harvey's long fingers tapped the screen where a motionless fish was displayed.

"A fish without its owner won't dare to make waves, but once the owner returns, this fish will soon stir up a storm."

"However, the best fate for a fish is always inside the belly of a cat..."

...

Shortly after, Eva Joseph gracefully descended the stairs and headed towards Harry's private room.

As she reached the door, Harry, who was standing guard, spotted her immediately. His eyes lit up as he approached and asked, "Eva, where have you been?" "Just went to the restroom," Eva Joseph replied casually, her eyes scanning the crowd until they landed on the couple at the center of attention.

The man was handsome and noble, the woman graceful and ethereal a perfect match. They were Adam Allen and Rebecca Twist.

Rebecca's cheeks were slightly flushed, seemingly overwhelmed by the alcohol, as she leaned softly against Adam, their closeness undeniable.

The people around them wore amused smiles, chatting and laughing, creating a harmonious atmosphere.

Eva ignored the brief pang in her heart, letting a small smile play on her lips as she followed Harry into the private room.

Someone with a keen eye noticed them and immediately shouted, "Whoa, Harry, where'd you find such a beauty?" The voice was so loud that it drew everyone's attention.

Adam's indifferent gaze turned their way, and he instantly recognized Eva. His expression darkened.

It seemed she hadn't taken his previous warning seriously.

His cold eyes locked onto the vibrant and charming Eva. Did she really think a new look would change his mind?

"Don't tease, or I'll have a bone to pick with you if you scare Miss Joseph!" Harry warned the instigator, proudly leading Eva towards Adam and the others.

Adam Allen's eyes flickered with a hint of anger he didn't even realize as he watched his hand resting on Eva Joseph's waist.

Rebecca Twist, noticing his unusual demeanor, discreetly glanced at Eva, her brow slightly furrowed, though her face maintained a gentle smile. "Brother, who might this be?"

Eva glanced at her with a half-smile. "Miss Rebecca, it seems you've forgotten me."

Rebecca's smile paused for a moment, but she remained polite. "I'm sorry, I've just returned to the country and haven't seen my friends here in a while. If I've been presumptuous, I hope you don't mind."

Eva didn't respond to her, instead turning to Harry with a deep smile. "Is this your gathering?"

Harry, seemingly oblivious to the tension, grinned. "Celebrating my buddy's escape from misery he's about to get divorced!"

Eva's lips curled into an enigmatic smile. "About to get divorced, so not yet, huh?"

She gestured toward the cozy Adam and Rebecca, her smile widening. "So, are you matchmaking, or helping your sister become the other woman?"