Chapter 31

The black market was tucked underground, once a bomb shelter, now turned into a bustling hidden marketplace. Because the people pulling strings behind those shops were all shady figures, this place was pretty much a no-man's-land.

No one's brave enough to mess with it-not the law, not the gangs, not even the curious.

Megan tied up her hair, slipped on a mask and threw on a baseball cap she'd"borrowed" from Rachel.She walked into a self-service adult toy shop like it was her backyard.

Behind a hidden door inside, a staircase led her down. Most stores had their doors shut, but it was clear they were open for business.

She headed straight to the section for advanced gear and stepped into a familiar shop she used to visit often.

The owner was a young guy, busy gaming at his desk. As the footsteps approached, he glanced over and stood up.

"What're you looking for?"

He didn't recognize her since she always disguised herself as a guy when visiting before.

"Two units of the latest trackers and bugs, ten mini spy cams, and three high-voltage stun devices."

Her tone was sharp and to the point.

The owner raised his eyebrows, impressed, then got to work gathering everything. Soon after, he showed her a compact cutting-edge gadget.

"This one's a prototype from Dracopower Communications, not even released yet. It's got tracking and eavesdropping rolled into one. Supposedly designed by Professor XAL. Just stick it under the chip board,it'll pick up sound from there." That caught Megan's attention. She pulled out a pair of white gloves, put them on, and picked up the devi with a pair of tweezers he handed her.

It was sleek-barely two millimeters. But unreleased? From Professor XAL?

It made sense-Dracopower did partner with that professor-but if this kind of classified tech was leaking out,something was definitely off at Dracopower.

Normally, she'd give Kevin a heads-up, given he was buddies with Tristan. But in her current situation,exposing herself wasn't worth it.Maybe later, if an opportunity popped up.

"I'H take this combo model instead."

"20K each."

"Sure.Sounds fair."

The owner beamed at her response, clearly thrilled to be dealing with someone who didn't haggle or waste time.He packed the gear neatly in a box and pushed it acrossthe counter.

"That'll be 50,900 total."

Megan didn't say another word. She wire transferred the money fast, grabbed the box, and slipped the covered tweezers into her pocket before heading out.

After confirming the payment, the owner got curious and checked her encrypted sender ID.

Butit came up as inaccessible. A momerrt later, the screen went black.

Blood-red text appeared: "Curiosity killed the cat."

He was frozen for a second-this was exactly how that mysterious regular customer used to operate. Wait a sec.Could this woman be that guy's girlfriend?

Megan then swung by the pharmaceutical booths and bought knockout sedatives, syringes, and a nurse's outfit.

On her way back, she paused once more inside the adult store. Her ears turned red as she stared at row after row of ultra-thin lingerie and seductive outfits.

She bit her lip, glanced around the empty shop, and quickly snatched up five sets, had them packed up, and paid without fuss.

Inside the venue, Rachel was waving like a maniac from the back row, acting like she hadn't seen Megan in years.

Megan walked over and sat down next to her.

"Hey Megan! Aren't you proud of me? If I hadn't shown up early, all the good seats at the back would've been taken!"

Megan felt speechless.

Rachel leaned in with a cheeky grin.

"Tell me-did you score something...spicy?"

Of course, Megan knew exactly what she meant.She shot Rachel a sideways glance. "Seriously? You've got a runaway train running loops in your head now."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"You've got a dirty mind, that's what,"

Megan pulled a stun gun out of her bag and handed it over. "Here. A gift. In case some creep tries something."d

Rachel's face lit up and she quickly shoved it into her bag. "You're the best, Megan!"

The lecture was on clothing construction and garment design. Rachel, with her background in jewelry design from France, knew a thing or two about fashion. She was laser-focused. Megan, though? Totally checked out. She rested her chin in her hands like flower petals, deep in thought. Then a sly little smirk crept up her lips.

One glance at her phone-five minutes left.She leaned into Rachel and whispered something.

Rachel's eyes lit up mischievously and she raised an eyebrow at Megan.

The bell rang.

Rachel shot up and made her way to the front of the room.

Stopping at Molly's desk, she knocked on the table. "Hey, I heard you've been bad-mouthing Megan behind her back?"

Molly blinked innocently. "I haven't. There must be some mistake."

Rachel smacked the desk hard, voice rising. "So you talk trash then pretend it wasn't you? Really? And don't think I didn't hear about your little fling with Mr. Carden from Everpeak Logistics."

Molly burst into tears. "Who are you even? I don't know you-what are you talking about..."

Where the hell did this woman come from? And how did she find out about Carden?

By now, a crowd had gathered.

Molly stood up, grabbing her phone and bag, ready to bolt.

But Rachel caught her by the arm. "Oh no, you don't! Stay right there! That Mr. Cardenis my friend's dad!You're so young, yet already getting involved in this kindof mess..."

Megan brushed past them at that exact moment.

A split second later, there was a phone in her gloved hand. She walked straight into the ladies' room.

Inside a stall, Megan cracked the phone open and neatly placed a new high-tech tracker under the speaker module.

Then reassembled it without a trace. Back in the room, she effortlessly laid the phone on Molly's desk.

Pretending to break up the fight, she stepped in. "Okay, Rachel, chill. The truth has a way of coming out."

A chubby girl standing next to Molly glared at Megan. "Megan, seriously? Molly's your sister. Same parents

and all. Why are you so cruel? I'm not scared of you, unlike some people here."

"I'm telling it how it is. You let some sugar daddy keep you, got knocked up, then had an abortion. When you came back, you even kicked your sister out of the house. How messed up is that?"

Gasps echoed all around.

What? Megan was a kept woman? Had a baby and aborted it?

So the library donatons and everything-that was all paid for by this rich old boyfriend?

The buzz spread like wildfire.

Megan crossed her arms with a wry smile. "Molly, how much longer are you planning to pretend to be the real Miss Shaw? You've got the last name, sure. But blood ties? None. Come on now, why don't you tell everyone the truth? That you're just the adopted daughter of the Shaw family."

Megan continued, "Oh-and if I'm supposedly kept by someone, why not name him? Who is he? People've gone to the mat for you, really believed in you.How can you live with yourself? Do you even realize what it'll cost to cross me?"

The chubby girl blinked in confusion, turning to Molly. "Wait... you're adopted?"

Molly's lips stayed tightly pressed,fists clenched.

Why? Why humiliate her in front of everyone?

The girl shook Molly's arm. "Say something!"