淑女的欲望

"So, Jude Withers, you're not an easy opponent, huh?" Scarlett murmured, a sinister smile creeping across her face. Now, she realized the truth in Uncle Noah's words. She honestly didn't know Jude Withers at all.

She had been blinded by her own assumptions.

All she had known about Jude Withers was based on the information she had gathered through her investigations—a successful businessman and the cruel patriarch of the Withers family. She had always ignored that Jude Withers was a clever, wicked person.

"You're such a fool, Scarlett!" She scolded herself for her impulsiveness. Now, she's starting to relate to what happened during her visit to X Country.

Her memory flashes back to when she easily obtained a sample of Dax Withers for DNA sample testing—a feat they had previously deemed impossible. However, that night, their plan went incredibly smoothly.

"Was it all part of Jude Withers' scheme? To make me believe I am a Withers?" Scarlett once again finds herself talking aloud. "And that's why I decided to meet Noah Withers that day..."

"No! It can't be. My disguise at that time was flawless. No one could have possibly known I was Scarlett Piers," She rubs her temples, trying to alleviate the throbbing in her head.

Scarlett attempts to pinpoint the mistake she made during her visit to X Country, which ultimately leads to Jude Withers discovering her true identity. She distinctly remembers using a fake name and altering her appearance upon her arrival. If Jude Withers recognizes her as Scarlett Piers, it must be because of her encounter with Uncle Noah, right?

"However, how could he have found out?" Scarlett finds herself stuck once again with her theory.

Her memory is vivid—when she reached Uncle Noah's apartment, she was confident that no CCTV cameras had captured her presence. And after leaving, she meticulously erased all traces of her activities. She trusted in her own abilities, believing that no one could recover the CCTV footage. "...Unless that person is her idol, Queen, the renowned hacker!"

A shiver runs down her spine as she envisions the possibility of Queen, the top hacker in the Hacker Community, working for Jude Withers.

"Impossible! She would never associate herself with criminals..." Scarlett mutters, pinching her forehead. "...but if Queen truly works for Jude Withers, my path to revenge will be exceedingly challenging!" She takes a deep breath, attempting to calm her racing thoughts.

Feeling exhausted from dwelling on the matter, Scarlett rose from her seat and made her way toward the window behind her. Standing there, she gazed at the empty street below, attempting to find solace and temporarily set aside her thoughts.

For the time being, she would entrust the issue of Jude Withers to Uncle Noah, as he had promised earlier. Right now, she had no choice but to adjust all her plans.

Scarlett had initially intended to travel to X and seek revenge for her father's death and the people she cared about who had been murdered when her home was attacked. However, she now pushed that plan to the back of her mind. 

She couldn't afford to provide Jude Withers with an opportunity to achieve his twisted intentions—to use her as bait to lure her mother out of hiding and capture her. Absolutely not! She would never allow that to happen.

Scarlett suddenly gasped as a vital thought crossed her mind.

"Rex!" She muttered, swiftly retrieving her cell phone from her pocket. She needed to discuss this matter with him before Rex could wreak havoc in Country X. Furthermore, their number one leader had pledged support to eliminate the Withers.

"Brother, where are you?" Scarlett inquired, though she had a strong inkling of his whereabouts based on the pulsating music audible in the background.

"At the club! In the basement. Why??" Rex's voice boomed from the other end.

"I need you to come to my place immediately. There's something you need to know!" She exclaimed, though her voice was drowned out by the noise.

"Ah, have you finished speaking with your uncle?"

"Yes!"

"Alright, I'm with your husband now. We'll head over there," Rex stated before abruptly ending the call.

Not long after, Scarlett heard the front door open. She swiftly emerged from the study room and spotted Rex and Xander entering. She asked them to join her in the living room.

Once they were settled, Scarlett began recounting what she had learned from Noah Withers—that Jude Withers had been aware of her existence all along. Moreover, there was a possibility that Jude Withers intended to use her as bait to draw her mother out of hiding.

This revelation shocks Xander and Rex. They had never considered such a scenario, because Rosalie Withers had managed to conceal herself so effectively that no one had known where she had been until now.

"How did he find out about you? Did Uncle Noah mention anything?" Xander asked, perplexed about how Jude Withers could have discovered Scarlett's whereabouts.

Rex nodded in agreement with Xander's question, sharing the same sense of bewilderment. Throughout this time, he witnessed Scarlett's painstaking efforts to hide her actual appearance and assume a false identity while traveling abroad. How could Jude have uncovered her secret?

"No, Uncle Noah didn't reveal anything," Scarlett replied, echoing the thoughts of Rex and Xander. She, too, felt puzzled by the exposure of her identity.

She continued, "But I'm certain that Jude Withers became aware of me after I met Uncle Noah. That's when he dispatched individuals to kill my father..."

"How can you be so sure?" Rex inquired."

"I've mentioned before that the assassin who entered my house was searching for something—evidence," Scarlett explained, pausing to take a deep breath. "I'm not sure what exactly they were looking for, but I know they found nothing."