Apocalypse Villainess? Nah, I'm Nice

An hour had passed before Paige Summers felt she had completely shaken off the original body’s influence.

She let out a deep breath, opened the door, and walked into the living room.

There, Erin Quinn was sitting leisurely on the sofa, a faint smile on her lips as she watched Ryan Faraday on the other side.

Ryan Faraday, on the other hand, was not doing so well.

He was standing in a corner, trembling uncontrollably. With his head bowed, he stared intensely at his own palms, his face a ferocious, agonized mask.

Paige Summers turned and asked, "What’s wrong with him?"

Erin Quinn shrugged. "He’s repenting for the sins he’s committed."

"..."

’Needless to say, this must be this little girl’s handiwork.’

Paige glanced at Ryan Faraday. ’For a man like him, psychological torment has to be worse than physical pain. It wasn’t a bad idea to try this kind of punishment first!’

"Have you asked him everything?"

"Relax. I got all the details about Nadia, too. He actually knows a lot."

Paige raised an eyebrow slightly, walked over, grabbed Ryan Faraday, and dragged him into the empty room on the far right. She closed the door and came back to Erin Quinn.

Erin Quinn sat up straight and said with regret, "Sis, we probably won’t be able to find those men. Ryan Faraday said the ones who massacred the Summers Family were the Reid Family’s private soldiers. They frequently ran missions for Owen Reid and had a very high mortality rate. By the time he left a few years later, almost all of them had been replaced..."

Paige was taken aback, then sighed. "If that’s the case, we have no choice but to drop it."

"Yeah, now there’s only Ryan Faraday left." Erin Quinn tilted her head. "Oh, right, there’s something you’ll never guess. It’s about Nadia. She’s actually Owen Reid’s illegitimate daughter!"

Paige’s lips parted, and she fell silent.

’Well, after learning the truth about the Summers Family, she was past the point of being shocked.’

"For him to know even something like this... It couldn’t have been easy for him to stay alive this long."

"Owen Reid treated him as a confidant and had him handle many things, so of course he knew. But when he later wanted to leave, Owen Reid was furious. He agreed on the surface, but secretly planned to kill him to keep him quiet. In the end, it was actually Aunt Lowell who helped him. She sent him out of Central City behind Owen Reid’s back and found him a place to live in seclusion."

"So that’s why." ’No wonder Wendy Lowell knew where to find Ryan Faraday. I really did ask the right person.’ "In that case, didn’t Ryan Faraday tell her what happened back then?"

"No way. If he hadn’t kept his mouth shut, Owen Reid would have done anything to kill him!"

"Mm." ’That’s true. If Wendy Lowell knew the truth, her relationship with the Reid Family wouldn’t be so peaceful. She... doesn’t seem like that type of person.’ Paige paused, then added mockingly, "He couldn’t have been sending people after Nadia all this time just to welcome her back into the family, could he?"

Erin Quinn snorted. "Of course not! Ryan Faraday said Owen just hates things being outside his control. He assumed Nadia knew who she was and was afraid she—or someone else—would use it to cause trouble, so he planned to capture and imprison her."

Paige let out a breath.

’So the legendary Commandant Reid... is that kind of person...’

’His reputation is a complete sham!’

After a moment of contemplation, she asked, "Does Sheldon Reid know who Nadia is?"

Erin Quinn shook her head. "He didn’t know before Ryan Faraday left. Ryan isn’t sure what happened after that."

’Paige had a good idea of the situation now.’

’Considering everything that’s happened, Sheldon Reid probably only just found out. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have suddenly tried to kill Nadia now.’

"Did he say anything else?"

Erin Quinn thought for a moment. "Hmm, there was also something about Nadia’s mother, but the details are a bit vague. All he knows is that Nadia’s mother participated in an experiment back then and made a huge breakthrough. The head of her lab, along with someone from The Government, tried to steal her research, so she fled. She had been Owen Reid’s lover, but she’d kept Nadia a secret from him. In the end, when she realized she couldn’t handle it on her own, she sent Owen a message asking for help. Unfortunately, because they hadn’t been in contact for so long, there was a delay. By the time Owen Reid’s men arrived, she was already dead. But Owen Reid was enraged. He later found a way to kill that lab head and his accomplices, which I guess counts as avenging her..."

That was about all the information they could dig up from Ryan Faraday. Paige let Erin Quinn rest for a while, then took her back to the Taoist Association.

Marcus Monroe hadn’t come back since last night, but the subordinates in charge of protecting the house were still there.

After bringing Erin Quinn back, Paige couldn’t help but ask, "Your boss isn’t back yet?"

Liam said with a broad smile, "Sister-in-law, I was just about to tell you. The boss said he’ll be here any minute and to ask you to wait for him."

Paige shot him a look, one eyebrow raised. "You can find something else to call me, or just use my name. You look a lot older than I am; I’m not looking for the free upgrade in seniority."

Liam’s face stiffened. "But... the boss is even older than me..."

Paige snorted. Just as she was about to speak, a voice came from outside. "Do I look that old to you?"

Marcus Monroe walked in, rubbing his face.

Liam felt a chill run down his spine from Marcus’s glare and hurriedly said, "No, no, no, I’m much older. Uh, I have to go on patrol now!"

He scrambled away as if a ghost were hot on his heels.

Only the two of them were left in the living room. Paige’s lips curled up slightly. "I didn’t think you’d care about that."

Marcus coughed. ’Could he admit he didn’t actually care, but was just worried that *she* might? Ugh... best to just change the subject!’

"I heard they brought Ryan Faraday back?"

"Mhm." Paige pointed to the other room. "He’s in there. But I already know everything I need to know."

"Oh? What did you find out?"

Paige’s expression turned serious, and she gave him a rough account of what she’d learned, including Nadia’s identity and everything else.

Marcus Monroe was silent for a long while before speaking. "So that’s what happened... To be honest, Owen Reid has an excellent public reputation. He proposed many of the key policies back in the day, like the founding of Central City, and he personally led the army to carry them out. It’s thanks to him that so many ordinary people found protection here. Sheldon Reid is nowhere near his equal. I never would have thought that in his private affairs, he could be so unscrupulous."

Paige agreed in a somber tone. "Yes."

Seeing that she was in a poor state, Marcus stood up and pulled her to her feet. "Don’t think about this anymore. Go rest!"

He put his arm around Paige and led her back to the room, where she lay down on the bed.

Only then did she realize how truly exhausted she was; she could barely keep her eyes open.

Marcus Monroe sat beside her, watching as her eyes drifted shut. He gently brushed the hair from her forehead, his gaze falling on her slightly pale cheeks.

’He had originally planned to tell her that Milton Faraday had come to him, wanting to cooperate with them.’ 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

’But... he decided against it.’

’This was something he could handle alone.’

’She was already tired enough.’

’For a twenty-year-old girl, carrying such a heavy burden was too much to ask.’

’His heart ached for her.’

’He wanted to share more of her burden. Even more.’

’He hoped she could be free to do the things she loved.’

’She probably didn’t know that she was most beautiful when she was completely absorbed in her Artifact Making.’

’He loved it so much he would never tire of watching.’

’He wanted to keep watching her, forever and ever!’