As Ria stepped into the bathtub to indulge in a soothing soak, Dame Wasp used her cyber braid data jack to hack into Ria's phone. The phone's security was no match for her cybernetic system. Then, she proceeded to copy all the data from Ria's phones as Ace had asked her to.
'Rose, go through her IMs and pull up all her conversations with Loki,' Ace instructed Dame Wasp after recovering from his shock upon learning Ria's true motives for him.
From Ria's conversation with Loki, it was evident that Ria was grooming him for his innate cursed tool. She planned to plunder it from his corpse after learning its ability. She didn't just plan to kill him but kill his entire family to erase future troubles.
Soon, Dame Wasp's visor reflected Ria's IMs. Loki was present in two conversations. One was a group chat belonging to their secret society, 'Steal Song,' while the other was a private chat between Loki and Ria. Ace went through Ria's IMs while Dame Wasp continued to execute her mission. Ria's IMs revealed her true identity to Ace, astonishing him once again. The biggest shocker to Ace was Ria's age. She wasn't a teenage high schoolgirl but a middle-aged woman in her late forties.
Ria Hart was Gloria Hart, a popular daytime TV host who suddenly quit the show at its peak, stating that she was taking a sabbatical from public life. Her private chat with Loki started a day before that. The chat history revealed that Loki had approached Gloria and similarly recruited her as Gloria had recruited Ace.
Though Gloria Hart had achieved a successful career as a talk show host, she was almost fifty with immense wealth but nobody to share it with. She spent many nights sleepless, fearing that someone younger and more ambitious than her would replace her. As no amount of makeup or Botox could hide her age anymore. So, she fell prey to Loki's temptation.
However, when Loki hunted Gloria for her innate curse tool, Gloria offered to pay millions to buy her own life and innate curse tool from Loki. This way, Gloria had not only managed to survive but joined the secret society 'Steal Song' under Loki's recommendation.
Gloria soon learned the teachings of Steal Song society under the direction of Loki. The Steal Songs were a secret society of rogue curse masters. On the surface, they made their living only by hunting Curselings. However, in secret, their primary source of living was made by finding people with an aptitude for curse energy, grooming them for their innate curse tool, harvesting their innate curse tool, and selling them for millions in the curse market.
Forging curse tools with good abilities was difficult and expensive, as it was a game of chance. Nobody knew what kind of ability a curse tool would awaken. But the Steal Song had found a cruel loophole. It was only for those who lost touch with their humanity.
Though Gloria was not short on money, she still harvested innate curse tools from 7 innocent teenagers to acquire society's merit points, which she needed to learn curse arts provided by the society that can only be bought using their merit points.
Unlike Loki, who targeted single and insecure old women who were not only gullible but whose sudden suicide would not lift anybody's eyebrow, Gloria used her innate curse tool 'Charm Earring' to relive the peak of her life by transferring from high school to high school, while targeting neglected teens with troubled household or school life whom she could control with a simple smile. Then, she would cover their death as an accident or suicide.
Gloria's phone had all the reconnaissance she had done before selecting her victims and committing the crime. Each one of these victims was either having problems at home or bullied in school. She effortlessly gained their trust with a few smiles and compassionate words. Introducing them to the new world, she harvested them when they were ripe.
Ace was Gloria's eighth target. She has been monitoring him for a week before finally approaching him. He barely fit the template of her usual victims with his overprotective parents. But he had an unusually high aptitude for curse energy. So, she made an exception this time, planning to kill everyone who would look into his death with him.
Everything so far was within Gloria's calculation, except for one tiny detail. Ace had learned his innate curse tool 'Cursed Toybox's' ability sooner than she expected, thanks to his innate curse art 'Status screen.' As Loki and Gloria expected, Ace's innate curse tool ability was formidable, even more so than what they had imagined.
'Master Ace, mission complete. Awaiting further orders,' Dame Wasp's mission update awakened Ace from his contemplation.
'Good job, Rose. Continue to hide for now,' Ace instructed Dame Wasp to hide so he could think of the next course of action—dealing with Gloria.
'Hand over the evidence of Gloria's crime to cops—no, that would be stupid. Who should the cops catch, Gloria or Ria? Even if they believe Ria is Gloria, with her strength, she can escape their pursuit easily. Then, I will have to look out for her revenge every moment. That won't do.'
'Maybe I can join the 'Steal Song' society. But I do not have millions to pay the entry fee or the strength to be invited by them. Even if I somehow manage to join them, I would have to overlook their crimes and be an indirect participant.'
'Joining them or calling the cops, neither one of them is an option. There has to be some other way—' While Ace struggled to make up his mind, Dame Wasp interrupted him, 'Master, if I may?'
'Rose, you don't need to ask permission. Speak your mind,' Ace said. He could use a second opinion right now.
'Master, isn't it obvious? You have to get rid of Gloria,' Dame Wasp suggested what she thought was the best fix for the problem.