The Sullivan villa on a weekend.
Yao Xi stood outside the study, her face etched with concern.
"Mr. Sullivan, the short track speed skating competition is too dangerous. Are you really taking Miss Emma there?"
She hesitated, watching the man in the wheelchair.
Extreme sports like this always carried high risks, with the spectator stands mere meters from the track.
Yao Xi couldn't understand her boss anymore.
In the past, Ethan Sullivan would never have let Emma step foot outside the villa.
Let alone take her to such a hazardous place.
Ethan's gaze lingered on the plane tree outside the window.
"Her father loved short track speed skating more than anything."
"Those trophies still sit in the study at the old estate."
His voice was low, tinged with nostalgia.
He and Emma's father had once been partners on the ice.
They had won championships together.
Until the accident that took his legs.
Until his brother fell to the mafia's bullets.
Ethan had shut himself away for five long years.
It was Sophia Sullivan who had changed his mind.
He couldn't keep Emma sheltered forever.
"I have too many enemies. Anything could happen at any moment."
"If I'm gone, Emma must learn to stand on her own."
He turned his wheelchair to face Yao Xi.
His dark eyes held unwavering resolve.
Yao Xi suddenly understood. "So you're using familiar things to trigger Miss Emma's memories?"
Ethan gave a slight nod. "Have security blend into the crowd."
"Yes, I'll arrange it immediately."
As she left the study, Yao Xi couldn't help thinking of Sophia.
Since that woman's appearance, Mr. Sullivan had indeed changed.
At least he wasn't as brooding and obsessive as before.
The day of the Short Track Speed Skating Championships.
A-City's largest stadium was packed to capacity.
Three main roads were cordoned off, with police cars patrolling back and forth.
Reporters swarmed outside the venue, cameras at the ready, scrambling for headlines.
In the VIP section, Isabella Robinson tugged excitedly at Sophia's arm.
"Sophia, look! That skater's abs are insane!"
Sophia lazily glanced toward the warm-up area.
Athletes in skin-tight suits stretched on the ice.
Their bronzed skin gleamed under the lights.
"Not bad."
Isabella gaped. "Not bad? Your standards are way too high!"
Sophia sipped her juice.
An image flashed through her mind—Ethan shirtless that night on the Royal Princess Cruise.
The memory was hazy, but she recalled every detail from when she'd stumbled upon him changing bandages in the restricted area...
The sculpted lines of his back muscles.
The way sweat had trailed down the groove of his spine...
Her ears grew warm.
A man so predatory, yet with such... peculiar tastes.
Contradictory and dangerous.
Gasps erupted through the stands.
"They say the prize money exceeds ten million this year!"
"The champion's name gets engraved on the Eternal Cup!"
"Zephyr is competing too!"
"Who's this skater called Lemon? Didn't the perfumery champion have the same alias?"
"Must be a coincidence!"
Sophia's fingers tapped lightly against the armrest.
Zephyr...
She remembered that name.
Three-time world champion in short track speed skating.
Once the rival of Emma's father.
The stadium lights dimmed suddenly.
The ice glowed an eerie blue.
The competition was about to begin.