"I'm sorry, but I'm married. It wouldn't be appropriate."
"What a shame. I felt an instant connection with you."
The devilish man shrugged, flashing a look of regret, but he didn't push further.
Emma Johnson watched his retreating figure, her brow furrowed. Why did that silhouette seem so familiar?
"Elijah, was that man who just left your office a friend of yours?"
She pushed open the door and asked.
Elijah Clark froze for a moment, not expecting Emma to run into Adrian Frost. But since she didn't recognize him, relief washed over him.
"He's one of my patients."
Elijah didn't want Emma to think he and Adrian were friends, so he made up an excuse.
...
"Oh, he has a brain tumor at such a young age? I never would have guessed."
A flicker of sympathy crossed Emma's eyes.
"Yes, and it's quite serious."
Elijah didn't feel the slightest guilt for lying about Adrian. The words rolled off his tongue smoothly, making Adrian sound like a terminal patient. This way, Emma wouldn't start asking questions.
"By the way, I saw the news about Scarlett Martinez today. Did Liam have a hand in that article?"
Elijah asked Emma.
"Not just him. I also provided some crucial clues."
Emma looked at Elijah with a smug expression, which caught him off guard. When he heard that Scarlett had tried to frame Emma, any thought Elijah had of salvaging Scarlett's public image—at William Thompson's request—vanished completely.
To him, anyone who hurt Emma deserved to suffer.
Scarlett Martinez had brought this on herself.
It was already generous of him not to make things worse for her.
That afternoon, Emma left the hospital with Amelia White, but they didn't head back to the apartment together. Amelia wanted to go shopping with a friend, while Emma planned to stop by the noodle shop to buy Liam a bowl of wonton noodles. After all, she hadn't gotten him any in days.
Last night, Liam had mentioned it. Seeing that his shoulder injury was because of her, it was only right to queue up and get him some wonton noodles.
Just as she was about to hail a taxi, a red Scarab pulled up in front of her. Emma saw Scarlett Martinez behind the wheel, her face almost entirely hidden behind a pair of oversized sunglasses.
"Emma Johnson, I assume you have time to talk to me now."
Rolling down the window, Scarlett didn't bother getting out of the car. She just spoke to Emma through the open door.
Now that Scarlett had been exposed, Emma didn't see any reason to refuse. Scarlett was just a woman. There shouldn't be any danger.
Besides, it was time to deal with this crisis and protect her own reputation.
With that thought, Emma opened the door and got in. As the flashy red Scarab drove off, a black car began trailing it from a distance.
What Alexander Wilson didn't know was that behind him, another man was driving an off-road vehicle, a cold, dangerous smirk curling at the corner of his mouth. He kept a steady distance from Alexander's car.
Scarlett had booked a private room at The Grand Five, a five-star hotel. After the waiter had seated them and closed the door, Scarlett took off her sunglasses. She tossed them aside carelessly, her elegance gone, and glared at Emma with pure malice and resentment.
"Emma Johnson, you're a monster. I never thought you could be so ruthless. Do you have to destroy me completely before you're happy?"
"I never intended to destroy you."
Emma sat down in a chair and poured herself a cup of tea, looking completely relaxed.
Scarlett's lips twitched. Her taro-colored nails dug into the snow-white tablecloth, as if she wanted to tear it apart.
"Fine. What do you want? Tell me your terms, and I'll agree."
Scarlett sat back down, staring at Emma, giving her a chance to make a demand.
"Scarlett, don't you think you're being ridiculous? As the current wife of the Pinnacle Corporation's CEO, what more could I possibly need? If you had known this day would come, you shouldn't have tried to scheme against me. Now you're just reaping what you sowed."
Emma felt no sympathy for Scarlett, especially knowing she had broken up a happy family. Someone like that deserved to be punished a thousand times over.
"Emma, I worked so hard to get where I am today. You have no idea what I went through. If you had even an ounce of compassion, you wouldn't have taken everything from me."
Scarlett thought about how her career was ruined and how she might even face prison time. She regretted ever provoking this woman.
How could she have known that Emma's revenge would be so brutal? And she still didn't realize that the man behind it all was Liam Williams, who had been in love with Emma for years.
"Scarlett, don't you know the saying 'you reap what you sow'? There's nothing wrong with having a dream of being a star. There's nothing wrong with wanting to marry rich. But you shouldn't use despicable methods to get what you want. You don't even feel sorry for hurting others. Besides, the news reports were completely true. I don't have the power to make up lies. You're blaming the wrong person."
Scarlett shot up from her chair, her eyes burning with hatred as she stared at Emma, as if she could stab her with her gaze at any moment.
Emma didn't care at all. Scarlett's fate was sealed. After doing so many terrible things, she wanted to pretend nothing had happened? There was no such thing as a free lunch in this world.
Scarlett stormed out of the room, slamming the door hard behind her. Emma knew she was furious, but she didn't care. Just as she was about to finish her tea and leave, the emergency fire alarm suddenly went off outside, and smoke began seeping in from under the door.
What's going on? Is there a fire?
The thought crossed Emma's mind, and she quickly tried to open the door. But to her horror, it was locked from the outside. She twisted the handle for a long time, but it wouldn't budge.
Panicked footsteps and screams echoed from the hallway. Emma quickly grabbed the teapot from the table, pulled off the tablecloth, poured the tea over it, and tied it around her face to cover her nose and mouth, trying to block out the thick smoke pouring in from under the door.
Then she picked up a chair and started smashing it against the door. But the door of a five-star hotel wasn't that fragile. After a while, Emma felt her consciousness starting to fade. The thick black smoke made her throat burn, and her strength to keep hitting the door was draining away.
She was almost certain this was Scarlett's doing. She never imagined Scarlett's heart could be so vicious. Was she really trying to burn her alive?