"This is the meeting point for the deal with the Parker family. They should be here any minute."
Elijah Clark pulled the car over at a designated spot. Adrian Frost turned to him, but noticed Elijah seemed lost in thought.
"What's on your mind?"
"What time is it?"
"Eleven o'clock. Why?"
"The Parker family is always punctual in business. Why are they late today?"
"It's only been ten minutes. We just got here."
Adrian didn't like the tension.
"I have a bad feeling about this. Let me make a call."
Before Elijah could dial, his phone started ringing.
The moment he heard Ryan Kim's voice, his brow furrowed deeply.
He slammed on the gas and spun the car around.
"What are you doing? They'll be here soon."
"Ryan said there are police cars swarming the roads leading to Park Avenue right now."
"Did our information leak?"
Adrian's eyes turned icy.
"It's not on our end. I'm afraid there's an undercover agent among the Parker family's people."
Elijah sped away, and soon the wail of police sirens echoed behind them. In this unfamiliar road surrounded by cemeteries, the sound was eerily clear.
"Such a shame to lose a deal this big. The Parker family is supposed to be smart. How could they be this careless? Their mercenaries won't give us up."
"They wouldn't share critical information with a mercenary. They'll have to abandon the weapons shipment. But don't worry—the boss signed a contract with them. The mistake is on their side. They'll have to compensate for the loss."
"So we won't lose any money. In fact, they'll take the hit."
The police sirens behind them didn't get closer. It seemed the truck had been intercepted. Otherwise, they would have been caught by now, and getting rid of them would have been a real hassle.
"Oh, so many police cars. I heard there was a murder here a few days ago. I wonder if the killer is back."
When Emma Johnson saw several police cars pass by the gas station, she overheard the owner's comment and immediately grew worried about Elijah. She quickly borrowed the owner's phone to call him.
Elijah saw an unfamiliar number on the screen and almost ignored it. But thinking it might be the Parker family's contact, he pressed the green button.
"Elijah, where are you on Park Avenue right now?"
Elijah was stunned to hear Emma's voice. How could she be calling him at this time? And how did she know he was on Park Avenue?
"Emma?"
"It's me. I wanted to pick up the bag Mia left at your place, but I saw your car leaving the villa and followed you to Park Avenue. Unfortunately, I ran out of gas. I saw a lot of police cars while I was refueling. The owner just told me there was a murder here a few days ago. It looks like the police are here to catch the killer. You need to be careful."
Elijah let out a breath of relief at her warning. Unconsciously, a bead of cold sweat rolled down his forehead.
Even knowing the police were coming hadn't made him nervous. But the thought that Emma might find out he was involved in illegal arms trading made his heart tighten. Panic and fear nearly drowned him.
"It's fine. I was just going to visit Aunt Wang, who used to take care of me. I'm heading home now. Come over after you've finished refueling."
Elijah said to Emma.
"That's a relief. Go home first and find Mia's bag. I'll come get it later."
Emma breathed a sigh of relief.
"Emma."
Just as she was about to hang up, Elijah's voice came through again.
"What is it?"
"So you still worry about me."
Emma paused for a moment, then smiled.
"I think of you as a younger brother. Of course I care about you."
After hanging up, Elijah's face, which had been slightly brightened, was now filled with an undeniable sadness. Was he just a brother to her? Even though he never thought two years could be a barrier to loving her, Emma clearly didn't see it that way.
"So she still sees you as a brother? Even after everything that happened last time?"
Adrian said mockingly.
"She won't see me as a brother forever."
Elijah's eyes suddenly darkened, and his grip on the steering wheel tightened.
When Liam Williams arrived, he saw the mercenaries and his eyes deepened.
"Unfortunately, we didn't catch Fox Hunt. He's really cunning. I'm sure he was here, but he got away. Damn it." Captain David Reed said unwillingly, thinking of the undercover agent they had placed, who was now lying in the intensive care unit.
But the information obtained at the cost of a life couldn't be captured all at once.
Walking to the frozen truck, Liam watched the special police pull out arms and guns one by one from the pig's belly. The quantity was staggering.
"It's not nothing. At least we destroyed one of their trading locations."
Liam comforted Captain Reed. Just then, Alexander Wilson appeared and whispered a few words in Liam's ear.
"Is that true?"
"When she saw the police car, she immediately borrowed the owner's phone to make a call. When she drove away, I pretended to go to the gas station to refuel. While the owner was refueling, I secretly checked his phone's call log. The number she called was Elijah's."
Alexander confirmed.
Liam's eyes turned as cold as stars, and the air around him dropped sharply.
If Emma was really involved in this, it would explain why Elijah, who should have appeared, suddenly vanished.
Because she saw the police car and was able to warn him in time.
Thinking of Emma's sudden departure from the apartment at night, Liam became more convinced that she was a participant in this arms trade.
"I understand. Don't alert the enemy. It's hard enough to find clues about the Black Feather Group. We can't give up all our progress."
"I know. I'll keep following her."
Alexander saw that Liam's face was clearly troubled, so he didn't say much. He just left a few words.
Liam's heart was complicated at the moment. He had already ruled out Emma as a suspect, but now it seemed he had misjudged her. No wonder she chose to believe in Elijah—they were always together.
And he had foolishly thought it was just because of their childhood friendship that she trusted him. He had chosen to forgive her.
Emma Johnson, I didn't expect your acting skills to be so superb. I really underestimated you.