When Emma finally opened her eyes, the room was cloaked in darkness. The space beside her was empty. A faint glow spilled from the adjoining room of the suite. She climbed out of bed, padded across the carpet, and pushed the door open. Just as she suspected, Liam was seated at his desk, buried in work.
“It’s past eleven. Still at it?”
Emma rubbed her tired eyes, her voice thick with sleep as she spoke to him.
“Come here.”
Liam’s deep voice called out to her. Still half-asleep, Emma shuffled over.
The moment she was close enough, he pulled her into his arms, settling her onto his lap.
“What do you think of this project?”
Liam wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her shoulder.
“It looks solid. Seems like you’ve already decided to move forward with it. But are you sure Director Wright is really going to step down, like you said?”
A hint of worry crept into Emma’s voice.
After all, there was an old saying: a powerful dragon can’t crush a local snake. Once Liam invested in Silverdale, he’d have constant dealings with local businesses and officials. If Director Wright stayed in power, he’d keep finding ways to cause trouble. Nothing life-threatening, maybe, but enough to be a constant headache.
It was always better to offend an honorable man than a petty one.
“Did you know his brother-in-law is Secretary Lewis from the city? William Thompson’s real estate project in Oakhaven County was approved by him.”
“Is there a connection between the two?”
Emma felt completely lost when it came to politics. She stared at Liam with a blank expression, not noticing the way his dark eyes were fixed on her, quiet and intense.
He pulled her closer.
“Of course there is. Don’t forget, William Thompson’s new clothing company sued Jameson, the head designer at Milan Fashion House. Since he dared to challenge me, I’d be letting him off too easy if I didn’t play along. Once Director Wright falls, the National Investigation Bureau will find that his supporter, Secretary Lewis, isn’t exactly clean. Once he’s under scrutiny, not only will Thompson’s project be invalidated, but his entire company will take a serious hit.”
“So you came to Silverdale not just for this entertainment project, but to take down Director Wright.”
Now that Liam had laid it out so plainly, Emma finally understood. So her little accident today had given him another convenient handle to use.
“Then you can use what I did at noon today to hold it against Director Wright.”
Emma had barely finished speaking when she felt his arm tighten around her waist, squeezing so hard she could barely breathe. His eyes darkened with obvious displeasure.
“Emma, remember this. I will never use you as a bargaining chip to bring down Director Wright. And I don’t need to.”
Seeing the anger on his face, Emma felt confused. She thought it was a good opportunity, but the cold look in his eyes made her hold her tongue.
“You should get some rest. I have an overseas video conference to attend.”
Liam finally let her go. Emma wanted to tell him to get some rest too, but the words felt awkward on her tongue. In the end, she just turned and left.
Liam watched her retreating back, his gaze lingering until the door clicked shut.
If he hadn’t misread her expression, it seemed the Black Feather group and William Thompson had no direct connection. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have looked so surprised when he mentioned it.
So who was the power behind William Thompson?
Once again, Liam found himself lost in thought.
The next morning, Amelia came knocking on Emma’s door. She was staying in the room directly below Emma and Liam’s. Liam was already up, but Emma was still in bed. When she saw Amelia walk in, a flush of embarrassment crept over her face.
“Sister-in-law, were you really tired yesterday? It’s almost nine now.”
Emma’s cheeks burned even brighter. But when she saw Amelia’s innocent expression, she felt guilty for having such impure thoughts.
She quickly got up and hurried into the dressing room to change.
Behind her, Amelia noticed the obvious blue marks on Emma’s collarbone and chest. Though the marks on her neck had faded, they were still visible. A shadow passed over her beautiful almond-shaped eyes.
Emma felt a chill run down her spine. She turned around and saw Amelia smiling at her. She thought the temperature control system in this five-star hotel suite was seriously unreliable. She’d have to talk to the front desk manager about it later.
After getting dressed, Emma and Amelia headed to the restaurant. Liam and Benjamin were already waiting for them.
During breakfast, Amelia excitedly suggested they visit Lake Serenity. Benjamin looked at her with a doting expression, occasionally adding food to her plate.
“Go ahead and have fun. I have business to take care of with your sister-in-law today.”
When Amelia asked Emma to join her, Liam answered before Emma could say a word.
Amelia’s face fell with disappointment, but she didn’t forget to defend Emma, complaining that Liam was a boss who squeezed his employees dry. Emma silently agreed, but didn’t dare say it out loud.
After breakfast, the two groups parted ways at the hotel entrance. Emma watched Benjamin drive off with Amelia, then turned to look at Liam.
“Didn’t you say you’d wait a couple of days to discuss the project contract with Mayor Reed? Did you change your mind?”
“No. I’m taking you somewhere.”
Liam’s words were deliberately vague. Seeing that he wasn’t going to say more, Emma had no choice but to follow him into the car.
Without Christopher following them, Liam had given him a rare day off. He drove Emma to their destination himself.
When the Rolls-Royce turned into a narrow, unremarkable alley, Liam stopped in front of a courtyard.
Emma saw a sign hanging on the door: “Yunhe Restaurant.”
“The food here is amazing, especially the braised pork and squirrel fish. Let’s go in and try it.”
Emma thought it was something important. After all that buildup, he’d just brought her to eat. But she’d just finished breakfast and was still full. It would’ve been better to come at night, so Benjamin and Amelia could join them.
Besides, did he really have to make something as simple as eating so mysterious?