The brothers were consumed with worry and anxiety when Amelia White finally stirred. She opened her eyes in pain, her gaze unfocused at first before landing on Benjamin Williams and Liam Williams.
"Why... how did I end up in my room? I remember swimming in the pool with my sister-in-law?"
"How dare you say that! Have you forgotten how terrified you are of the water? And you agreed to go with that woman. Do you have any idea how worried I was about you?"
For the first time, Benjamin used such a harsh tone with Amelia, but it came from a place of deep care. He was so frightened for her that he couldn't help himself.
Yet he never once asked Amelia for the real reason behind what happened. He had already condemned Emma Johnson without a second thought.
"Sister-in-law? Where is she? Isn't she here?"
Amelia didn't bother explaining anything to Liam or Benjamin. Her beautiful almond eyes searched the room for Emma.
"She went back to her room. She made a mistake. I'll have her apologize to you tomorrow. You need to rest now."
Liam spoke softly to Amelia, his eyes filled with concern that made her feel both dependent and reluctant to let go.
"Brother, I'm fine. Please don't blame sister-in-law."
Amelia looked at Liam, her eyes pleading.
"Leave that to me. You just focus on resting and getting better."
"Okay, I'll listen to you."
Amelia closed her eyes and soon drifted back to sleep. Benjamin watched her sleeping face, unwilling to leave. Liam didn't force him to leave her room. Instead, he returned to the presidential suite with Emma on his mind.
He wanted to ask what was going through that woman's head. Why did something always happen to Amelia whenever she was around?
But when he stepped into the suite, he found it completely dark. Emma was nowhere to be seen.
Was she angry? Liam couldn't help but let out a cold laugh. He glanced at her luggage, wallet, and phone still sitting there. Maybe she was just taking a walk outside. After all, his tone with her earlier had been harsh. But she needed to understand what he wouldn't tolerate.
He could overlook her scheming against him, even using him. But he couldn't forgive her for putting his family in danger. Even though Amelia wasn't his biological sister, he had always treated her like one.
If something happened to Amelia, their father would be devastated. His health would collapse. So this was something Emma simply couldn't do.
Even if he indulged her, there were lines she couldn't cross.
He wanted to see when she would come back.
Liam sat on the sofa, his thoughts cold and hard.
Benjamin didn't want to leave Amelia's room, so he fell asleep beside her bed. He didn't notice her eyelashes flutter slightly as she slept. He didn't know if she was having a happy dream, but the smile at the corner of her mouth was incredibly sweet.
It wasn't until nearly midnight that Liam suddenly felt something was wrong.
It was freezing outside. No matter how much she was wearing, she should have come back by now. Emma wasn't the type to stay angry for this long. So he went down to the lobby to look for her.
The front desk clerk told him that Emma had left more than two hours ago and hadn't returned since.
Liam's unease grew. He ran outside the hotel and searched along the street. Finally, under a streetlamp, he spotted Emma's pink and purple sneakers.
These were her favorite shoes. Why would she leave them here?
Something must have happened.
Liam rushed back to the hotel and asked the staff to show him the security footage. At the same time, he called Christopher Martin and told him to report Emma missing to the local police immediately. Christopher didn't have time to be surprised before hanging up.
Liam began checking the vehicles that had passed by the hotel in the past few hours. But after half an hour, he found nothing suspicious.
How could he know that the thin, dark-haired man had already driven his car into the area days ago and lurked nearby? When they left, they took a bumpy, undeveloped road. So there was no way to find clues through cameras or footage. It was like searching for a needle in a haystack.
Christopher quickly went to the police station to file a report. At the same time, he contacted local contacts. Liam couldn't stop blaming himself for not sending bodyguards with Emma. If he had known she would be in danger, he would never have let her come alone.
Meanwhile, Emma Johnson woke up in the shaking rear compartment of a car. She was jostled roughly, surrounded by darkness.
Emma thought she had been unlucky for several lifetimes, but here she was, in danger again. Maybe because she had been through this before, she wasn't as panicked this time. Judging by how bumpy the ride was, she guessed they were driving her to a remote, deserted mountain road. Were these people planning to get rid of her in the mountains?
Through the compartment, she could hear heavy metal music blasting from the front of the car. The noise was so loud in this quiet place that even she could hear it clearly.
Emma realized this was an opportunity. If she could escape from the car, could she get away from these criminals?
She couldn't rely on others to save her every time. Especially now, it was almost impossible for Liam to find her.
Emma noticed that the latch on the rear compartment wasn't very secure. So she used every bump in the road to throw her body against the door.
Her forehead hit the metal several times. Warm liquid trickled down her face and into her hair. The pain made her wince.
But compared to saving her life, this pain was nothing. Emma gritted her teeth and kept hitting.
Finally, during a particularly violent jolt, Emma used the momentum to force the rear compartment open. Moonlight poured in. Emma looked at the dense forest outside and dragged herself toward the edge of the car.
The wheels rolled over a small hill. As the car tilted, Emma rolled out of the compartment and tumbled onto the ground.
Inside the car, the men were too caught up in the heavy metal music and the excitement of getting another big payout to notice that Emma had escaped.
When she heard the sound of the car fading into the distance, she still didn't dare relax. They could come back at any moment.
But she was tied up with rope. She could only struggle to her feet and try to run away from this dangerous mountain forest on her own two legs.