The morning light crept through the curtains, but Emma Johnson had already missed her chance to make breakfast. She was still too exhausted, her body heavy with fatigue. Even though her heart wanted to get up, her limbs refused to cooperate.
Liam Williams's expression wasn't exactly cheerful when he came downstairs, but it wasn't cold enough to ignore her completely. Emma figured something must be bothering him at the company. She just couldn't guess what.
When they arrived at the office, Christopher Martin stood before Liam, his face unusually serious as he reported the company's latest business updates.
When the conversation turned to a piece of land that was up for auction, Christopher hesitated. His eyes flickered with uncertainty before he finally spoke.
"That piece of land was practically ours, sir. But someone stepped in at the last minute and bought it for over ten million more than our bid. No one saw it coming. By the time we realized what was happening, it was too late."
Liam listened quietly, then asked in a low voice.
"Who was it?"
Emma, standing nearby, was just as curious.
After all, Pinnacle Corporation was the undisputed business empire in the city. There were only a handful of companies that could compete with them. The first name that popped into Emma's mind was William Thompson. He had been humiliated by Liam before, nearly thrown into prison. It would be strange if he didn't hold a grudge.
So buying the land at an inflated price seemed like something he would do out of spite.
"It was the second young master, sir."
Christopher fell silent immediately after saying those words. He could already feel the tense, suffocating atmosphere filling the room. Emma's eyes widened in shock. She never expected it to be Benjamin Williams. How could it be him? He and Liam were brothers.
Was the younger brother really stabbing the older one in the back? Emma racked her brain but couldn't understand why Benjamin would do something like this.
They were both part of the Williams family. Was this really necessary?
"What do you mean? How could it be him? Are you sure?"
Liam, who was usually calm and composed, couldn't hide his agitation now. He asked Christopher again, his voice tight.
"Yes, sir. It's confirmed. The second young master bought it under the name of Las Vegas Entertainment City."
A heavy, suffocating silence fell over the room. It stretched on for what felt like an eternity before Liam finally spoke again.
"You can leave now."
Christopher didn't waste another second. He knew this news would hit the president hard. This wasn't something an assistant could fix.
Even he couldn't understand why the second young master would go out of his way to compete with his own brother for that piece of land.
"Liam, are you okay? Maybe he didn't know you were planning to buy it. He's your brother, after all. He wouldn't do this on purpose."
Emma stayed by his side quietly for a while before finally speaking up, her voice soft and careful as she tried to comfort him.
Liam rubbed his temples, his voice laced with frustration and disappointment.
"I've been planning to buy that land for three months. When I discussed it with my father, Benjamin was right there in the room. There's no way he didn't know. That's the only reason he was able to swoop in and buy it. He completely ruined my plans."
Emma didn't know what to say anymore. She really hadn't expected Benjamin to go this far.
"Tonight, you and I are going back to Sunrise Manor."
Liam said to Emma as he continued rubbing his temples.
Emma nodded. She had a feeling that tonight's dinner at Sunrise Manor wouldn't be as peaceful as before.
But to her surprise, after they arrived at the manor, Liam didn't mention a word about the land to his father, Henry Williams. He acted as if nothing had happened.
Maybe he didn't want the old man to find out.
"Brother, sister-in-law, what brings you back today?"
Amelia White looked at them with surprise, a bright smile spreading across her face.
"What? Don't you want us to have dinner with you?"
A faint smile appeared on Liam's face. Amelia shook her head and grabbed his arm, acting coy. The old man seemed to have forgotten the unpleasantness from their last dinner together. As soon as he saw Emma, he asked her to play chess with him.
Liam stayed in the living room with Amelia, asking her about the preparations for her coffee shop.
Not long after, Benjamin Williams walked through the door. He probably hadn't expected Liam to come back today. After a brief moment of surprise, he casually greeted Liam and sat down on the sofa, asking a maid to bring him a cup of coffee.
"Why did you do it?"
Liam looked at Benjamin and spoke slowly, his voice calm but heavy. Amelia looked confused, glancing back and forth between the two brothers.
Benjamin slumped back into the sofa, took a few sips of his coffee, then set it down on the coffee table.
"There's no reason for it."
"Come upstairs with me."
Liam stood up and looked at Benjamin. Amelia still couldn't figure out what was going on. She had no idea what had happened.
Just then, Emma finished her chess game with the old man and was about to head to the dining room. But she noticed that Liam and Benjamin had disappeared.
"Where are the boys? It's almost time to eat. Whatever company business they have, they can deal with it after dinner."
Henry Williams said, frowning. Emma knew that Liam must be talking to Benjamin about the land. Since he wanted to keep it from the old man, she had to make sure he didn't find out.
Before she could come up with an excuse to coax the old man to the dining table, Amelia spoke up anxiously.
"Father, just now, big brother and second brother were acting really strange. It looked like they were about to fight. Do you think they're fighting in the study?"
Emma's heart skipped a beat. She watched as the old man grabbed his cane and, with Amelia's help, started climbing the stairs. She knew this was bad. There was no way to hide it now.
What should she do?
Upstairs, a tense, icy atmosphere filled Liam's study.
"Tell me. Why did you buy that piece of land?"
"Naturally, to expand Las Vegas Entertainment City. You don't think I bought it just for fun, do you?"
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
Liam stared at him, his eyes filled with confusion.
"Since Las Vegas Entertainment City is mine, do I really need to tell you about every decision I make?"
Benjamin's words stunned Liam. It took him a long moment to finally respond.
"Don't you know that Las Vegas Entertainment City is part of Pinnacle Corporation? It's a joke to think otherwise."
"Pinnacle is Pinnacle. Las Vegas is Las Vegas. I've never seen them as the same thing."
Benjamin looked at Liam without flinching, no longer hiding his true intentions.
"You want to run Las Vegas Entertainment City on your own. You want to break away from Pinnacle Corporation."