"By the way, do you have any news from Captain Reed's team? Any leads on who's behind all this? If no one's caught soon, the whole city's going to be on edge."
The moment Liam Williams settled onto the sofa, Emma Johnson rushed over, her voice urgent with curiosity.
His brows furrowed as he shook his head.
"It's complicated."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Because there's no clear target."
Emma took the freshly brewed coffee from the maid and handed it to Liam herself. He took a couple of sips before speaking to her.
"No clear target?"
"Exactly. This looks like an international human organ trafficking ring. I'm afraid there's a well-organized, disciplined group behind it."
"But are we just going to let them keep getting away with it?"
"The police have already stepped up patrols across the city. They're rotating shifts every night. Actually, it's been working since the day before yesterday. So far, no new missing person reports have come in."
Hearing Liam's words, Emma felt a wave of relief wash over her. It seemed that making the news so alarming had also served to keep the public alert. After all, A City was huge, and the police force couldn't cover every corner without help.
"I hope they catch the culprits soon. Then everyone can breathe easy."
Emma clasped her hands together in a prayer-like gesture, her expression devout.
Dinner time was approaching. Emma got up and headed to the kitchen to check on the meal preparations. Liam watched her retreating figure, a flicker of something dark passing through his deep eyes.
Emma, I hope you have nothing to do with this case.
According to Captain Reed's analysis, this organ trafficking case had been cropping up repeatedly in third-world countries. Over the past two years, the Black Feather organization had been the most frequent suspect. But as far as Liam knew, Elijah Clark didn't seem to be involved in this particular area. It was probably someone else within the same organization.
Still, in Liam's view, Elijah was one of the main culprits. He was far from innocent.
Late that night, when Liam stepped out of the bathroom, Emma eagerly offered to give him a back massage. After all, since returning to Windsor Manor, she'd lost the chance to earn money by making breakfast and dinner. Losing four thousand dollars a day was putting a lot of pressure on her. So she absolutely couldn't afford to lose the income from massages.
But every time her hands worked on Liam's muscles, she unintentionally stirred up the heat within him. More often than not, things took a different turn. She'd start off sitting on the bed, and in the blink of an eye, she'd find herself pinned beneath him. The burning intensity in his gaze nearly scorched her chest, making it hard to breathe.
In the end, he peeled her bare like an eggshell, revealing skin as white and tender as a baby's. His lips never let go of a single inch of her skin. Her fragile flesh had barely shed the old marks before new ones were imprinted.
Even her neck wasn't spared. During the day, she had to wear high-necked sweaters. Otherwise, if people saw the marks, who knew what kind of gossip would spread.
The next day, Liam planned to go to the auction house to bid on a batch of unfinished residential buildings in Ridgefield District. As his assistant, Emma followed along.
She hadn't expected to run into Benjamin Williams there. Thinking back, she realized she hadn't seen Benjamin in a month. Now, seeing him again, she felt he seemed different somehow.
Emma noticed that his usual idle demeanor had vanished. His eyes had grown sharper. Although the two brothers exchanged greetings, to Emma, they were no different from strangers. She wondered how long this situation would last.
Especially during the auction of the unfinished buildings. Every time Liam made a bid, Benjamin would raise his paddle with a higher offer. In the end, the entire venue turned into a contest between the two brothers. Finally, Liam chose to back down, and Benjamin won the bid for those unfinished buildings.
Emma suspected Liam had done it on purpose.
"How did you have so much money on hand after buying that piece of land?"
As they left the auction house, Liam stopped Benjamin, his expression serious as he looked at him.
"Brother, have you forgotten? I'm working with an entrepreneur from Silverdale. That money is his."
"I haven't fully investigated that man yet. Are you sure he's a trustworthy partner?"
Benjamin seemed impatient with his words.
"Brother, I'm not a child anymore. We're running our own businesses now. We're competitors in the business world. You have no right to lecture me."
Emma felt a surge of anger at Benjamin's words. Just as she was about to teach him a lesson, Liam grasped her hand, as if sensing her intention, and held her back. Emma had no choice but to relent.
"Do you have the confidence to revive those unfinished buildings?"
Instead of pressing about his partner, Liam asked.
"Don't worry. Since I dared to bid on them, I have the confidence to make them thrive under my control."
A confident expression spread across Benjamin's face.
Then he turned and walked out of the auction house.
"You could have won those unfinished buildings, even if he was clearly trying to drive up the price against you. But don't you already have a project in the works? Once it starts, the profits will be endless. Why did you give up? It's not like you to spoil your younger brother like that."
Emma didn't understand Liam's behavior and couldn't help asking.
"Spoil him?"
Liam looked at Emma, a hint of surprise in his eyes, before a slow smile spread across his face.
"I did mean to let him have it. I just want to see what he can do. If he can revive that batch of unfinished buildings, then so be it. If he can't, or even ends up failing because of it, it'll be the most valuable lesson of his life. As for the project I had prepared, it can wait."
Emma looked at Liam, who appeared indifferent on the surface but was actually thinking about his brother's well-being in every way. She didn't know what to say about him.
It was a pity that Benjamin didn't understand his intentions. If he knew that his brother was doing this for his own good, would he still choose to fight against him?
Emma didn't know. She just knew that one day, Benjamin would deeply regret everything he had done.
Watching Benjamin's retreating figure, Emma couldn't help but shake her head.
"One day, he'll understand what you really think of him."