The next morning, after finishing breakfast, Amelia White announced she wanted to leave with them.
"I can't stand staying home any longer. The coffee shop has been closed for two months. I need to see it. Don't worry—I'm feeling perfectly fine now."
Amelia's pleading eyes locked onto Liam Williams. She clutched his arm and gave it a gentle shake. Old Mr. Henry Williams had already been won over by her earlier that morning, so he raised no objections.
Liam, however, felt a pang of guilt toward her at that moment. He nodded and gave his consent.
"Wonderful! I'm finally not a prisoner anymore."
Amelia chirped happily, as if her words carried no hidden meaning. But Emma Johnson caught the bitter undertone. She couldn't help glancing at Liam. Sure enough, his expression flickered with unease. She suspected that, like her, his heart was now weighed down by an even heavier sense of guilt.
Liam drove the car himself. Emma was used to sitting in the front passenger seat. But before she could climb in, Amelia—who was in high spirits in the back—swung open the front door with her bag and slid into the seat.
Emma froze for a moment. She told herself Amelia probably hadn't done it on purpose. She didn't think much of it and settled into the back seat instead. Liam noticed but remained unusually silent, saying nothing.
Throughout the drive, Amelia chatted cheerfully with Liam, completely ignoring Emma. This left Emma feeling somewhat awkward. Fortunately, the trip was short. They dropped Amelia off at the coffee shop, and the two of them continued on to the company.
Without Amelia around, an awkward silence filled the car. Emma wasn't like Amelia—she didn't know what to say to Liam. So she remained quiet all the way into the office building. As the receptionists watched the CEO and his wife walk in today, they sensed something was off.
In the past, the two would arrive separately and rarely spoke to each other. But the CEO's pace had never been this fast, leaving his wife behind. And the CEO's wife would always greet them with a gentle smile.
Today, however, she seemed to have forgotten—or was lost in thought. She walked straight past the front desk and stepped into the elevator.
The two receptionists couldn't help but speculate after they left. Had the couple had a fight this early in the morning?
Later that morning, Christopher Martin arrived at Liam's office with a grave expression on his face.
"Sir, Mr. Harrison—the one who was originally planning to partner with us—has suddenly decided to cooperate with Evergreen Corporation instead. I made a call this morning and found out that William Thompson offered a price lower than ours, which made Mr. Harrison change his mind on the spot."
"How did Thompson find out about Mr. Harrison?"
Liam paused what he was doing when he heard Christopher's words. His eyes turned cold as he asked.
"I'm puzzled too. No one else should have known about this deal. Besides, the price we offered Mr. Harrison was already below market value. The price Thompson quoted leaves almost no profit margin. It's clearly just to steal our partners away. I have no idea who leaked the information."
Christopher's last casual remark made Liam pause. He opened his desk drawer and looked at the USB drive inside. He noticed that the drive, which should have been placed vertically, was now lying horizontally.
His deep eyes couldn't help but drift toward Emma, who was sitting not far away. Looking at her calm, composed face, Liam felt a chill run through him.
"Forget it. If we lost him, we lost him. Let's see if Thompson has the ability to pull this off again next time."
Liam's tone was light, as if losing the partner didn't bother him much. Christopher had expected this reaction. He just needed to report to the CEO. Besides, even if Thompson could snatch partners from them every time, he would need enough capital to sustain the losses.
After all, Thompson was a cunning fox. Earning so little while spending so much wouldn't keep him going for long.
After Christopher left, Liam stared thoughtfully at Emma.
"Emma, how do you think Thompson found out that Mr. Harrison was our partner?"
"Maybe, like Christopher said, there's a mole in the company who leaked the information. It's like those corporate spies you see on TV. Well, it seems you should investigate the company. Thompson is really capable of planting someone inside your supposedly ironclad company."
Emma didn't catch the hidden meaning in Liam's words. She simply analyzed the situation and spoke to him.
Looking at the oblivious woman, Liam's heart sank a little. Then he let out a bitter, self-mocking laugh. How could she possibly admit it? After all, she was the only one who had access to the information. Besides her, who else could come and go from his office at will?
He knew it was impossible for her to be truly loyal to him. As long as she had a chance, she wouldn't hesitate to stab him in the back.
But this woman... he still couldn't bring himself to let her go.
At Brookhaven General Hospital.
Elijah Clark had just finished a surgery that morning. Shortly after returning to his office, he received a phone call. Seeing the caller ID, Elijah first closed the door. Then he answered the call.
It was Ryan Kim's voice.
"Thompson has successfully convinced Mr. Harrison to cooperate with Evergreen. Even though the offer is almost at a loss, this is the only way to snatch him away from Liam."
"Good. I understand. I really should thank whoever sent that anonymous email to Thompson. It seems Liam has many enemies, but this one helped me. It doesn't matter if the profit is small. My goal was never to make the company bigger."
"Yes, I understand. I'll report any new information to you immediately."
"Good."
Elijah hung up the phone. His handsome face turned cold. He couldn't let Liam be happy. Whenever he had a chance, he wouldn't hesitate to attack him.
At noon, Emma brought lunch from the company cafeteria. As she opened the office door, the aroma of sweet and sour fish wafted through the air.
She saw Amelia, dressed in a purple fur coat, carefully arranging dishes from an exquisite food box on the coffee table in front of the sofa. A sweet smile played on her lips as she looked at Liam.
Liam, meanwhile, was holding out his chopsticks, praising the dishes she had cooked. Emma instinctively glanced at the simple bowl of wonton noodles in her own hand. She let out a silent sigh. Before the two could notice her, she quietly closed the door.
An uncomfortable feeling crept into her heart. Emma tried to comfort herself, thinking that she had just lost a chance to get rid of a debt. She would have to eat all this food by herself anyway.