"Don't worry. Since it was caught in time, everyone managed to get out. It's just that some parts of the building were destroyed by the fire."
Liam Williams downplayed the loss of the building as if it were nothing. Emma Johnson felt a wave of relief wash over her when she heard him say that. Thank goodness no one was hurt—that was truly a blessing in disguise.
If the building burned down, it could be rebuilt. But if lives were lost, there would be no bringing them back.
"The main fault here is mine. If I hadn't stacked those props in the small storage room temporarily, this accident never would have happened."
Emma's eyes were filled with regret. She couldn't stop thinking that if there had been any casualties today, the weight of that guilt would haunt her for the rest of her life.
"It's not your fault. Someone set it on purpose."
When Liam said those words, a cold glint flashed in his eyes. If the surveillance footage hadn't been destroyed, he would have already caught the culprit and made them pay.
At first, like Emma, he thought the fire was caused by the warehouse being too dry. But after Christopher Martin's inspection that afternoon, a broken lighter fragment was found in the prop storage. The moment Liam learned this, rage surged through him. He immediately thought of those locked corridor doors, and the woman who had suddenly rushed forward to hug Christopher right before they got on the elevator. According to Christopher's later investigation, that woman wasn't even an employee of the company. That only deepened his suspicion that someone was pulling the strings behind the scenes.
Right now, Christopher was still working to confirm the identity of the woman who had grabbed him. Liam planned to go himself tonight. He wasn't going to let this slide easily.
Just thinking that Emma had almost died in that fire sent a chill down his spine.
But there were too many suspects. Tracing this back would be difficult.
"What? Someone deliberately started a fire? Do you know who it is yet? That's terrifying."
Emma was shocked. She couldn't believe someone would do this when there were hundreds of people in the building. If everyone had been trapped in that sea of fire and died today, would that person be able to live peacefully for the rest of their life? Weren't they afraid that countless restless souls would come to them at night, demanding their lives back?
How could there be such a crazy person in this world?
"Not yet. But I'm sure I'll find the one behind it."
Liam's eyes turned sharp, and the pressure radiating from him was so intense that Emma could feel it. It was clear he was genuinely furious about this.
A tickle rose in her throat, and she coughed a few times. Liam quickly handed her the medicine Dr. Julian Moore had prescribed. After taking it, Emma felt much better.
"Dr. Moore said your throat might feel uncomfortable for a few days, but his medicine always works well. You'll be fine in no time."
Liam looked at Emma, his voice unusually gentle. Emma nodded at him, feeling a little unaccustomed to this warmth from him. He had always been kind to her, but this was the first time he had been like this.
He was the great Liam Williams. Shouldn't he be walking around with the image of a cold-blooded CEO? Suddenly turning into a warm and gentle man—Emma felt a bit out of sorts.
"I want to go see how Amelia is doing." Emma tried to get out of bed. Liam didn't want her to go and told her to wait until tomorrow. But as soon as Emma heard that Amelia had fainted earlier, she insisted on going to check on her.
Now that she was awake, it wasn't much better than when she was unconscious. Liam thought it over and finally agreed.
"Sister-in-law, are you okay? That's good to see."
When Amelia saw Emma enter her room, a flicker of something imperceptible passed through her eyes. Then a sweet smile spread across her face, and she looked genuinely happy that Emma was safe.
"Are you alright?" Emma asked, a little confused. After all, Liam had carried Amelia out before the fire had fully spread. There was no reason for her to have fainted. Still, she had lost a lot of weight since returning from Switzerland. Even though she had regained most of it over the past month, she was still a bit thin.
"I'm fine. I just felt a little dizzy. I don't know why I fainted. I wanted to see you, but my second brother wouldn't let me. Now that I see you're okay, I can finally relax."
Benjamin Williams had already left Sunrise Manor. He wasn't in Amelia's room at the moment. Emma and Amelia exchanged a few more words of concern, but Emma began to feel weak. So she got up and left Amelia's room.
"Get some rest. Don't go to the coffee shop for the next couple of days. I'll send someone to check your accounts."
Before leaving, Liam told Amelia, who nodded in agreement. She had hoped Liam would say a few more words of concern to her, but he didn't. He simply helped Emma out of her bedroom.
The next day, Emma saw the situation at Pinnacle Corporation on the news. The fire had engulfed nearly half of the building, destroying a large number of documents. Fortunately, Liam's important files were all on the top floor, and the fire trucks had arrived in time. Aside from a few scorch marks, the top floor was mostly unharmed.
As for the financial loss, it was insignificant to Liam. Even though the building in the city center was worth hundreds of millions, it was still a much lighter blow than losing lives. Liam had a lot of real estate holdings, so he could easily find another building in no time to resume normal operations.
But Emma couldn't help feeling a pang of pain. So much money, all gone up in flames. In her heart, she found the arsonist utterly despicable.
Because the news was broadcasting the story nonstop, Emma's parents also found out. If Liam hadn't reassured them over the phone, they would have come while Emma was still unconscious. They barely managed to hold out until the next day. In the morning, they arrived at Sunrise Manor.
When they saw Emma's pale face and heard her hoarse voice, her mother burst into tears on the spot. Emma quickly comforted her, and finally managed to calm her down. Her father's eyes were also red. The two elders kept asking about her condition for a long time. Only after Emma repeatedly assured them that she wasn't seriously hurt did they finally relax.
Isabella Miller had come to Sunrise Manor with Emma's aunt, but Liam's anger hadn't fully subsided yet. He naturally had the security guards stop Isabella outside, only letting Emma's aunt come in. Emma's aunt knew she was in the wrong and didn't dare say much. Emma only saw her aunt and couldn't help asking about Isabella. Her aunt said Isabella had some event today and had put off coming.