Chapter 24 Breaking Point

Emily gave a tired smile, "Sorry, Marlon, I'm just wiped out today."

Marlon noticed her red, puffy eyes and felt a pang of sympathy.

With a gentle smile, Marlon said, "If you're so exhausted, why stick around at the Rivera Group? Come work with me at the Hughes Group. We'd love to have you!"

"I've already handed in my resignation, but I can't leave just yet," Emily replied.

"Why not?" Marlon asked, confused.

"I still need to wrap up this project," Emily said, shaking her head in frustration.

Marlon went quiet for a moment. He knew Patrick was making things tough for her on purpose. That project would take ages, even if David himself was in charge.

"How about I have a word with Patrick?" Marlon suggested.

"No need!" Emily quickly shot back.

She couldn't bear the thought of Marlon confronting Patrick for her. Just picturing Patrick's scowl made her shudder. Noticing Marlon's disappointment, Emily tried to change the subject.

"Is there something urgent you needed to see me about?" Emily asked, curious.

"Yeah, I almost forgot! It's too crowded here, let's go somewhere else to talk," Marlon said seriously.

"Okay." After a moment's thought, Emily led Marlon to a nearby café, just a short walk from her apartment.

Marlon had hoped she'd take him to her apartment, so he felt a bit let down. He understood she still had her guard up.

In a quiet corner of the café, Marlon handed her some documents.

"My friend dug up some info on Shirley. I think you'll be shocked when you read it," Marlon said bluntly. He had always been uninterested in Shirley but now couldn't stand her hurting Emily over and over.

Emily took the documents, listening as Marlon continued, "She claims she held a senior position at MD Group, but she only interned there for a few months. And about her graduating from Evergreen University, there's no record of her there. She probably dropped out."

Emily was indeed surprised. Evergreen University sounded prestigious, but it was actually a diploma mill where you could get a degree if you paid and showed up enough. If she couldn't even manage that, it was shocking.

Marlon lowered his voice, "And my friend found records of her having an abortion at a shady clinic overseas."

Emily's hands shook slightly. "Is this for real?"

Marlon nodded, looking serious. "I've confirmed it. It's all true."

If Patrick knew his dream girl had such a past, he'd probably lose it. The thought made Emily smirk a little.

"Would you be into a girl like that?" Emily asked casually while flipping through the documents.

Marlon almost spit out his coffee. "No way, I'd steer clear of her."

"What if you didn't know all this from the start?" Emily pressed.

"Still wouldn't. She's just not my type," Marlon said sincerely, looking at Emily.

Seeing Marlon's nervous reaction, Emily almost laughed out loud.

Not all guys were as clueless as Patrick. Emily felt a strange sense of happiness.

"Please don't tell Patrick about this yet," Emily said. She knew it wasn't the right time to expose Shirley. She needed to wait for the perfect moment to shut her down for good.

"Would you mind if I held onto these for now?" Emily asked tentatively.

"Of course not," Marlon said, handing over the documents.

Marlon was getting more and more drawn to Emily's dedication to her work. But every time he tried to get closer, she would pull away. So, he decided to just go with the flow.

As they left the café, the sky was already darkening. After thanking Marlon, Emily headed straight into her apartment without looking back.

Marlon sat in his car downstairs, watching until the lights in Emily's place flicked on, before reluctantly driving away.

The coffee didn't keep her up all night. Instead, thanks to Marlon's big revelation, she had the best sleep she'd had in days.

Stretching, Emily checked her phone and saw it was already past 8 AM. She poured herself a glass of water, nibbled on some toast, freshened up, even put on some makeup; then, with the documents in hand, she drove to the office.

Since Emily's office was right next to the conference room, she rarely bumped into colleagues unless there was a meeting, which helped her dodge some idle gossip.

Emily was in a great mood today. Just as she sat down to dive into the project, she got some good news from the rehab center.

"Ma'am, we've got the surveillance video. After comparing it with the time and people around, the woman who came to deliver stuff to your mom that day was a petite woman in sportswear. The video's been handed over to the police, and we think we'll find her soon," the rehab center staff said excitedly.

"Okay, got it. Thanks!" Emily smiled meaningfully.

Just as she hung up, Shirley walked in.

"Need something?" Emily asked, hoping Shirley would walk right into her trap.

"Can't I just come to see you, Emily? Don't forget, everything here belongs to the Rivera Group!" Shirley said, rifling through the files on the table, making a mess.

"Here to cause trouble today?" Emily leaned in close, whispering, "You better pray for Lisa and Gordon's safety. Otherwise, I can't guarantee when the cops will come for you!"

"Emily, I'm not scared of your threats," Shirley said, trying to sound tough.

"You're pretty resilient! Do you know that enticing, instigating, and deceiving others into drug use can land you in jail?" Emily said firmly.

"I didn't do it, I don't admit it. What can you do to me?" Shirley challenged.

"I can't do anything to you now, just that I have a video on my phone. The visitor in it looks a lot like you. Wanna see?" Emily said disdainfully.

"I didn't do it, it was your mom who asked me to bring it! I just transported it," Shirley said nervously.

Emily shouted, "Smuggling, trafficking, transporting, and manufacturing. You think you won't get punished for that? You're too naive!"

Shirley went silent for a long time.

"Scared now? Take a look at this!" Emily placed the documents Marlon had dug up in front of Shirley.

Shirley's face was full of disbelief as she opened the materials, her hands shaking more and more.

"If you don't want Patrick to know about your past abortion, you better behave yourself for now!" Emily said with a hint of threat.

"Okay, no problem! I hope you remember what you said today too!"

"You're not in a position to negotiate with me right now!" Emily finally felt the satisfaction of having the upper hand.

Shirley had come over hoping to see Emily embarrassed, but she didn't expect to get caught herself. Feeling extremely upset, she huffed and was about to leave.

"Oh, by the way, I've already told Mr. Rivera that once this project is done, I'm resigning immediately. So you better hope for the early completion of this project!"

"Really?" Shirley turned around, looking at Emily with suspicion.

"Absolutely."