Chapter 556

Mia glanced over, cleared her throat, and then motioned for Calliope to follow her away from the scene.

Tony seemed intrigued by something in the picture, especially with Phoenix's name highlighted in a special color, making it really stand out.

Just then, Paxton and Amor returned, spotting James and Emily huddled together, studying a piece of paper.

Emily was usually easygoing, and Amor had never seen her act cold towards anyone.

Despite the sunny weather, a chill seemed to radiate from Emily.

"What's happening?" Amor furrowed his brow.

"Not sure." Paxton strolled over, peeked at the paper, and his eyes widened a bit. It was Tony's handwriting, and he and James had a similar elegant style. After knowing each other for so long, he could always recognize Tony's handwriting.

The paper was filled with various comments, ranging from good to bad, but mostly objective.

However, Emily's comments were mostly about being ruthless and cunning, making her the main focus of attention.

James cleared his throat, "Emmy."

Emily turned to him with a smile, "What's up?"

Even though she was smiling, James knew Tony well enough to have possibly offended her deeply.

Delving deeper into the origins of the relationship chart, James focused on Phoenix's name, the only one without any additional notes, with Tony's name right after. Just by looking at it, he had a good idea of what was going on.

The paper had started to yellow slightly, with different shades of ink, showing signs of frequent handling and aging. This relationship chart had probably been in the works for years, with its contents continuously expanding.

James squinted, getting a rough idea of the purpose:

[Infiltrate the Smith Family, and take away their daughter.]

Creating such a detailed relationship chart truly displayed a talent.

The fact that the chart wasn't recent indicated that Tony had been eyeing Phoenix for quite some time.

It was surprising that Tony had set his sights on Phoenix, as he had kept it well hidden.

Before Phoenix went to college, they hadn't seen each other for at least half a year, with minimal private contact, allowing them to deceive others for so long.

Because he had never focused his attention on Phoenix before.

"Mom." Paxton coughed, also starting to put things together. Phoenix was his sister after all, and while he wasn't overly protective, he did care for her deeply.

"Where are Phoenix and Tony? Weren't you all out together?" Emily asked with a smile, seemingly unchanged.

But her eyes held a coldness.

"They got separated. I thought they'd be back first." Amor felt unlucky at this point; those two must have slipped away somewhere.

He also felt a bit uneasy about it.

It dawned on him belatedly that Phoenix had always been around whenever he competed with Tony. The two had gotten close right under his nose, and what's more, he had never connected the dots between them.

"It's almost lunchtime."

Emily's underlying message was clear: [get those two back here.]

"I'll give them a call." Amor coughed and pulled out his phone from his pocket.

"No need to call separately; they're probably together." Emily's tone was casual, but her eyes were sharp as knives.

"Got it." Amor rarely saw Emily like this, so he reluctantly dialed Phoenix's number.

As soon as the call connected, before he could speak, Emily cleared her throat loudly, a clear warning to watch his words.

He had to tread carefully. Emily was watching him closely, and Amor wasn't about to risk her anger by dropping any hints to Phoenix.

When the two returned, Emily was still engrossed in studying the relationship chart.

Being labeled as a devil? Quite intriguing.

Meanwhile, in another scene,

Phoenix sat in the car, staring at her phone, feeling oddly restless.

"What's up? You feeling okay?" Tony kept his eyes on the road, noticing her unease.

"Just felt weird about Amor's call."

"Maybe you're reading too much into it."

"Just a gut feeling." Phoenix messaged Amor again, but got no response.

"We're almost home. We can chat about it later."

Phoenix nodded, and as they pulled up to Crystal Valley Manor, everyone was out in the yard, enjoying coffee with a hint of cinnamon in the air. The sun was warm, casting a cozy glow on everyone.

But when Phoenix locked eyes with Emily, her heart skipped a beat for some unknown reason.

"Grandma, Grandpa, Mom, Dad." Phoenix greeted them each in turn, seemingly business as usual.

No one replied, except for Emily, who smiled and asked, "Back already? Have fun?"

"It was alright, just really crowded." Phoenix's words sounded normal, but the timing felt off...

Emily chuckled, "I never knew Phoenix was such a good actress."

"What's in the bag?" Emily's eyes landed on the pastries Tony was carrying.

"Just some treats from Emerald City, for dessert after lunch." Tony was eager to get them inside for lunch, which was likely almost ready.

"Lunch isn't quite ready. Let's relax for a bit first."

With limited seating in the yard, Paxton, who had been sitting, quickly stood up and offered his seat, "Here, you guys take a load off."

Tony and Phoenix weren't naive and quickly sensed something was up.

A few minutes later, Emily leisurely sipped her coffee and nibbled on pastries, while the two across from her tried to keep their cool but were clearly rattled by her smile.

"Mom, it's almost lunchtime. Why all the pastries?" Phoenix finally spoke up.

"I'm just a bit annoyed. Eating helps me chill out."

"Who ticked you off?" Phoenix chuckled in resignation.

In their family, Emily called the shots, and James was wary of her. No one dared to cross her.

At that moment, Tony suspected the situation might involve him, given his growing closeness to Phoenix. It seemed their relationship might be out in the open now, but he hadn't linked it to the relationship chart.

He had a feeling and had made some preparations.

But Emily chuckled softly and remarked, "I always thought I had a good temper and was pretty loving towards the younger ones. Never thought someone would see me as a devil."