Chapter 491: Who Is the Ultimate Winner
"What do you mean?"
Knox's pupils contracted sharply as he quickly grabbed Daniel's collar, his eyes sharp and urgent.
Daniel brushed Knox's hand away, appearing rather nonchalant instead.
This made Knox even more anxious.
"I can't say too much, but I told you I wouldn't let her get hurt, and I mean it! This is all something Emily and I agreed on. You'd better not take matters into your own hands and mess things up with your assumptions."
Daniel spoke with certainty.
He didn't seem to be lying.
But when it came to Emily, Knox still wanted to be as careful as possible.
"But I just overheard Emily and James's conversation. She even admitted it, and James was threatening her with a video. If it weren't for you, I would've already gone up there and dealt with James. Given James's cowardly nature, if I really stood up for Emily, he would've handed over the video obediently."
A flash of ruthlessness crossed Knox's eyes.
If James didn't know what's good for him, Knox had plenty of ways to handle it.
Daniel looked at Knox with sympathy. "You know why Emily chose me instead of you? Even though you knew her first?"
Daniel's tone was smug.
If York heard this, he'd probably laugh, knowing how hard Daniel had to work to win her over.
But it successfully angered Knox.
What Knox couldn't accept was that he'd known Emily first, he'd fallen for Emily first, so why did Emily end up liking Daniel instead?
"Stop changing the subject. What does this have to do with whether Emily was hurt by James or not?"
"With Emily's abilities, James isn't even qualified to hurt her!"
Daniel said no more.
Although he knew this person probably wouldn't hurt Emily, this plan also involved the Smith Group and might have some connection to the Stevens family in Emerald City.
Knox naturally believed in Emily's abilities.
However, being smart, he could tell from Daniel's words that it sounded like Emily and Daniel had set a trap for James.
How did they pull that off?
Still, James had been so arrogant just now - he couldn't let him get away with it.
Knox gritted his teeth.
Daniel also noticed his emotional shift and frowned.
"That bastard James, whether or not he actually hurt Emily, since he dared to treat Emily that way, we can't let him off easy."
"Wait!"
Although Daniel had a vague guess, hearing Knox's plan, he still stopped him. "You can go after him, but you need to show restraint and not ruin Emily's and my plan."
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
Before leaving, Knox couldn't help but glare fiercely at Daniel.
Daniel figured Emily must be looking for him everywhere by now, so he quickly composed himself and returned to the hall.
As soon as Emily saw Daniel appear, her eyes lit up and she walked toward him.
"Where did you go just now?"
Emily asked.
Daniel still didn't tell Emily about Knox's appearance.
He just casually made up an excuse. "A friend's business partner - we chatted for a bit on the side."
Emily didn't think much of it and nodded, then told him about James approaching her.
They had already planned for this, and when she left earlier, she'd actually been exchanging glances with Daniel, so Daniel wasn't surprised.
However, Emily talked more about the demands James made while threatening her, leaving out only James's fake and sentimental words.
At the same time, James was also talking to Zoey.
His gaze kept drifting toward Daniel and Emily.
Ever since Emily returned to find Daniel, he'd been watching them from time to time.
He'd thought that after being threatened by him, Emily would act somewhat unnatural around Daniel, but seeing the two of them still so close and chatting so comfortably, his expression darkened.
"Jealous? Are you sure Emily really agreed to your demands and was actually threatened by you? Right now talking to Daniel, she looks like nothing happened."
Jealousy.
Zoey naturally felt it too.
But perhaps because her desire to get the Smith Group and make Daniel grovel at her feet had taken over, she could now face this scene with more composure.
Instead, she sarcastically questioned James about the current situation.
"Impossible!" James immediately refuted Zoey. "You didn't see how panicked she looked when she saw me, and when I showed her that AI video - her expression, her reaction! She cares, she cares a lot."
James even tried hard to recall whether Emily, when she slept with him back then, had been a virgin.
The hazy memory, combined with his own hopes, made him believe Emily had been a virgin.
Wasn't this also self-deception!
"You don't know this, but Daniel never even got her. Don't they say you women always remember your first man vividly? She gave her first time to me, plus we have our childhood friendship. Even if she hasn't fully accepted this result yet, the scales in her heart have already tipped toward me. Just wait and see - when the party ends, she'll definitely come see me."
James's eager tone was trying to convince Zoey.
Or perhaps, more so trying to convince himself.
Seeing James so worked up, Zoey quickly said, "Okay, okay, if you say so. Why get so excited? I'm just reminding you, afraid you're being played. Besides, aren't you worried she'll secretly tell Daniel?"
"She won't! She doesn't have the guts, and she wouldn't dare gamble. If Daniel found out, even if he came after me, she wouldn't necessarily be better off. After all, he wants a pure woman, and Emily isn't anymore. Men would still find it disgusting. She'd end up with nothing. Rather than that, she might as well choose me."
James felt his analysis was spot on.
Zoey saw Nathaniel approaching from a distance, seemingly done with his conversation, and prepared to end their talk. "Fine, as long as you know what you're doing. We'll see if she dares to get away from Daniel and actually meet with you. We'll stay in touch by phone about what happens next. I need to go sweet-talk Nathaniel now."
With that, she put down her wine glass and walked toward Nathaniel.
Actually, Nathaniel had already spotted Zoey, and even saw James next to her.
When Zoey looked his way, he quickly looked away, pretending not to notice.
Even though he was curious why these two were together, his expression remained calm and composed.
Probably because from the start, he'd never considered Zoey his fiancée, but only as a tool.
"How did it go?"
Zoey approached and patted Nathaniel on the back, asking with a smile.
Nathaniel looked at Zoey, who was actively linking her arm through his, his gaze softening. "It went well. Probably because of our engagement, they treated me very well, much more warmly than before."
He specifically added that last sentence.
Zoey was clearly pleased. She even had a fleeting thought - since Daniel was so uncooperative, if she wanted to be in control, Nathaniel would be a good choice. He was obedient, sensible, and most importantly, only slightly less handsome than Daniel.
She smiled and couldn't help patting Nathaniel's shoulder. "Good that you see things clearly and know who to credit. That's excellent. Keep it up, and eventually these people will only try harder to please you."
"I understand!"
Nathaniel responded obediently.
Zoey smiled even more happily, even tugging at Nathaniel's tie, her eyes flowing with suggestive warmth. "Good, then tonight, we..."