Chapter 782: Like a Clown

Chapter 782: Like a Clown

"Don't worry, boss. I got it!"

Byron thumped his chest in assurance.

Even though Emily couldn't see what he looked like on the other end of the line, just from his serious tone, she could easily picture his expression and gestures right now.

"Alright, that's it then. I'm leaving Silverlight City in your and Sophia's hands. If anything comes up, call me immediately."

Emily didn't waste words with Byron. After a few quick instructions, she hung up.

Though she'd left in a hurry for Emerald City, she'd been smart enough to bring Bird and Zander along—both were trusted, capable people.

She was still relatively new in Emerald City with limited personnel at her disposal, which was why she'd called in reinforcements.

Emily had flown to Emerald City first and sent the others a message. They'd taken a later flight and followed.

Now that Emily knew about Axel's situation and his possible connection to Byron, she was worried that if anyone traced things back to Byron, it could spell trouble. So she had Zander secretly monitor Axel.

"Don't get spotted. I need you to find out who he's been meeting lately, and where those people went after they saw him. If anything unusual happens, message me right away."

Zander's specialty was covert surveillance and investigation. Plus, his computer skills were top-notch—sometimes he could dig up leads through security footage without even being on-site.

This kind of tracking job was way safer than the gigs he used to take on the dark web, and honestly, not that challenging for him. The key thing was that Emily paid generously and promptly.

"Leave it to me."

Zander patted his chest confidently.

And his efficiency was genuinely impressive. He even included some bonus intel.

For instance, although he'd only started tailing Axel after Emily's orders, he'd already traced everyone who'd met with Axel today and sent the information to Emily.

Among them was a woman who now went by the name Patricia.

"This is a photo of that woman. I did some digging—turns out she's the adopted daughter of the Mitchell family now. Word is she saved the wife of the Mitchell family's head by pure chance."

This seemed a little too convenient.

After all, the wife of the Mitchell family's head should have had security with her at all times. How would she have gotten into danger, and how convenient that Patricia just happened to show up—a seemingly fragile woman who managed to save her?

And now she was meeting with Axel.

Two theories came to mind.

First: the Mitchell family knew about Christopher's overseas operations. He'd been running dirty deals with a pipeline connecting back domestically that still hadn't been uncovered.

Second: the Mitchell family knew nothing about what Christopher had done. Axel likely had deep ties to Christopher, and now that Christopher's network was cut off, Axel needed to establish a connection with the Mitchell family's main branch. Patricia might be Axel's plant.

Either way, Patricia was clearly a key player.

"Keep eyes on Patricia. See what her next moves are."

Emily gave specific instructions.

"Got it."

Zander was practically agreeing to everything.

Later, Emily even mentioned some things about the Mitchell family to Otto.

Emily wanted to see just how ambitious Patricia really was.

If she was ambitious enough, she'd definitely want recognition from everyone in high society. That would mean she'd find a way to get the Mitchell family to throw a formal recognition banquet.

Otto had actually been planning to bring this up with Emily anyway.

He handed her an invitation. "Even if you hadn't asked, I would've given you this. The Day Group and the Mitchell Group have ongoing projects together, especially a major new one that's just getting started. Both sides need to communicate and negotiate. You'll represent the Day Group at this event. On one hand, it signals to the world that you're taking over the Day Group and speaking for it. On the other hand, it shows respect to the Mitchell Group, which will help our continued partnership."

Emily felt even more certain of her theory.

In that case, she absolutely had to attend and see what Patricia's real agenda was—or if she truly was just a good Samaritan being honored.

"Alright, I'll be there in a week."

Emily then asked about the Day Group's partnership.

She'd only recently taken over the company and hadn't yet reviewed this particular project, so she didn't know the details of their collaboration.

"Later, have Gabriel send you the contract and get the project lead to brief you on it."

Otto was trying to step back as much as possible now, wanting Emily to take the reins and prove she could handle things independently.

Emily had the experience and the capability.

Taking over a company like this didn't intimidate her in the slightest. She nodded in agreement.

She was so swamped that she'd completely forgotten about Daniel.

Daniel was busy too, but he couldn't help thinking about her whenever he had even a moment to spare.

Yet several days had passed without a single message from Emily.

Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose, exasperated. "She really is heartless. Is she seriously planning to pretend nothing happened?"

Charles, who had just walked into the office, caught that remark.

He was the one who should be bitter. "Why are you sitting here brooding? Shouldn't that be me? You've only been temporarily abandoned. I've been enslaved by you with zero time to rest, yet you still have time to pine over a woman. Who's really suffering here?"

Daniel didn't even glance at Charles.

He'd heard Charles's complaints so many times over the past few days that they'd grown stale.

"If you keep running your mouth, I don't mind piling more work on you." Daniel finally couldn't take it anymore and issued a cold threat.

Charles shot Daniel a resentful glare, but the moment Daniel looked his way, he instantly switched back to a cheerful grin.

"Daniel, usually when someone gets dumped, they're the one dripping with resentment. How come with you it's backwards? Emily's practically a role model. When I see her in person, I'm giving her a thumbs-up. But hey, is it possible she found out about the body double thing, and that's why she's ignoring you?"

Charles lowered his voice, speculating mischievously.

That comment dredged up some less-than-pleasant memories for Daniel.

His gaze turned dark as he stared at Charles. "You dare bring up the body double again? Tell me—is it possible that Nicole was actually Emily all along, just in disguise?"

Charles's jaw dropped so wide you could've fit an egg in his mouth.

"Seriously? No way! Aside from the eyes, they looked nothing alike. Emily knows how to do legendary disguise work?"

Charles genuinely admired Emily now.

Daniel seemed to forget his own grievances for a moment, adopting a magnanimous air. "Is it that strange she knows a bit about disguise? Just shows how sheltered you are."

Charles couldn't help scratching his head. "Then all that stuff I said back then—I must've looked like a total clown in front of her. Emily probably saw me like a circus monkey. But wait, if that's true, why is she still dodging responsibility?"

Of course Daniel wasn't going to admit that Emily had also faked amnesia to deceive him.

That would be even more humiliating.

In any case, he definitely wasn't revealing the whole truth.

Charles rubbed his chin, suddenly looking at Daniel with something like pity.

Daniel frowned. He didn't like that look from Charles one bit. It always meant he was up to no good.