Chapter 190 Ophelia Clearly Doesn't Look Like a Good Person
"What did he do?" Daniel asked in a low voice.
York replied, "After James left the country, he stayed quiet for two days. Then he found someone to impersonate him and stay at his apartment while he secretly returned. He's disguised himself and met with Ophelia in private. Our people are still keeping an eye on Ophelia to see who she meets next."
Ophelia finally took action. All the effort spent monitoring her wasn't in vain.
"Make sure to record their conversation," Daniel said, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "And don't alert them. Keep following them after they part ways."
"Got it!" York replied and left to issue the orders.
At this moment, James had just met with Ophelia.
Seeing Ophelia, he thought he was mistaken. "Excuse me, someone is already here. You must be in the wrong place," he said, trying to suppress his irritation.
Ophelia didn't get annoyed. Instead, she sat across from him. "I'm not in the wrong place. Maybe I'm the person you're waiting for. Let me introduce myself—my code name is Z."
James had been in contact with someone using the code name Z, a detail he hadn't shared with anyone. He was almost convinced.
"I didn't expect it to be you! Didn't you win the top prize at the medical competition? Are you still working with Daniel?" He tested Ophelia, hoping to gather useful information.
Ophelia saw James as a valuable asset and was particularly patient with him. "Yeah, I'm still with Daniel. But he's heavily guarded now, making it tough to get close to him. However, it's not impossible. If we could poison him once, we can poison him again."
James had considered working with Ophelia, but her ruthlessness and audacity surprised and even frightened him.
"How do you dare to poison Daniel? Someone like him wouldn't be easily tricked. Isn't he perfectly fine now?" James wondered if Ophelia might be sent by Daniel to test him.
But the contact was given to him by Yara, his biological mother. She wouldn't harm him. Yara had kept the contact hidden from Daniel, indicating she saw hope and value in the person behind it.
James felt conflicted.
"Don't worry, I'm not one of Daniel's people! To be honest, he's dying; it's just a matter of time. I went to him because he didn't die within the expected timeframe. His poison is suppressed but not cured. The necessary herbs are impossible to gather, and no one has the antidote that my leader possesses. He can't cure the poison and will eventually die from it. So, you don't need to worry."
When Ophelia mentioned her leader, her eyes filled with admiration and excitement, as if she would sacrifice her life without hesitation.
James regretted not learning medicine; he wished he could check if Ophelia was being controlled by her leader through drugs. The thought made him tense and wary of her.
"If you can achieve your goals, why involve me? You can't poison him now, and I don't have his favor. It's even less likely for me," James said, his voice tinged with skepticism.
"Don't worry," Ophelia replied, her tone calm and assured. "Poisoning someone is a professional task and requires experts to avoid failure." She was referring to Yara. When Yara was captured, their people were caught off guard and suffered heavy losses.
James felt a bit relieved but asked, "What do you want me to do? And what's in it for me?"
Now they were getting to the point.
Ophelia smiled, "It's simple. We need to gradually take over the Smith family's assets without anyone noticing. For that, we need someone from the Smith family to work with us secretly. As for what you get, I don't need to explain. You'll be the future leader of the Smith family. How does that sound?"
James had ambition; otherwise, he wouldn't have sacrificed so much for his interests. Ophelia's offer was tempting.
"It seems like you lose nothing. What can you provide me? If I have to do everything myself, why should I cooperate with you? I might as well work hard on my own, especially since you said Daniel is dying."
He thought that once Daniel died, Emily would return to him, seeking his power. He could be stronger than Daniel, making him her best choice.
James felt excited, imagining his plan unfolding perfectly.
Ophelia noticed his ambition, which made him easier to control. People with desires could be manipulated with the right approach.
"Of course, we'll help you. To show our sincerity, there's a Smith Group asset abroad. You can go there and take it over with our provided information. How does that sound?" Ophelia's confident smile faced James.
James was tempted, but he knew the Smith Group's main assets were domestic. He wanted his power to be recognized at home.
"Why not start domestically?" he asked.
"The time isn't right. You've just been sent abroad. If you suddenly appear here, it will raise suspicion. Your secret return is already risky." Ophelia had been cautious, ensuring she wasn't followed.
James felt nervous, sensing he might be watched.
"Am I being followed now?" He feared Daniel, seeing him as almost god-like.
Ophelia found James' fear amusing. James couldn't compare to Daniel, who was her rival. She even considered keeping Daniel if she could bring him down.
"Don't be so tense. I've checked; no one is following us. We're more cautious than you," Ophelia said confidently.
The person monitoring them shook their head, thinking Ophelia was overconfident. Daniel wasn't someone she could easily deceive.
Ophelia sensed she was being watched and shot a sharp look towards the surveillance direction, making the person monitoring her sit up straight.