Chapter 102: No Longer Feels Cold

"Looks good."

The corners of Cleo's mouth turned up, and she couldn't suppress it no matter how hard she tried.

She took the student ID back from James's hand and carefully put it in her wallet, moving as if she were storing a winning lottery ticket.

Bianca stood beside her, watching Cleo, and the corners of her mouth also turned up slightly.

James stood up and walked in front of the two girls.

He reached out, placing one hand on Bianca's shoulder and the other on Cleo's shoulder.

The two girls were about the same height, their heads only reaching his chin.

"Starting tomorrow, you'll be college students."

James said,

"I'll just say this once—study hard."

Cleo looked up at him with a grin,

"What happens if we don't study hard?"

James turned Cleo's neck with one hand and gently bit her earlobe with his teeth.

"If you don't study hard, I'll just have to eat you up."

Cleo's face immediately turned bright red.

Pressing her lips together, she cupped her own cheeks and looked up adorably, asking,

"So, James, will you come see us after you finish your business?"

"Yes."

"How often will you come?"

James thought for a moment.

"At least once a month."

Cleo's mouth drooped again.

"A month is too long."

"Then every two weeks."

"Once a week."

Cleo held up one finger,

"Once a week, no less."

James looked at her serious expression and couldn't help but smile.

"Okay. Once a week."

Cleo's eyes lit up. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed James on the cheek.

After the kiss, her face turned red as fire. She stepped back and pushed Bianca forward.

"Bianca, you kiss him too."

Bianca glanced at Cleo, then turned to look at James.

She didn't stand on her toes or lean in. She just reached out and buttoned the top button of James's shirt.

"Your button wasn't done up."

Her voice was very calm, as if she were talking about something very small. But James saw that her ears had turned red.

Cleo stood beside them, covering her mouth as she laughed.

Sunlight streamed through the window, stretching the shadows of the three people long and overlapping them together, like a painting.

James looked down at his two girls...

Bianca was quiet, Cleo was lively;

One was like lake water, the other like flame.

Standing beside him, they made James feel in this moment that even the last trace of coldness in this city had melted away.

After dropping Bianca and Cleo off at the university for registration, James returned to Apex Global Enterprises headquarters that same afternoon.

Autumn in Novaria brought early darkness. After four in the afternoon, the sun began to sink, staining the horizon a deep red.

James stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window of his fifth-floor office, watching that red gradually swallowed by darkness until the last ray of light disappeared below the horizon.

About the same color as blood cooling and clotting.

The night was truly disgusting.

There was a knock at the door.

"Come in."

Daniel and Matthew walked in together.

Daniel wore a black windbreaker with the collar pulled high, covering half his chin.

Matthew wore a gray hoodie, the hood down, his hair messy, and bloodshot eyes behind his glasses...

He'd been staying up late recently checking data on the Emberlyn royal family and hadn't been sleeping well.

"Boss."

The two called out simultaneously, then sat down in the chairs across from James.

James turned around, leaning against the windowsill with his hands in his pockets, looking at them.

"Meeting."

He said,

"Two things. First, has there been any movement from the Jace family lately? Second, how's the investigation into the Emberlyn royal family going?"

Daniel spoke first.

"On the Jace family side, Yosef has already sent Mal away. To a farm in Thalassia. He's transferred all his personal assets to the company, including that piece of land in the southern suburbs. The compensation has been paid, the families of those girls signed settlement agreements, there won't be any more lawsuits. As for Yosef himself... he submitted his resignation to the board, saying he's getting old, his health isn't good, and he wants to retire."

James's eyebrows moved slightly.

"Do you believe that?"

"No."

Daniel shook his head,

"Yosef is healthy as a horse. He went skiing just last year. He's resigning not because of poor health, but because he can't save face. With his son sent away, sitting in board meetings watching others conduct business would be too painful."

"Then don't believe it."

James said,

"But his resignation is fine. One less Jace family member on the board means one less obstacle. Have someone watch Yosef, don't let him pull any tricks. He may have accepted it on the surface, but he might not have in his heart. And from what I know of him, the Jace family people all hold grudges."

Daniel nodded.

"Already arranged. All his movements in Novaria are under twenty-four-hour surveillance."

"I'll talk about the second thing."

Matthew opened his laptop and turned the screen toward James.

"Boss, on the Emberlyn royal family side, I've found more information. The Desert Legion's deployment records... in the past six months, they've sent at least three groups into Lumaria. The first went to Emerald City to meet with the Davis family. The second went to Emerald City and took Michael away. The third..."

Matthew paused.

"The third group is still in Lumaria, they haven't left. Not many people, about seven or eight, staying scattered in different hotels. They're using fake passports, with identities as ordinary businessmen. But I checked their spending records... what they eat, where they stay, what they use—all top quality. Ordinary businessmen don't stay in two-thousand-dollar-a-night suites."

James's eyes narrowed slightly.

"What are they waiting for?"

"Don't know."

Matthew shook his head,

"But their activity areas are mainly concentrated around several key locations set up by Apex Global Enterprises. The headquarters building, the port warehouse, the training base... people have been to all of them. Like they're casing the places."

The room was quiet for a few seconds.

Daniel spoke first.

"Boss, if you go to Emberlyn, you need to take more people. At least one action team, twenty people, fully armed. I'll lead the team myself."

"No."

James's tone was very calm,

"Too many people won't get through security. Emberlyn customs aren't pushovers. Twenty armed people entering the country would be surrounded by the Desert Legion before they even landed."

"Then at least take ten. The best of the best, hidden in a civilian cargo plane."

Daniel said.

"Also no."

James shook his head,

"This trip to Emberlyn isn't to fight a war. It's to get someone back. Fighting is the last resort—use it only if necessary."

Daniel opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but swallowed it back.

Matthew pushed up his glasses and interjected.

"Boss, have you considered one question... why is the Emberlyn royal family targeting you?"

James looked at him.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you said before that you have no grudge with the Emberlyn royal family. But they kidnapped Michael, allied with the Davis family and Aaron, and sent people to Lumaria to case locations. This whole series of actions—if the target isn't you, who else could it be? But you don't even know them. That doesn't make sense."

James didn't answer.

He walked back behind his desk and sat down, his fingers tapping lightly on the desktop.