Chapter 79 The Misunderstanding Between Them

Emily couldn't catch a wink that night. She was all over the place, her heart aching as she watched Harper snooze peacefully.

She was already going through so much and didn't want Harper to face the same. If Harper was up for it, she could send her abroad, never to come back.

Looking around the messy room, Emily thought for a bit.

Since she couldn't sleep, she figured she might as well tidy up the place.

Emily opened the wardrobe and saw the clothes inside were a total mess. She frowned, surprised that even though Harper usually looked so put together, her wardrobe was a disaster.

She started pulling out the pile of clothes, only to get smacked on the head by something. Looking down, she saw it was a diary.

Emily wasn't into snooping, but the diary had fallen open on the floor, and she caught a glimpse of a few lines.

[I don't have a dad anymore. My dad died saving someone. Those people kidnapped a bunch of kids from rich families, including James, his friends Samuel, Ryan, Benjamin, and Olivia's brother Jeremy.]

Emily didn't read any further; after all, Harper was just a kid back then and didn't fully get what had happened.

She thought for a moment and called Eric, asking him to dig into a nationwide kidnapping case from twenty years ago.

Emily tried to remember details about the case but came up blank.

Eric, on getting the call, started his investigation.

They stayed on the line. Eric found some leads but eventually hit a wall with the police department's firewall.

He reported, "Emily, the info on this is locked up tight."

"Can you get through?" Emily asked.

She didn't want Eric to get in trouble over some info.

"Yeah, give me a few minutes," Eric said, sounding pumped.

Emily waited quietly for news, feeling like she was on the brink of uncovering something big.

Eric's fingers flew over the keyboard, bypassing the firewall and hacking into the archives to pull out the sealed file.

"Emily, I got it. I'm sending it to you now, but heads up, it's pretty nasty," Eric said, his voice shaky, followed by the sound of him puking.

Emily raised an eyebrow and opened the file Eric sent, filled with curiosity.

The cover of the file was a gruesome photo of a corpse, barely recognizable as human, but Emily, being a doctor, could still tell what it was.

Emily frowned and looked closer.

It was a seriously messed-up kidnapping case, a planned and organized crime. The group seemed to have a beef with the wealthy families of StellarisVille, specifically targeting their kids, kidnapping them, and live-streaming their torture.

Back then, the rich families in StellarisVille were freaking out, scared their kids would be taken for these live-streamed horrors.

The kids who died in the live streams were dumped carelessly, sometimes in gardens, on roads, or even at someone's doorstep, as a sick form of taunting.

The major wealthy families had never been so united, all working together to catch this kidnapping group.

In the end, only five kids made it out alive, including one girl.

But the file only had photos of four boys, no picture of the girl.

The more Emily read, the more serious her expression became.

When she got to the page about Jeremy, she saw a dismembered body.

"He was tortured to death. James has been quiet ever since he came back. He only mentioned once, while protecting Olivia, that Jeremy had asked him to take care of Olivia before he died. That's why James has always looked out for her," Harper said, standing behind Emily, having woken up at some point.

Emily was startled but quickly calmed down.

"They say Jeremy was tortured in front of all the kids," Harper added.

Emily was horrified by the cruelty of those kidnappers. They were like demons, capable of such inhumane acts.

Her eyes flickered, and she couldn't help but roll up her right sleeve, revealing an area still covered in needle marks.

She had always hidden it well, never letting anyone see it, not even James.

"Emily, James has no feelings for Olivia," Harper sighed, lowering her eyes, "He just can't let go of the past. After all, Jeremy died in his place."

Emily clenched her fists.

They were all just kids back then. Jeremy's courage was indeed rare and remarkable.

She thought, 'If someone were willing to do that for me—no, no one will.'

But then again, if there were, she would keep her promise.

"You're trying to persuade me for him," Emily said, revealing Harper's intention.

Harper had a purpose for bringing her home, but she hadn't figured out how to say it yet. She didn't expect Emily to impulsively help her organize the wardrobe, find the diary, investigate, and even pull up police files.

Emily remained silent. After all, James had always chosen Olivia over her.

She had thought James liked Olivia since he never explained.

It wasn't her fault for the misunderstanding.

"Emily, James has feelings for you," Harper shared her perspective.

Emily turned off her phone and looked intently at Harper. "Harper, sometimes things happen that can't be changed. Since I know the suffering he's endured, I can understand his choices now, but I no longer love him. I've already let go of my love for him."

Suddenly, her phone vibrated. Emily opened it to see a trending topic on Twitter.

#Smith and Jackson Families Unite: James and Olivia Seen Embracing Outside Hotel, Rumors of Olivia's Pregnancy

Emily curled her lips in a mocking smile. "Harper, protecting Olivia was his responsibility, but it's not mine to bear. Besides, they make a good match, don't they?"

She showed Harper the picture of Olivia and James embracing.

Seeing the photo, Harper felt angry and couldn't help but feel sorry for Emily. "It's his fault. He doesn't deserve your love!"

She had thought that there were many misunderstandings between Emily and James. If James couldn't explain, she would. Once the misunderstandings were cleared up, Emily might forgive James, especially since he had been concerned about Emily recently.

But she didn't expect James to be with Olivia at such a crucial moment.

She decided she wouldn't care about his affairs anymore.