Chapter 103 Choose One, Your Call
"Matthew," she lifted her head, eyes poisonous with venom, "Emma doesn't love you at all! The only person she's ever loved is Nicholas!"
"If you're really so capable, then take her away from Nicholas!"
Matthew's expression didn't change an inch, maintaining that coldly indifferent mask.
"My business is none of your concern." His voice was arctic. "Focus on your own affairs! You know what it means if I abandon you, don't you?"
Zoe's emotions exploded as she shrieked, her eyes freezing with terrifying intensity.
"Matthew, you want to dispose of me after using me?"
"Don't you realize how much dirty work I've done for you? Don't you think I have leverage against you?"
She thought this threat would give Matthew pause.
Instead, Matthew suddenly crouched down to her eye level, his lips curving into a mocking smile.
He laughed, "Dare to threaten me?"
He leisurely adjusted his cufflinks with elegant precision, though his words cut like daggers.
"Dullon, that poor bastard—you kept him locked in your basement, torturing him for two solid weeks. He finally died just a few days ago."
Zoe's pupils constricted sharply.
Matthew continued in that same casual tone: "Tell me, if this little incident comes to light and gets investigated, who exactly should be afraid?"
"Oh, right," he said as if remembering something amusing, "that psycho also kept quite a collection of videos. Really well-shot footage. Crystal clear quality, perfect angles."
"Maybe I should invite Miss Perez to enjoy a private screening sometime?"
"No!!" Zoe screamed like a banshee, her voice shrill with terror. "Matthew! You promised! You said if I gave you the security token, you'd turn over all those videos! You want to go back on your word?"
She struggled to lunge at him, but Matthew effortlessly sidestepped.
Matthew reached out and gripped her delicate chin, applying enough pressure to force her head up.
His smile widened with malicious amusement.
"Let me teach you lesson number two," he leaned close, his warm breath against her face somehow making her feel like she'd fallen into an ice pit. "Never trust a demon's word."
Zoe stared at him in despair.
Matthew released her and stood up, resuming his superior posture.
"However," his tone shifted, "those things are useless to me anyway. As long as you behave yourself and keep Nicholas properly entertained so he doesn't have time to bother Emma, I'll naturally return everything to you."
His gaze suddenly turned vicious.
"But if you dare mess with Emma one more time, I don't mind making Miss Perez globally famous with those spectacular performances."
"When that happens, what do you think your fans, your family, and Nicholas will think of you?"
Zoe was thoroughly terrified now, that bone-deep fear making her tremble uncontrollably.
She knew Matthew always followed through on his threats.
This man was completely insane—a devil incarnate!
Her earlier arrogance vanished without a trace.
She frantically shook her head, her voice breaking: "No, never again... I'll never go near her again."
"I'll go apologize to her right now! Immediately!"
She scrambled to get up in panic.
Just then.
"Creak—"
The private room door was suddenly pushed open from outside.
A cold, clear female voice drifted in, carrying undeniable authority.
"No need to look for me. I'm already here."
The door swung open.
Emma walked in, her gaze frosty as winter, eyes fixed on Matthew.
Matthew's eyelid twitched violently, his heart skipping a beat. When had she arrived?
How much had she heard?
His gaze swept toward the doorway, where two bodyguards clutched their arms, sporting bruises at the corners of their mouths, looking thoroughly beaten as they followed behind her.
Apparently, she'd been standing there for quite some time.
Matthew shot a look at his men. The bodyguards immediately understood, forcibly dragging the still-sobbing Zoe out of the room. The door closed again.
The air filled with suffocating silence.
"Emma."
Matthew spoke, his throat painfully dry, carrying barely detectable guilt.
Emma's gaze was cold as ice, her voice completely devoid of warmth.
"Matthew, whatever schemes you've cooked up with Zoe, whatever little games you're playing behind the scenes—I don't want to know, and I'm not interested."
"But the DC project—you either announce you're abandoning it right now, immediately, or you return it to Harrison Group unconditionally."
"Choose one. Your call."
Her tone brooked no argument, carrying the oppressive weight of an approaching storm.
Matthew's response came almost reflexively: "Impossible!"
He rejected her demand with absolute finality!
That bastard Nicholas was about to be completely destroyed! He would never give Nicholas any chance to recover!
Disappointment flooded Emma's eyes like a tide, threatening to drown her completely.
"Is money really that important to you? The Moore Group's assets are enough for you to live worry-free forever."
Her voice carried deep exhaustion and bewilderment.
Matthew scoffed.
"Wealth? You think I need that pocket change?" He stepped closer, his eyes burning with barely suppressed madness.
"Nicholas has to pay the price this time! He deserves to die! He hurt you, betrayed you—have you forgotten all of that?!"
Emma's voice shot up, each word seemingly squeezed through gritted teeth.
"I'll settle my own scores! I don't need you meddling!"
Before she finished speaking, Matthew suddenly reached out and yanked her roughly into his arms, using enough force to nearly crush her bones.
"Emma..."
His voice trembled, his chest heaving violently.
In that moment, he actually felt fear—overwhelming, suffocating fear. He was terrified of losing her.
Emma didn't struggle.
She let him hold her, but her body remained rigid as stone.
After a long moment, she finally spoke, her voice terrifyingly calm.
"Matthew, we studied medicine. Integrity and compassion are our bottom line. Healing and saving lives is our calling."
"We've witnessed all of life's cycles—birth, aging, sickness, death. But those living, breathing people shouldn't become casualties in your business wars."
She paused, her gaze clear and resolute.
She understood perfectly that Harrison Group would likely launch a last-minute patent lawsuit against Moore Group, which would leave both DC and FD in legal limbo for at least five years. The result would be mutual destruction!
And those families who desperately needed FD would be left waiting indefinitely!
"I'm giving you twenty-four hours."
Emma gently pushed him away, her eyes holding no trace of lingering affection—only warning.
"I hope you'll think this through carefully!"
With that, she turned and walked out without looking back. The door slammed shut, making Matthew's heart race.
He panicked instantly. What was she planning? What the hell was she planning to do!
Damn it!
Matthew slammed his fist on the table, veins bulging on the back of his hand.
Suddenly, the panic in his eyes faded, replaced by a chilling ruthlessness.
He would kidnap her and take her abroad! He would never let her stay by Nicholas's side again!
'Nicholas, you don't deserve her anymore!'
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