Chapter 273: A Good Friend’s Discouragement
Emily hugged her knees, crouching by the windowsill, rubbing her hair hard and burying her face deep into her knees.
The sound of waves outside came one after another, as if telling an endless tale of grievance.
In the end, she still didn't make the call. She just tossed her phone back onto the bed, letting the screen go dark, just like her mood at that moment.
Meanwhile, in Emerald City, it was a completely different scene.
The sharp sound of brakes cut through the night sky, the screech of tires against the ground so piercing it made your scalp tingle. James sat in the driver's seat of the Cullinan, his face so dark it could drip water.
He gripped the steering wheel tightly, his sharp gaze fixed on the rearview mirror—
Four black Aston Martins were chasing his car like hungry wolves,
ramming into him from time to time, making the car shake violently.
This was no longer just tailing—it was a blatant attempt to force him to stop.
James narrowed his eyes slightly, a flash of ruthlessness in them.
He quickly freed one hand and called Tyler, his tone cold as ice,
"Track my car right now. I'm being intercepted! Send backup."
Tyler on the other end seemed to be handling something, with the faint sound of keyboard typing in the background.
Hearing James's voice, he immediately became serious and asked calmly,
"Someone's following you?"
"Yes, four cars are boxing me in."
"You should stop—this isn't safe!"
James spoke while jerking the steering wheel to avoid a collision from the right,
"But I don't want to stop. You know what I need to do."
"This is very dangerous."
Tyler's tone carried obvious concern,
"If they force you to stop like this, the consequences could be terrible.
If you go too fast, you could get flipped over.
I'll send Aegis Corp's helicopter for backup right now. Just hang on a bit longer."
"Okay, I've got your location. We'll reach you in 13 minutes. Keep your current speed, and don't try to speed up rashly."
"Stop talking and just get here."
James hung up, yanked the steering wheel with his left hand, and slammed on the gas.
The car swerved sharply, scaring off the car on the left that was trying to force him to stop.
Just as he was about to pull away, he realized with frustration that the Cullinan's acceleration couldn't match the Aston Martins.
His speed didn't pick up in time, giving the other three cars a chance to completely box him in from the left, right, and rear.
"Damn it."
James cursed under his breath, veins bulging at his temples.
He didn't need to check to know—only Della could mobilize so many sports cars in Emerald City and dare to block him so openly.
Della just didn't want him to see Emily.
Layla's call from earlier still rang in his ears. She said Emily was leaving for Lumaria first thing in the morning, and apparently Lumaria had sent a private plane to pick her up.
James had originally planned to send Layla and Briar ahead to keep Emily there while he followed.
After all, having led the Smith Group for years and being a duke of the Frank Empire, the aristocratic pride and arrogance in his bones
made it hard for him to swallow his pride and apologize in person.
But he never expected that this moment of stubbornness might let Emily slip through his fingers.
What annoyed him even more was that the moment he left, Della had him tracked.
James slammed the steering wheel hard, and the car let out a sharp honk.
That honk seemed to light a fuse, making the surrounding cars even more excited and ram him harder.
A loud crash came from the rear, the car shook violently, and several warning lights on the dashboard lit up instantly.
Before long, a loud roar came from overhead.
James looked up to see a helicopter breaking through the night, flying toward him.
His phone rang again—it was Tyler, his voice coming through with urgency,
"Mr. James, we've arrived. Do you need us to use weapons?"
James looked at the cars getting closer in the rearview mirror, gritted his teeth, and said angrily,
"No, don't hurt anyone. Just find a way to force them to stop."
"Understood."
Just as Tyler was directing the helicopter to hover low and interfere with the vehicles below, another roar of engines came from the distance.
James squinted and saw over a dozen black sedans speeding toward them—reinforcements sent by Della.
Both sides were locked in a standoff, neither giving way.
On the coastal road, headlights flashed, engines roared, and the sound of tires scraping the ground rose and fell.
Before long, someone lost control and crashed into the guardrail, and then a chain reaction occurred.
Car after car collided, flames shot up into the sky, thick smoke billowed, and the scene descended into chaos...
On the other side, at Emerald City's private airfield, it was completely quiet.
Dawn had just broken, and Emily had already packed her luggage.
She stood by the plane's boarding stairs, clutching her phone, its screen still dark.
Kumb's message was still pinned at the top, saying that the head guard Ondine would take care of her the whole way.
Emily looked up at Ondine.
She was a capable-looking woman with short hair, wearing a crisp black suit, standing respectfully not far away.
Emily recognized her. When Ian was still at the royal residence, he had used his status as heir to threaten Ondine into doing things for him, even intercepting Emily at Lumaria's airport.
Clearly, Ondine knew which way the wind was blowing.
Ian was ancient history now. Emily was Kumb's only biological daughter, the future master of the royal residence.
So this time, Ondine was especially respectful toward Emily, even lowering her voice when she spoke.
Seeing Emily keep looking back, her gaze constantly drifting toward the airport entrance, her expression hesitant, Ondine didn't rush her.
She just stood with her subordinates, bowing respectfully in front of the plane, quietly waiting for her to board.
Seeing this, Layla and Briar quickly grabbed Emily's arms, their voices so urgent they were almost crying.
"Are you really not going to wait a bit longer?"
Layla clutched her hand, her voice tense,
"James might just be held up with something. He cares about you so much—there's no way he wouldn't come see you off."
"Yeah, yeah,"
Briar chimed in, tugging on Emily's other hand,
"Emily, if James finds out you left without saying goodbye, he'll go crazy.
And have you forgotten?
Tomorrow is my wedding, and you promised to be my bridesmaid. You can't break your promise."
Emily looked troubled, her heart aching as if something was squeezing it.