Deanna was stunned after hearing Lance's words. She never expected Lance to collaborate with Raphael. However, she still had many questions. "How did you determine that Duncan is the one behind Raphael?"
"Remember when you asked me to investigate Raphael? It was then that I had people keep an eye on both Raphael and Emily. Later, from their actions, I discovered Duncan's modus operandi," Lance explained his findings.
After listening, Deanna hugged Lance's waist and gratefully said, "Thank you for your hard work."
"It wasn't hard for me, but we let someone slip through," Lance replied with a grim expression.
He hadn't anticipated that in just two months, Duncan would develop such a large network domestically.
The most infuriating part was that Duncan had been operating right under his nose without leaving any clues.
Duncan truly lived up to his reputation as one of the most cunning men of the four major families.
Seeing Lance's troubled expression, Deanna consoled him, "It's okay. Even if he escaped, his goal is to get revenge on us. He will show up sooner or later."
Lance agreed with her but couldn't help feeling apologetic towards Deanna. "I thought I could resolve this issue so you could travel without worry. It seems you'll have to endure a bit longer."
"It's fine. Besides, the development of the special medicine is at a critical stage. I don't have time for leisure anyway," Deanna replied, clearly unbothered.
In fact, she was right. For the next two days, Deanna barely had any time to rest, constantly working in the lab with her master and Lionel on the next phase of their research. Thus, she was unaware of the major events happening outside.
Previously, Lance had promised Raphael that after interrogating Emily, he would return her. On the third day, Lance instructed Xavier to deliver Emily back.
"Mr. Howard, we have brought you the person you wanted. Mr. Mercer asked me to tell you that he has fulfilled his promise and that you should take care of yourself," Xavier said. He then signaled his men to hand over the tightly bound Emily to Raphael before getting into the car and leaving.
Soon, only Raphael and Emily were left at the city outskirts. Raphael looked at Emily with a cold gaze and a bloodthirsty smile. "I told you, you'd end up in my hands sooner or later."
Emily tried to speak, but her mouth was gagged, preventing her from saying anything. She watched in fear as Raphael reached out his hand, desperately trying to back away despite being bound. Unfortunately for her, there was no escaping Raphael's grasp.
The moment he caught her, Raphael couldn't contain his rage any longer. He slapped Emily several times while cursing her.
"You wretch! Did you think you could cheat on me and get away with it? You think finding a new backer means I can't touch you? Since you like messing around so much, once we're out of the city, I'll find some beggars to satisfy you!"
With that, Raphael dragged Emily by her hair towards the car.
He wasn't bluffing; after leaving the city, he indeed found some beggars and let them take turns humiliating Emily.
Unexpectedly, one of the beggars got too excited and strangled Emily in an attempt to stop her resistance, accidentally killing her.
The beggars panicked and fled the scene in fear.
Raphael was also shocked by Emily's sudden death. After a moment of stunned silence, he decided to dispose of her body. Just then, the police arrived.
It turned out that after Xavier left, he followed Lance's instructions and called the police.
Lance had long anticipated that Raphael taking Emily away would not end well for Emily. Therefore, he specifically had Xavier call the police to pursue Raphael so that Raphael would receive the punishment he deserved.
As for Emily, without Raphael and without Duncan, penniless and destitute, her fate was also quite evident.
However, Lance did not expect Raphael to be so ruthless, directly causing Emily's death.
This incident also made it to the news in Cloudmere, making people sigh.
"Although I think neither Raphael nor Emily were good people, seeing Emily die like this, I suddenly feel quite sorry for her."
"What's there to feel sorry about? If you ask me, it's just karma."
"Am I the only one who feels terrified about marriage after seeing this?"
Despite the heated discussions among netizens, the fervor quickly died down.
In the blink of an eye, half a month passed.
During this time, Deanna had been staying in the laboratory, watching over the cultivation chamber with her master day and night.
The element in the cultivation chamber was the most crucial catalyst in their research for the special medicine.
Its presence was the result of Deanna and her team's research over the past month and a half.
Only if the element is successfully cultivated can the special medicine be considered fully developed, which is why Deanna and her team have been keeping vigil day and night.