In the afternoon, in the president's office of the Mercer Group headquarters, Xavier pushed open the door and walked in, standing in the center of the room. He respectfully reported, "Mr. Mercer, someone has tried to use their connections to reach Mr. Guzman, hoping to get Emily released. They contacted me to ask if they had offended you."
Upon hearing this, Lance's face instantly turned cold.
"What, is Guzman planning to release her? Tell him that if he lets her go, he need not have any further dealings with Mercer Group!"
"Yes!" Xavier turned and immediately contacted Mr. Guzman, conveying Mr. Mercer's message clearly. "You know my boss's temper, Mr. Guzman. You should think carefully about how to handle this." With that, he hung up the phone.
On the other end, Mr. Guzman put down his phone, his face extremely grim.
It wasn't Xavier's words that upset him but the realization that he had been deceived by Garrett.
Fortunately, he had the foresight to ask before acting; otherwise, he would have offended Mr. Mercer.
Thinking of this, he furiously called Garrett.
As soon as the call connected, he unleashed a torrent of anger at Garrett.
"Garrett, are you trying to make me miserable? How dare you drag me into your mess? Do you think so little of me?"
Garrett was stunned by the scolding and couldn't get a word in edgewise.
Mr. Guzman continued to rage, "Do you know what happens when you offend Mercer Group? What grudge do I have with you that you'd try to harm me like this?"
"Don't contact me again. I can't afford friends like you!"
With that, Mr. Guzman slammed down the phone.
On Garrett's end, he stared at the disconnected call, his face a mix of anger and frustration.
He realized that any hope for Emily was now completely dashed.
...
At the Cody family villa, Bella sat on the sofa, feeling low-spirited.
Although she had stopped having people follow Lance, she was still well-informed about his activities.
She knew that Lance had done many things to stand up for Deanna and that Deanna had even stayed overnight at Hencard Villa.
But she had no way to counter these actions and could only feel jealous.
Lance was already repulsed by her; anything she did now seemed futile and might even make him dislike her more.
Yet she couldn't bring herself to give up; she was unwilling and resentful.
As Bella was lost in thought, a well-dressed woman in her early thirties approached her.
It was Bella's mother, Kelly.
Kelly had been worried about her daughter's unhappiness over Lance for days.
"Still thinking about Lance?"
She sat beside her daughter, intending to comfort her.
Seeing her mother, Bella couldn't help but feel aggrieved. "Mommy, am I not good enough? Why does Lance have no feelings for me?"
"I just want to know more about him. That's why I have someone follow him. Why is he so angry with me for it? He'd even transfer company projects to others just to avoid seeing me."
Hearing this, Kelly frowned, feeling that Lance had indeed gone too far.
Although her daughter was wrong to have people follow Lance, she knew it was all because her daughter loved him.
As she pondered this, her daughter's pleading voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Mommy, please help me. I don't know what to do anymore. Lance is getting closer to his private doctor. That woman even stayed overnight at his house yesterday. If this continues, I'll never have a chance!"
Bella looked pitifully at her mother.
Kelly looked back at her daughter and couldn't bear to see her so heartbroken.
Moreover, the business marriage between their families was highly beneficial to the Cody family and couldn't be ruined so easily.
With this in mind, Kelly came up with an idea.
"Alright then, my birthday is coming up in a few days. You can personally deliver the invitation to Samantha and ask her to bring Lance along. I'll apologize on your behalf; I'm sure Lance won't refuse me."
Hearing that her mother would apologize for her, Bella felt it was a last resort but had no other options and agreed.
Over the next two days, Kelly began preparing for her birthday party.
Bella helped out, busying herself with the arrangements.
Two days later, when the preparations were nearly complete, Bella took the invitation and headed to the Mercer family mansion.
The Mercer family mansion was located atop Glencana Mountain in the suburbs, surrounded by mountains with beautiful scenery-an ideal place for retirement.
The butler respectfully led Bella into the living room where Samantha was sitting on the sofa.
Bella quickly put on a gentle smile and greeted her warmly. "Samantha, it's been a few days. You look more radiant than ever."
"You always flatter me."
Samantha laughed heartily and invited Bella to sit down.
After some small talk, Bella handed over the invitation and said politely, "My mother hopes your entire family can attend her birthday party."
Samantha understood immediately and nodded, promising to bring Lance along.