Chapter 226 Exposed Secret, Anger and Shame
"Mr. Smith, you were right on the money. As soon as we brought you back, there were already people lurking around the villa. Ms. Johnson was pretty sharp, too—she noticed them and had Leopard and me flush them out."
"But it seems there were two groups watching the villa. One of them was really skilled—even with Leopard and me working together, he still got away. The other group had two people, and they're currently locked up inside."
York reported truthfully.
A cold glint flashed in Daniel's eyes. "Did you get anything useful out of them?"
"They were sent by Aiden. My guess is they were waiting for Ms. Johnson to rescue Hayden so they could immediately report back and come demanding his return!"
York shared his speculation.
The coldness radiating from Daniel nearly dropped the room temperature to freezing.
"The Johnson family has too much time on their hands. Go arrange some business for the Johnson Group to deal with!"
He had originally planned to let Emily handle this herself.
But that was on the condition they didn't get too out of line.
This time, Emily had nearly been hurt, and he realized his previous methods had been too gentle, allowing the Johnson family to constantly misjudge the situation.
They dared to provoke the person he was protecting repeatedly.
"Yes, I'll arrange it right away!"
York knew Daniel was truly angry and immediately agreed.
However, considering his physical condition, he still reminded him, "Mr. Smith, Ms. Johnson said the toxins in your body are only temporarily under control. You can't get angry again, or it might trigger an attack!"
As long as it concerned Emily, Daniel should listen.
Sure enough, Daniel immediately calmed down and said quietly, "I know. You can go."
Seeing that Daniel had taken his words to heart, York finally felt relieved.
Daniel had gotten his answer from York, but the unease in his heart still lingered.
This made him get out of bed.
He might as well see what Emily was busy with.
Soon, Daniel finally figured out where that sense of something being off was coming from.
Right now, the one who should be more anxious was Aiden.
Normally, the people he had stationed outside Emily's villa would report to him every few hours.
This time, the scheduled time had passed with no word.
He sensed something had gone wrong.
Bianca found Aiden at this moment.
"Aiden, didn't you say you had people secretly watching Emily's villa? Has Emily come back? I wonder if she managed to rescue Hayden. The kidnappers haven't sent any news yet. Even if she goes to Mr. Smith, if she didn't pay the ransom, they shouldn't be able to wait this long, right? And they haven't contacted the Johnson family for money either, have they?"
Bianca didn't directly say she had received word that Emily had returned.
Aiden frowned. "My people haven't reported back yet. I don't know what's going on. Let me call and ask."
He made the call.
But it wouldn't go through at all.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing Aiden's expression change, Bianca already believed the message she'd received.
Aiden frowned. "I can't reach them!"
"Is it possible they were discovered? Does that mean Emily's already back? Why hasn't she contacted us? Could it be she didn't manage to rescue Hayden and feels she can't face us, so she's deliberately stalling?"
Bianca detested Emily, so whenever possible, she would assume the worst about her.
"What ability does she have to deal with the two people I sent? Besides, that's her brother - how could she ignore Hayden's safety just for the sake of her own pride?
You have to understand, the longer this drags on, the more danger Hayden is in!"
Aiden believed that since Emily returned to the Johnson Villa, he had never belittled or hurt her, and had even spoken up for her multiple times - they didn't have that much conflict.
So she hadn't shown herself to be particularly bad, and this time, he didn't think the worst of Emily.
Bianca sneered inwardly.
Aiden really thought too highly of Emily. The current Emily was cold and heartless - how could she possibly care about Hayden's safety?
"Aiden, for Hayden's safety, we can't take any chances. So, even if you think I'm being unkind, I still have to remind you, Emily is not the same Emily anymore. She hates the Johnson family now, so how could she truly care whether Hayden lives or dies? I even suspect she signed that contract, saying she'd rescue Hayden, just to deliberately buy time."
As if suddenly thinking of this possibility, Bianca gasped in shock, her eyes full of alarm and concern.
"So what do you suggest we do? Go to the villa and confront her?"
"We definitely need to go, but we should prepare first and catch her off guard. Otherwise, if she uses Hayden's situation to pressure us, we won't be able to tell truth from lies for Hayden's sake, and we'll just be led around by the nose."
After a moment of silent thought, Bianca said this.
Aiden fell silent, not speaking.
He seemed to be considering Bianca's words.
Just then, Chase came downstairs wearing a baseball cap and a mask.
This was the first time in a long while he had voluntarily left his room.
Aiden's attention was drawn to him.
"You're... going out?"
Seeing Chase heading straight for the main door without greeting them, as if he hadn't even seen them, Aiden asked in a serious tone.
Chase paused but didn't turn around. "What? Does Aiden think I don't even deserve to go out anymore? Don't worry, if I really get mobbed and something happens, I won't implicate the Johnson family!"
Having witnessed his family's coldness, his tone was harsh now.
Aiden was taken aback and frowned. "You know that's not what I meant. I'm thinking of you!"
Bianca quickly added, "Chase, Aiden's right. We're worried about you, that's why we don't want you going out. What if you get hurt? And can you please not cause trouble right now? We're already anxious about Hayden!"
Chase had wanted to treat Bianca as if she were invisible.
But she just had to come and annoy him.
He whipped around, his eyes full of hostility directed at Bianca. "Thinking of me? If you really cared about me, you'd go online right now and apologize, admit you took credit for Emily's work, and have her present evidence to clear my name.
And are you really worried about Hayden? It looks to me like you're plotting against Emily. At least she had the courage to say she'd rescue Hayden. What about you? Just talk."
"Shut up, Chase! What's gotten into you? You're being completely unreasonable! Didn't Bianca say she would help you, it just takes time? If Bianca really did what Emily said, wouldn't that just be playing into her hands? We gave up our shares for Hayden - how can you say we haven't sacrificed anything?"
Aiden was furious with embarrassment.
Really, it was just because Chase had exposed their selfish, dark thoughts.
Chase's tone was full of mockery. "Shares? Are you really willing to give them up? Dare you swear you haven't thought about how to get those shares back? Scheming against people but unwilling to admit it - hypocrites! I just want to go out for a walk. Don't provoke me!"
He exposed what they were thinking.
Leaving Aiden so embarrassed that he didn't know how to respond.
Bianca was smooth-talking, but she couldn't handle Chase's current hostile aura. He couldn't stand her the most, and when she met his gaze, she was scared, too!
Chase left the Johnson Villa.
He headed straight for Emily's villa.
When Emily saw Chase standing at her door, she was surprised but also alert.
"What are you doing here?"