Chapter 777: The Next Arrangements

Emily had no idea Knox was planning to follow her all the way to Emerald City.

She'd taken a nap that afternoon and finally got some rest.

Once she was up, Otto had someone prepare a welcome dinner.

So right now, Emily was sitting with them over the meal, having completely pushed aside everything and everyone back in Silverlight City.

She chatted with Otto, mostly wanting to get a better sense of what was going on in Emerald City these days.

That's when she found out Calista was dead.

Otto shook his head. "I hated what she did. She committed crimes and deserved to be locked up for it. But I never wanted to destroy her completely. I don't know what she was thinking—she just suddenly died. From what we can tell, it looks like suicide.

But knowing her the way I do now, I just don't think she'd actually go through with it. I'm not sure she had it in her to do that to herself. The task force is still investigating."

Talking about Calista—a child he'd raised for over twenty years—still stirred up some sadness in him.

His feelings were complicated.

Lika was more emotional. At the mention of Calista, her eyes welled up and her voice cracked. "We tried so hard to raise her right from the time she was little. I don't know when things went wrong, or how. By the time I realized something was off and tried to fix it, it was already too late.

It's my fault. I wasn't vigilant enough. I didn't catch the twisted parts of her personality early on and stop what came after."

Emily hadn't expected this.

Back when she and Calista clashed, Emily had given her plenty of chances out of respect for Otto. But Calista never listened.

She'd made Emily into her enemy from the start.

Everything that happened was Calista's own doing.

But even without Emily in the picture, if Otto hadn't been on alert, the ending would've been worse—Calista and Axel would've swallowed the Day Group whole, and Otto and Lika wouldn't have made it out okay.

If Otto had caught on early and discovered Calista's schemes in time, the result would've been pretty much the same as now.

It all came down to Calista choosing the wrong path from the beginning.

Otto only had one daughter, Calista, and he'd poured everything into raising her. She could've taken control of the Day Group, been in charge of her own destiny.

But instead, she'd chosen to cling to a man and hand her future over to him.

"Dad, Mom, she brought this on herself. You don't need to be so upset."

Emily wasn't great at comforting people, so her words came out pretty flat.

Luckily, Otto and Lika weren't the type to care about polished speeches. They knew she genuinely cared and was trying to comfort them.

They only saw how thoughtful and considerate Emily was.

And besides, if Emily hadn't rushed back to Emerald City in time to save them, they'd probably be dead by now.

People who've stared death in the face don't care as much about power or money anymore.

Otto even brought it up directly. "Emily, now that you're back in Emerald City, I'm guessing things in Silverlight City are mostly wrapped up, right? So when do you think you can start working at the Day Group? After this poisoning, your mom and I aren't what we used to be. We don't have the energy to run the Day Group anymore. It was always going to be yours eventually—why not start training now? I have complete faith in your abilities."

Lika nodded. "Don't feel pressured. Just handle things your way, the way you see fit. If anyone gives you trouble, don't hold back on our account. Your dad's planning to retire, but we're not leaving on that trip just yet. If you really run into a problem, he can still step in and help."

Everyone knew Emily came to Emerald City to take over the Day Group.

And her taking over made sense—not just because she was Otto's daughter now and he had no other heir, but because the company needed someone like her.

More than that, this was about going up against the Stevens family and whoever was backing them.

So Emily didn't make a big deal out of it.

Since Otto brought it up, she just went with it.

"Alright. I'll start at the Day Group tomorrow."

Otto and Lika were thrilled to hear her agree. They kept piling food onto her plate and chatting casually.

Eventually, the conversation turned to Axel.

"We were so lucky you kept Axel tied up over there. That's the only reason he didn't rush back here and cause more trouble."

Otto couldn't help but praise her.

At the time, even though Emily said she'd keep Axel occupied, Otto had worried Axel might still pull strings remotely from Silverlight City.

But surprisingly, Axel hadn't made a single move.

Since Emily was back now, she filled Otto in. "Daniel and I worked together and managed to get him locked up with the task force for a few days. Based on the timeline, he should be getting out around now. But it's too late—everything's already settled here. Even if he finds out what happened in Emerald City, there's nothing he can do about it."

With Daniel's help involved, it all made sense to Otto.

No wonder Axel and the Stevens family backing him had been completely silent.

"Good. Even when he gets out, he can't change anything now. He'll definitely come after the Day Group again, especially once he knows you're back. I'll assign more security to protect you. We can't have another close call like last time. Don't turn this down—the bodyguards won't interfere with your life."

Otto's chest still tightened when he thought about the moment he'd believed Emily was dead.

Since it was Otto's genuine concern, Emily didn't refuse.

Even though, at this point, there wasn't much anyone could use to threaten or manipulate her anymore.

"Okay."

Emily agreed.

The family finished the meal in warm, happy spirits.

And Axel, the man they'd just been talking about, had indeed just gotten out of the task force, exactly as Emily predicted.

Ryan, Axel's most trusted assistant, personally picked him up.

When Ryan found out Axel was in trouble, he'd rushed straight to Silverlight City.

The first thing he did was brief him on the situation in Emerald City.

"Calista's dead. Otto's back in charge of the Day Group. By the time we got word, it was too late to do anything. Then I heard you were in trouble, so I came straight to Silverlight City. What do you want to do next?"

Ryan's expression was calm and serious as he reported.

Axel had only been locked up for a short time, but he looked like he'd aged several years. There was something almost haggard about him now.

"What?"

Axel's face darkened.

Now it all made sense—why Daniel's people had gone to such lengths to trap him, even using Nicole as bait to lure him into the task force. They'd been setting him up for this.

"When did this happen?"

Axel clenched his fists, nails digging into his palms without him even noticing. His voice was cold.

He was barely holding his temper in check.

"The same day you were taken in. Otto came back and went after Calista. Then, right before she was arrested, she died in a fire."

Ryan reported matter-of-factly.

Hearing that Calista died before being taken into custody, Axel didn't feel an ounce of grief or sadness. If anything, he felt relieved.

He never believed Calista loved him unconditionally or would do anything for him.

So when it was clear she had dirt on him, he'd been worried she'd turn on him to cut herself a deal and reduce her sentence.

This outcome was actually better.

Calista was useless now anyway.

He'd been in a rush to get back to Emerald City before, but now that everything was settled, there was no point hurrying.

He didn't even care whether Calista's death was really a suicide. It didn't matter to him anymore.