Chapter 78
"It's about Ms. Johnson!"
Jace heard the rough, threatening voice. Being a man himself, he guessed he’d interrupted something important for James.
He wiped the nonexistent sweat from his forehead and braced himself.
James's face turned cold, his interest gone. He got out of bed immediately and went to the study to take the call.
Bianca, left unsatisfied, watched him leave without a second thought, nearly grinding her teeth in frustration.
She had caught Emily's name, and her anger toward Emily was reaching its peak.
Damn it! If she had known Emily would become like this, she would have gotten rid of her the moment she returned.
In the study.
James's face was icy. "Talk!"
"Ms. Johnson's files seem to be encrypted, and there's a real pro techie involved. My computer got hacked during the investigation. Luckily, they just wanted to teach me a lesson and wiped one of my files," Jace said, still a bit shaken.
That computer had another very important document, a confidential bid proposal.
James, naturally, thought of this and frowned deeply.
"Then hire a private detective. Stay out of it!" James still wasn't willing to give up.
Jace was helpless. He had been working with James for a long time and knew Emily was James's fiancée and how James treated her.
Now, James was suddenly anxious and concerned. Where was this concern before?
But Jace could only think this to himself; he wouldn’t dare say it to James’s face unless he wanted to quit. James was known for being petty and vengeful.
However, someone took this opportunity to curry favor with Emily.
Z (Terry Perez): Ms. Johnson, someone was investigating you, so I gave them a little warning. The person was James's assistant.
S (Emily): Good job. Actually, I have something else I need you to look into.
Emily didn’t expect James to still be so persistent, even sending Jace to investigate her.
Of course, she approved of Terry's actions. Jace was just an employee; as long as he didn’t go too far, she wouldn’t bother with him.
As for Terry, he was the second-best hacker on the dark web.
The top spot naturally belonged to Emily herself. Terry had challenged her once, and after she thoroughly beat him, he insisted on becoming her follower.
In her previous life, she was too focused on the Johnson family to think about having followers.
In this life, she needed to strengthen herself, and she needed people to help with that.
And Terry seemed quite reliable.
Terry: Ms. Johnson, you finally gave me something to do. That's awesome.
This meant Emily now considered him one of her own, and he might even get a chance to meet her.
Emily: Help me find out the auction times for Golden Saffron Essence and Celestial Ginseng, the organizers, and the list of attendees. Also, get me an invitation.
In her past life, she had heard about these herbs being auctioned but didn’t know the details.
Terry agreed readily.
After arranging all this, Emily also asked Terry to help with AI programming.
No one was more suitable than Terry. She was too busy to handle it herself.
Since she needed to confront the Johnson family, she had to take them down one by one.
Before Aiden could act, Emily needed to develop AI technology first.
Emily finished her tasks and received a call from her friend Wren Kelly.
Wren was Chase's wife in her previous life.
Wren told her she was participating in the medical competition.
Emily wasn't sure if Wren had participated in the previous life. She owed Wren a lot and needed to make it up to her. This time, she planned to teach Wren her medical knowledge.
The next day.
Emily met up with Wren at the event.
Wren's face was full of youthful glow, her dimples making her look both beautiful and adorable when she smiled.
When Emily mentioned teaching her medicine, Wren was so excited she nearly screamed, "That's awesome!"
"Shh!" Emily reminded her to keep it down.
Not many people knew about Emily's medical skills, but Wren did. They had met on a mountain, and Wren had seen Emily save someone's life.
Wren immediately made a shushing gesture.
But their interaction caught Bianca's attention.
She glanced over and saw Emily's profile. "No way."
Bianca shook her head, denying the thought immediately.
James looked at her, puzzled. "What's wrong?"
Since they had been together again last night, he had to consider her well-being and came along today. Seeing her reaction, he thought she might be feeling unwell.
Bianca wanted to shake her head. "Nothing, I must have been mistaken..."
"Emily!" James followed her gaze and saw Emily turning around. He almost gritted his teeth as he said her name.
Before Bianca could stop him, he rushed over to Emily.
He grabbed her, "How did you get in here? This isn't a place for someone who only knows a few herbs from the countryside. Come with me!"
He intended to question her about her recent contacts.
James was accompanied by his assistant Milo, who had been sent by the event organizers because James was from the Smith family and they had a last-minute issue.
Suddenly being grabbed, Emily twisted his arm in return.
"Emily, Emily, let go! How can you treat James like this? He's only thinking of you. You didn't sign up for the competition; you can't just sneak in. Let go of James and leave!" Bianca stepped forward to help but retreated under Emily's cold gaze, resorting to verbal accusations.
Their commotion drew the attention of those around them.
Bianca, emboldened by the onlookers, continued, "Emily, this place follows strict rules. You can't break them and make things difficult for James. And if you didn't have an entry, who helped you sneak in?"
"Emily, I didn't expect you to fall so low. Even if I have to use force, I'll take you away. Someone, escort her out!" James ordered, flaunting his authority.
Emily held a silver needle, her eyes vigilant.
If anyone approached, she wouldn't hesitate to use it.
"Stop! I dare anyone to try!"
A stern, cold voice rang out.
The crowd parted instinctively.
Emily met a pair of deep eyes as he approached, backlit by the sun.
It reminded her of the phrase: "My prince will come to protect me."
Even though she could handle it herself, it felt nice to be defended.
But she quickly pushed those silly thoughts aside.