Chapter 84
When I returned to the hospital room, Isabella still followed me in. She suddenly put on a sorrowful expression. "Emily, even if you want to back Emma up, Sophia just had a miscarriage. If the police take her away, her body won't be able to handle it. Really, I'm begging you, please talk to the police. As for Mr. Lopez's medical expenses and compensation, name your price—we'll pay whatever amount."
She looked at me urgently, wanting a definite answer from me.
But I disappointed her again. I said, "Is it possible that someone else reported her? You've actually reminded me—I have evidence of her crimes. I could even sue her for intentional harm. With Oscar hospitalized now, the charges would stack up. She probably won't be released easily, right?"
Isabella became even more anxious: "That really won't work. She can't handle all this trouble. She's a girl—if she's been in jail, it'll ruin her reputation forever."
I gave a cold laugh, looking at Isabella critically: "Have you ever thought about whether your biological daughter, sold to that hellish place, could handle it? How did she survive?"
Isabella's expression changed. She bit her lower lip and frowned tightly: "What happened to her can't be undone now. Sophia is different—she just made a mistake in judgment. She was young back then. We'll make her apologize to Emma. Even if there should be punishment, it should wait until Emma comes back, not having her taken away by the police."
I suddenly laughed out loud: "Your logic is quite interesting. But can Emma even come back? She's long dead. So let Sophia go to hell to apologize to her."
My voice grew colder bit by bit, and by the end, I was almost saying it through gritted teeth. Even though I'd long stopped having expectations of this person, her words could still hurt me. My heart still wasn't hard enough.
"You're talking nonsense! Sophia said she specifically told them to just make her suffer a little. She was living with someone abroad back then—she should have escaped on her own by now. Are you cursing my daughter? You really are a vicious woman. I knew begging you would be useless." She looked at me coldly, her eyes full of mockery. Holding her phone and looking for a number, she stormed out angrily—probably calling for help.
The hospital room became quiet. Oscar called to me softly: "Emily, are you okay?"
Only then did I realize that at some point, I'd been standing there with tears streaming down my face.
I quickly wiped away the tears, turned around, and smiled at him, shaking my head: "I'm fine. But I might really need to hire a caregiver for you. I'm afraid I won't have enough energy to take care of you."
I walked over and carefully pulled the blanket that had slipped down his back up to his waist.
Oscar grabbed my hand, his warm palm bringing some warmth to my ice-cold fingertips.
"You've known all along they don't love you. Getting hurt by their words again would be a total loss. You should live better than anyone else, make them only able to look up at you—that's the best revenge." He tried to comfort me.
I nodded, already unable to smile. Emotion and reason seemed like two parallel lines, each going its own way. You'd think they wouldn't interfere with each other, yet they somehow miraculously pulled at each other.
"Rest well. You need to rest to recover. I'm going out to make a call. Let me know if you need anything." I said softly.
Oscar pulled my hand back again: "Wait, I have something to show you."
"What?" I asked, confused.
He took out his phone and quickly pulled up a page: "Don't you want to consolidate your current shares in the Brown Group? I have ten percent. Get me a pen—I'll write you a share transfer agreement right now."
He said it so casually.
I looked at him with some surprise. I had already acquired most of the scattered shares. To gain majority control, I now had only one option: target those shrewd board members. After returning to the States, I had my people approach them several times, but they sensed my determination to win at all costs. They actually tore up our original agreements and demanded to raise the stakes.
Since I had other things to deal with, I put this matter on hold temporarily, thinking I'd wait and see what they could do with those pathetic shares once the Brown Group was barely functioning. But now, I couldn't wait another moment. Even if I had to pay a high price, I wanted to leave them with nothing.
So Oscar suddenly offering ten percent of the shares was like timely help in a snowstorm.
"How do you have shares in the Brown Group?" I looked at him with delight, my eyes lighting up.
He smiled at me: "Actually, I secretly bought some shares before returning to Lumaria, when I saw you making moves. I thought they might become bargaining chips with you later. But we never became enemies, and I kept wanting to find a chance to tell you about this. I was afraid you'd overthink it. Today's timing is just right."
I looked at him in disbelief: "You had it all planned out before you even went back to Lumaria?"
So that's why there was this mysterious person holding a significant amount of shares that I just couldn't trace. I'd originally thought it was a backup plan Jasper or Charles left for themselves. I never imagined it was Oscar.
"You're really sneaky." He'd calculated everything from the start. Even if I hadn't agreed to work with him when I returned to Lumaria, he would have eventually found a way to get me to be with him.
"Are you really willing to transfer these shares to me now? How much money do you want?" I asked tentatively.
Oscar smiled at me: "Listen carefully—I said share transfer, to you, not selling to you. Why are we talking about money? What's mine is yours."
"Maybe it's better to make it clear. After all, this is quite a large sum." I had my principles and didn't want to owe him a favor.
Oscar glared at me: "I said I'd give it to you, and I will. It's just ten percent of the shares—can't I afford to give you that? You're my fiancée. It's only right that I give it to you. Get me a pen. If I change my mind, I won't sell it for any amount of money."
I couldn't help but smile at him. I found paper and pen and put them in front of him: "You said it yourself. Don't regret it later—I won't take it back."
Oscar looked at me with bright eyes: "If I have any regrets, it's that I didn't buy you from Michael at the very beginning. Meeting you so late—I do have some regrets about that."
I smiled at him openly: "Actually, you probably don't know this, but back then, when I fell blindfolded, and you caught me, hearing your voice, I did feel somewhat relieved. You really were about to make a move at the very beginning, but Michael cut in. Was that a coincidence?"
Oscar tilted his head and smiled at me: "Good thing it's not too late now. At least you're my fiancée in name. In the future... who knows?"
"In the future... what?" I pretended not to understand, blushing.
He seemed to be the only kindness and warmth I had here. In this moment, I was willing to trust him. These shares meant little to him, but to me they were useful.
I just hoped they would still have the energy to spare for Sophia's safety tomorrow.