Chapter 96
I never expected Michael to show up at the hospital room.
Four men in black suits walked into the room in unison, and then Michael strolled in casually. He just glanced at Oscar lying on the bed, saw him crying out in pain, and didn't bother to hide his disdain.
Finally, his eyes landed on my face, his tone emotionless: "Emily, you've been back in Lumaria for months now. Why do you seem like a stranger?"
I stared at him wide-eyed: "Mr. Johnson? You... why are you here?"
He gave me a casual look: "Why shouldn't I be here? You used to be my right-hand person, and now you're spending all your time at the hospital working as a caregiver. Don't I need to come see what's going on?"
I don't know why, but when he said that, I felt a moment of guilt. But I quickly pulled myself together and explained, "Mr. Johnson, Oscar got hurt because of me. If it wasn't for him, I would be the one injured. Taking care of him is the right thing to do."
Michael seemed to snort from his throat: "Oscar? You're calling him pretty affectionately. Emily, don't tell me you came back here for romance?"
My face turned bright red. Whether what he said was true or not, the fact was that I was dating Oscar now.
Before I could say anything, Oscar, who had just been acting all needy, turned his head toward Michael with a serious expression: "You're a strange one. So Emily worked for you before - did she sell herself to you or something?"
Actually, I really did sell myself to him.
Oscar seemed to realize this, too, and quickly added, "Even if she worked for you before, she's a free woman now. She's paid off whatever she owed you a long time ago. And she's my fiancée, not your employee anymore."
I looked at Michael, then at the four bodyguards beside him. This was a hospital, and I only had two bodyguards stationed outside the room. If a fight broke out, the two bodyguards and I would be no match for them. Plus, Oscar was lying on the bed right now - any trouble would hurt him the most.
I instinctively tried to shield Oscar with my whole body, giving Michael a cautious smile: "Mr. Johnson, he didn't mean anything by it."
Watching my small movement, the casual expression on Michael's face faded. When he looked at me with a frown, his face had already darkened: "Emily, I really overestimated you. You're still being blinded by love, just like before."
My face turned red again. I quickly said, "Mr. Johnson, I assume you came all this way not just to visit a patient, and certainly not just to mock me, right?"
Michael snorted heavily: "Looks like when facing me, you can still be your old self. I just came to Lumaria for a competition. I heard you've been at the hospital with Oscar lately, so I came to see what's going on."
Oscar's eyes gleamed with smugness as he looked Michael up and down with disdain: "My fiancée isn't there, and it looks like your business has really dropped off. You even have time to come to the hospital to see me. People might think you're going bankrupt."
Michael looked at him coldly: "Watch your words. With those assets you still have left in Solstice, it would be easy for me to swallow them up. I'm showing you respect - don't push your luck."
Their rivalry had been ongoing. They could maintain surface-level peace in public, but in private settings like this, they couldn't even be bothered with that.
"From what I know, you haven't completely taken over the market share I left behind either, have you? Mr. Johnson, seems like you don't know yourself well enough." Oscar smiled brightly, his expression full of provocation.
I was worried for him. He was lying in a hospital bed, and he was still trying to provoke Michael.
Given Michael's personality, he really could do something extreme.
I quickly stepped forward to shield Oscar again, asking with a smile: "Mr. Johnson, you didn't come here to talk about this, did you? Should we talk outside?"
I didn't believe he had the free time to come check on whether I was taking care of a patient at the hospital.
Sure enough, Michael looked at me deeply: "Come with me."
"Where are you taking her?" Oscar quickly asked. "Can't you say whatever it is here?"
I gave him a reassuring look: "It's fine, just rest. I'll be back soon."
He hesitated for a moment, but ultimately didn't try to stop me.
Michael led me to a flashy sports car. When he hit the gas, the car shot down the road like lightning, making me grab the handle tight.
"Mr. Johnson, you always say you're an amateur racer, but looking at your driving skills, you're way too professional." I teased.
Michael glanced at the rearview mirror: "Someone's been tailing me, and it's annoying. I can't deal with them directly, so I have to shake them off first."
"What do you mean?" He just got to Lumaria and doesn't know anyone here. Their target was me.
Michael glanced at me, clearly annoyed: "I told you you've let your guard down, and you still won't admit it. You've been watched for a while, and you don't even know it? Are you going to end up not even knowing how you died?"
My heart jumped, and I frowned: "Someone's watching me?"
Recently, because of Oscar, I've spent most of my time at the hospital and dealing with the Brown Group's affairs. I hadn't paid attention to anything else. With Paul and James's deaths, I really should have been more alert, not put this matter aside.
Michael turned onto a quiet side road and stopped, then slowly spoke after turning off the engine: "Jeffrey was taken out of prison. It's been years, and I actually forgot about this guy. You shouldn't have been soft-hearted back then. We should have just finished him off and saved ourselves a lot of trouble."
I was confused: "Even if someone gets him out, what's the point? After years in prison, he'll be useless when he gets out."
Michael said, "Not necessarily. This definitely isn't that simple. I'm just warning you. Oscar can't protect you. I'm here now, but I can't do much either. You need to be careful yourself. Whoever's watching you from behind probably has serious power."
I nodded: "I know. I thought they might make a move eventually, but in this society with the rule of law, I can't believe they'd dare be so reckless."
"What are you planning to do?" Michael seemed to care, his cold eyes showing a hint of concern.
I shook my head: "I haven't figured it out yet. They're in the dark, I'm in the light. To make it fair, I can only try to bring them out into the open."
"I'll probably be staying in Lumaria for a while. Contact me if anything comes up." He said it casually, like he was assigning me work as usual.
"You're not going back to Solstice? The work there must need you." I blurted out. Michael was a workaholic - I'd never seen him take a break.
He didn't look at me, just restarted the car and said flatly: "I have other business."
I was curious - what important matter could make him leave behind all those complicated affairs to stay here? It couldn't just be for a racing competition, could it?