Chapter 157
By the time dawn broke, the lights in the top-floor CEO's office of the Brown Group were already on.
William was seated at his spacious desk, with a dossier on James pinched between his fingers.
His face was cold, and the pressure around him was so low it seemed to freeze the air.
His assistant stood in front of the desk, head bowed low and voice tinged with obvious unease.
"Mr. Brown, all leads on James end at an abandoned warehouse in the west of the city. They must have prepared in advance. Not only did they clean up all traces, but even the informant we planted near him has suddenly gone silent."
William looked up, his eyes churning with a mixture of coldness and anger.
He tapped his fingers lightly on the desk, making dull sounds.
Although James came from a decent family, their family's power might not be enough to block an investigation by the Brown family.
So this definitely couldn't be his doing alone.
Someone must be backing him!
While he thought of this, a figure flashed through William's mind—Clarence.
Clarence had caused him plenty of trouble over the years, doing countless dirty deeds both openly and in secret.
William just couldn't be bothered to deal with him.
But now James suddenly appeared in Emily's life, acting strangely at every turn, and with such strong backing—it was hard not to connect the two.
Clarence probably wanted to use James to get to Emily and then control her through him.
With this thought in mind, William spoke up, his tone carrying an undeniable command.
"Keep investigating. Assign more people and watch James twenty-four seven. His every move, everyone he meets, everything he says—report it all to me word for word. Also, check his recent contacts with Clarence, whether public meetings or private communications. Don't miss anything."
"Yes, Mr. Brown. I'll arrange it right away."
The assistant didn't dare delay and quickly left the office.
The office fell silent again. William leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and furrowed his brow.
Clarence was ruthless.
If he really teamed up with James, they would definitely target Emily and the children.
He had to prepare in advance and not give them any opportunity.
As for Emily, he had to protect her well.
She was already sensitive by nature. If she knew about all these complications, she would probably worry and pull away from him even further.
Recalling that Emily had agreed to join the Brown family for dinner the previous evening, the chill in William's gaze softened a little.
He picked up the phone and called home, giving detailed instructions to the butler.
"She's coming for dinner tonight. Prepare the dishes according to her taste—light, less spicy. Also, tidy up the flower garden in the back and turn on all the lights. And have the servants thoroughly clean that room we prepared earlier. Replace all the supplies with new ones—pick the best."
The butler acknowledged each instruction.
After hanging up, the butler busied himself with the arrangements.
The entire Brown family household was filled with a nervous yet expectant atmosphere.
Meanwhile, Emily had been distracted all day at the office.
When no one was looking, she would unconsciously touch the paternity test report hidden in her bag.
The results on that report weighed on her heart like a huge stone, making her restless.
All day, Emily forced herself to focus on work, but her mind kept flashing back to the words on the report and Aiden's cute, soft little face.
It wasn't until the end-of-work alarm sounded that Emily snapped back to reality.
She hurriedly packed her things and picked up several gift boxes, she had prepared, from her desk.
Inside were gifts she had specially chosen for the children—a princess dress for Nina, and Lego sets for Aiden and Oscar.
Each toy had been carefully selected.
When she walked out of the office building, she saw a familiar car parked by the roadside.
William leaned against the car, tall and straight, his tender gaze falling on her.
As she approached, William quickly walked up to her, casually taking her bag and the gift boxes and asking softly, "You've been busy all day. Are you tired?"
Emily shook her head at his question.
Seeing the concern in his eyes, warmth rose in her heart, and her recent anxiety faded slightly.
"Not tired, just some routine work."
William opened the car door for her to sit in the passenger seat, then carefully placed the gift boxes in the back seat before getting into the driver's seat.
The car slowly pulled away. Along the way, William occasionally shared funny stories about the children, and Emily was happy to respond.
The corners of her lips lifted unconsciously, the children's faces appearing in her mind, and that heavy stone in her heart seemed to lighten a bit.
The car entered the Brown Mansion, where servants were already waiting at the entrance.
Seeing them get out, they greeted them respectfully.
William took Emily's hand and walked into the living room. As soon as they entered, they saw Raymond sitting on the sofa with a cup of coffee in his hand.
His gaze fell on Emily, not scrutinizing but rather kind and warm.
Emily immediately tensed up, her heart jumping to her throat.
She instinctively tried to pull her hand back, but William held it tighter.
He whispered soothingly in Emily's ear, "Don't be afraid. My grandfather is very nice."
Emily took a deep breath and stepped forward, respectfully greeting him, "Hello."
Raymond looked up at her.
The young lady in front of him possessed kind eyes, polite behavior, and a straightforward look devoid of flattery or scheming.—completely different from those women who were desperate to marry into the Brown family.
Thinking this, his favorable impression of Emily grew.
He made a gentle motion with his hand and spoke warmly. "There's no need to be so stiff. Have a seat. If William hadn't kept you out of sight, we would have been introduced ages ago."
Then Raymond looked at William with mock anger.
"You too—Emily is such a wonderful girl, why didn't you bring her to meet me sooner?"
William put his arm around Emily's shoulder, had her sit beside him, and smiled faintly.
"I was afraid you'd scare her."
Emily sat beside them, watching their interaction. The tension in her heart gradually dissipated, and her tense body slowly relaxed.
Raymond was quite chatty, yet his questions stayed on ordinary topics like her job and hobbies, never being intrusive or harsh.The warmth in his tone made Emily feel like she was facing her own family elder, warming her heart.
The children heard the commotion and ran downstairs.
Nina spotted Emily right away, opened her little arms and threw herself into her embrace, her soft voice carrying a hint of grievance.
"Mommy, you finally came to see us."