Chapter 120: Emily Was Tricked
James honestly confessed, "Mom dropped us off downstairs and left."
"Dad, I'm taking Emily to play." Michael's tone was full of eagerness.
He and James had been coming to the company to keep William company at work frequently over the past two years. He took Emily's hand and headed to the lounge inside.
The two of them skillfully found the toys they'd left there.
William fell silent.
Emily's eyes lit up when she saw the pink little fox on the bedside table. She remembered it wasn't there last time she came.
Could William have bought it for her?
The lounge door wasn't closed.
William caught sight of Emily's big eyes, filled with pure happiness.
The pink little fox on the bedside was one he'd tried to give her before, but Emily had refused it, so he had Tony take it away. Recently, he'd either been on business trips abroad or visiting the kids at the Johnson Villa and sleeping at the Smith Villa. He hadn't spent the night in the company lounge in a long time, so he didn't know Tony had placed the pink little fox on the bedside table.
Seeing Emily liked it, William's expression softened. He watched her hug the little fox and run over to him, blinking as she said Thank you.
William scooped up Emily as she rushed to his legs, easily lifting her to sit on his lap.
He teased, "Emily, how do you know this is for you? What if it's for another kid?"
For another kid?
Was William going to have another daughter?
Several question marks bounced around in Emily's head. She looked down at the pink little fox in her arms. Though reluctant, she still placed the little fox on the nearby desk.
Emily said, "Then... for the other kid."
She was about to get down from William's lap to go play with toy cars with James and Michael.
Just as she slid off, she remembered something.
Still standing beside him, she tugged at William's pant leg, saying seriously, "Thank you, give back."
She had already said thank you to William. Since it wasn't for her, she needed her "thank you" back.
William was completely thrown by Emily's logic.
He pulled Emily back onto his lap, his finger gently tapping her nose, his sharp but handsome features full of amusement.
William said in a low voice, "...It is for Emily."
He stuffed the little fox back into her arms and had Tony bring her a cup of milk.
When Tony brought in the milk, he was already used to seeing William holding Emily while working.
After all, Emily was just too well-behaved!
Emily looked at the bottle in front of her, her eyes sparkling, "Thank you."
After Tony left, William asked Emily in his arms, "Does Emily know where your mom went?"
"Mommy, looking for medicine." Emily, who couldn't keep secrets, looked up at him.
-
Cloud City Hillwater Village.
A dozen dusty SUVs were parked at the village entrance.
Sophia got out of the car in a black windbreaker paired with tall boots, looking sharp and capable.
A black baseball cap and face mask covered most of her face, revealing only a pair of beautiful, cool eyes.
The middle-aged man waiting at the village entrance saw her, a flash of admiration in his eyes. He walked over while smoking, hunched over, moving slowly.
"You're the buyer they mentioned, right?"
Sophia nodded, noticing both the clarity in the middle-aged man's eyes and his deliberate display of ordinariness.
This was someone pretending to be weak but actually very capable.
Monkey, along with the most skilled bodyguards, stayed close to Sophia's side.
Ever since the first incident on the way back from the airport, when they were at a disadvantage because they had too few people, he had been gradually transferring his overseas forces back to the country.
After Sophia's second incident, following these two ambushes, no matter how short the trip, he would arrange enough personnel to accompany them.
The middle-aged man exhaled a puff of smoke, the hazy smoke concealing the sharpness in his eyes.
"I'm Gerald Murphy."
"It's too late today. You guys rest in the village tonight and head into the mountains early tomorrow morning."
Gerald led Sophia and her group to several houses on the outskirts of the village entrance. These houses were still seven or eight hundred feet away from the nearest house in the village.
"These are all empty. You can arrange the sleeping arrangements yourselves."
Before leaving, Gerald specifically reminded them, "Oh, Miss, I'll give you a friendly warning - no matter what sounds you hear tonight, don't go outside, or you'll face the consequences."
Meeting Gerald's gaze, Sophia nodded her thanks.
She and Monkey carefully inspected the three courtyards Gerald had arranged, each separated by one or two hundred feet.
For safety reasons, they chose the largest one. The courtyard had four rooms in total, each room big enough to sleep about ten people.
Except for Sophia and four female bodyguards in one room, the remaining forty people were divided among the three other rooms.
Monkey arranged for people to take turns keeping watch throughout the night to avoid any accidents.
The mountain nights were very cold, but the quilts were thick, so they slept comfortably enough.
In the quiet mountain morning, the rooster's loud crowing was extremely penetrating.
Sophia had woken up early. When away from home, you need to stay extra alert.
Gerald came over early in the morning, carrying a cross-body bag covered in patches.
Though it was an early autumn morning, with even the wind carrying the mountain's chill, he was fanning himself as if it were summer.
"All ready? It's getting late, we need to get going."
Sophia smiled and stepped forward, "Yes, all ready. Thank you for taking us into the mountains."
She wore the same outfit as yesterday. Today, she put on a black face mask covering half her face, also covering her neck, making her look both cool and beautiful.
Gerald said, "Let's go."
He led the way, and entering the mountains didn't require going through the village.
After going around the river at the village entrance, the path became narrower and narrower, with weeds growing all around, taller than people.
Some trees along the way had hidden symbols, which Gerald used to navigate.
Sophia and Monkey also left markers to avoid getting lost if something unexpected happened.
Gerald saw them but said nothing.
"Miss, how did you know about those herbs?"
He asked with feigned confusion, "This is my first time learning that those herbs even have a name. What was it again?"
Sophia replied, "Revival Herb."
Gerald still held his cigarette but wasn't smoking it, occasionally sniffing it.
Raymond's people initially found Gerald only saying the herb had research value, without revealing Sophia's identity or purpose.
"The lab happens to be doing herbal research, so I wanted to see if I could find some."
"It would be great if I could find it, but no big deal if I can't."
She spoke casually, as if she really was just here to take a look.
But Gerald, ahead of her, had a sharp glint in his eyes, and his hand holding the cigarette tightened.