When Zachary found James, he immediately said, "I need a favor.""Sorry, but I don't have the time." James refused him right then, and gave him a serious look. "Look, I'm not refusing you for the heck of it, but Irene Spencer is trouble—""Lulu might be dead for all I know." Zachary was anxious. "I need to find her soon!"James helped his gaze in silence for seconds. "You finally understand how serious this is, huh? Don't you think it's too late already?"Zachary could not deny that he had been careless, even as James continued scathingly, "If Irene didn't return to us and asked to find out what happened to Lulu, you might really have presumed that she was just hiding and let the matter be altogether. It might already be too late now."Having no retort against that, Zachary knows that he could only count on himself now. "Yeah, I know."James reminded him. "I'm sure that Ember Lindt is the key for the whole mess."Zachary snorted. "I thought you can't help?" James shot him an i
Even if Zachary did not like the idea, both Isaac and James were too busy to help.He could only count on himself to find Lulu—dead or alive!On the other hand, Ember was at once delighted and doubtful because Zachary had never been this kind to her.As if afraid that she was dreaming, she pinched herself in the arm.It hurt—she felt actual pain.She was not dreaming! Zachary was actually being nice to her!Holding his gaze, she said, "Thank you for believing me, Zachary. I promise I don't know anything about Lulu, and I didn't put up those banners…""That's enough—you don't have to say anything. I'd just let my frustrations get the better of me, so don't take it to heart," Zachary told her, gesturing for her to get into his car. "You can tell your chauffeur to drive home first.""Okay!" Ember nodded enthusiastically, sneaking glances at Zachary as she did. She was certainly obsessed with his good looks, so much so that she was crazy about him!Zachary could sense her gaze,
Debbie had a diamond necklace around her neck—the very same necklace Isaac told James to bring."What are you doing?" James frowned. Startled, Debbie quickly turned away, clearly flustered by James's sudden appearance.Even as she struggled to explain herself, James strode in and saw that the entire set of diamond jewelry in the red velvet box had clearly been touched.He did not need imagination to know that it was all Debbie."This set of jewelry costs a fortune, but Mr. Jefferson procured it by coincidence and has always kept it in his safe. I was just coming to get it for Irene Spencer—how could you put it on yourself?"James always thought that Debbie was competent and experienced, and yet…Finally composing herself, Debbie replied, "Diamonds are a girl's best friend. Complain all you want—I just couldn't resist it."She had no other explanation since she was caught red-handed and her only option was to avoid embarrassing herself further.James stared at her for seconds,
The research concerned the entire medical development scene of Minerva and their position as a global power.After the mess Irene caused, there was no doubt they would bring down the hammer on her—especially when her allegiances clearly lay elsewhere."We're looking at prison time if things get to worse," Mick Gooding was saying. Stephen Carr had spoken to him over the phone, and he wanted to help after learning that Irene was in deep trouble. He had even gone as far as to seek out Isaac while asking his friends to discern the damage. "Pregnancy is inconsequential to the laws here, and since Irene is a foreigner, she might get slammed with espionage and treason," Mick finished, feeling the weight of a very hairy situation already.As Isaac listened to him dissect the situation over the phone, his expression remained impassive.However, there was no way he could just do nothing and wait—no matter how grim things looked."I have a business relationship with the Raideens. I'm goi
"James got into a traffic accident on the way to the airport," Debbie said worriedly. "The doctors are operating on him right now, but he's not out of danger yet."Isaac's face fell right then. James was in trouble? And it had to be now?He could not return at the moment either."Got it. Which hospital is he in?""Aiken. It's a small hospital nearby, but he needed help urgently.""I see."Isaac hung up and quickly called Zachary.Zachary might have quit his job as a doctor, but he had built a network in his time as one. Isaac would also have peace of mind with him keeping an eye on things.…Zachary was shopping with Ember at a store for luxury goods—since he was supposed to appeal to her emotionally in order to find out what happened to Lulu, it meant spending time and effort to earn her favor.Ember was naturally basking in the sweet world he fabricated for her, thinking that all her hard work had paid off as she had finally won Zachary's love. "That looks really nice,"
Zachary quickly drove to Aiken Hospital with Ember and arrived to find Debbie waiting alone outside the operating room.However, Zachary had noticed that conditions there were exceedingly crude, and his brow was deeply creased even as he strode inside.Even Ember was asking, "Why would they send Mr. Cross here?""What are you doing here?" Debbie was actually surprised to see Zachary there.Zachary said, "Isaac called me.""I see." Debbie lowered her eyes.Ember's eyes were locked on her. "You seemed surprised." Debbie looked up then, but her usual businesslike expression had already returned—she appeared solemn, even a little lofty as if she stood above others. "I'm sure you have a misunderstanding here, missy."As Isaac's secretary, she certainly had the disposition to belittle others. After all, there are so many people who wanted just minutes of his time, but they all had to go through her first.Be that as it may, Ember grew up like a pampered princess and she was not a
[You don't have to know who I am. Just know that Ember Lindt suspects you, and you really shouldn't let her stay at large or there's going to be problems.]It was as if the sender had seen everything that happened with their own eyes… Perhaps they were right there!Debbie quickly looked around and quickly spotted a person dressed in a black trench coat and a baseball cap on the second floor walkway. Seemingly sensing her gaze, the person quickly turned to leave.Debbie gave chase, but they were already gone when she reached the second floor. However, she was not giving up just yet—she quickly looked around to find the person when her phone jingled again.[Don't try to look for me, or I'll tell Isaac Jefferson that you tried to kill James Cross.]Debbie panicked—who were they? How did they know about Isaac?She quickly sent a reply.[What do you want?][To help you.]Debbie scowled. [Do you take me for a fool? You were threatening me a moment ago.][You can ignore what I sa
Debbie held her head high without appearing guilty at all. "James and I go way back. We know each other so well, and everything I'm doing right now is for his sake.""If you're not lying," Ember said with a sneer.Debbie promptly wheeled on her and snapped, "What's your wife's problem, Zachary Slate? She doesn't even know me! Why would I try to hurt James? Even if we can't agree on this, what we want is ultimately the same—for James to be fine. Your wife, on the other end, keeps insinuating that I'd hurt James! So I'm asking you, why would I do that? What good would it do me?!"Since Debbie had worked under Isaac for a long time, she was close with Stan and James. On the surface, she had no reason to hurt James. As such, Zachary said, "Forgive her. She doesn't know that you're his friend."Meanwhile, the medical staff had wheeled James out of the operating room, and Zachary said, "Let's go."Debbie glanced at James on the stretcher and remained impassive despite her panic. "Yeah