Shon gave me a meaningful look and hurried back downstairs, his mission completed.
After ascertaining that both men’s footsteps had receded, I retrieved the satellite phone and locked myself in the toilet of my bedroom.
Shon would have contacted the party who wished to make contact after he left; it would ring very soon. I was curious as to who had understood my situation so well that they would risk incurring Anthony’s displeasure to help me.
I didn’t have long to wait. A light on the satellite phone flashed fifteen minutes later and I pounced on it in a haste to answer the call.
“Hello? Who is this?”
“Sienna? It’s that you? Phew, I thought Anthony would have found out.” The sound of Emery’s voice flooded me with relief. I held up my forehead and looked into the mirror. All of a sudden, I was struck by the realization that Shon was Emery’s driver.
Anthony had purposefully engaged a new team of bodyguards to ensure that nobody had dared to create issues. Emery put two and two together when she realized that I was unreachable and when Summer was sent to her home. She pulled some strings and sent one of her own men to place me in contact with her. Emery was a tech enthusiast and had no trouble procuring a satellite phone. She was the most fearless person I have ever met.
“Is Summer alright?” I asked, anxious at the idea that Summer thought I had abandoned her. Emery disproved my theory quickly. “She loves it here. She has been having lollies and following Xavier around. There is hardly any adult supervision required.”
I…
The lollies will ruin her teeth! Ms. Moore is spoiling her to the tee!
Unfortunately, this wasn’t the time to discuss such trivial matters. I needed information on the outside. To save time, I briefly told Emery about Marcus and practically begged her for her help. “Emery, I know that you dislike Cameron and Marcus, but you really need to help me…”
Before I finished my plea, Emery cut across me. “Say no more. I will relay your message to them and hopefully, they will use the influence of the Moore family to keep the shareholders in line when you and Marcus are absent.”
Her brilliance had caught me off guard. “You’re right,” I said as I nodded vigorously.
“I can help you with that.”
I was overjoyed. “Really? Thank you so much, Emery. I will make sure that Marcus repays you too.”
“Hold your horses,” Emery said impatiently. “Marcus’s gratitude means nothing to me. Let me ask you. Do you know what you’re doing?”
Something in her voice cleared my thoughts. She was right; I had forgotten. The year before, Emery had advised me to settle down with Anthony. But here I was trying to ask for her help to be at odds with Anthony. It wasn’t something she was pleased to see.
I was dumbfounded for the moment.
“Sienna, though it was over the line for Anthony to place you under house arrest, I think he is right this time. You’re pregnant now, are you not?”
“Yes, I am.” I had only heard from the doctor after I began helping Marcus, that was why I had not informed her.
“As long as you are aware. I won’t say much on the matter. I will help you keep an eye on White Corporation. Marcus is a flirt. Though I admire him, it’s between me and him and it has nothing to do with you. And as for you, I want you to think long and hard about it. You have lost two children, is it really worth putting yourself through that kind of torment again? Have a good rest. I’m hanging up now.”
The beep sounded like the heart rate monitor of a dead man; shrill and unceasing. I sat frozen with the phone pressed on my ear for some moments in a daze.
It wasn’t Emery’s words that had woke me up. I thought that the matter of feelings did not have the propensity to incur mutual pain. I did not believe that I was the only one in the world to treat someone who has done so much for me with the highest regard. But Anthony and Emery were there to constantly remind me that there was nothing wrong with placing one’s wellbeing above everything else.
The phone call from Emery was supposed to be a sign of hope, but I felt like I had fallen so far down an abyss of self-doubt to the extent that I was unable to muster any energy for the rest of the day.
I did not expect Anthony to show himself, but at eight in the evening, he and a bodyguard walked in with dinner. I sat sluggishly on the couch and stared whilst they made preparations.
There was no expression on Anthony’s face. He walked over to me and helped me to the dining table. Like every expecting father, he held his wife and took small and measured steps.
We sat across from each other at the table. Anthony looked as if he was busier than before; he spent the entire meal replying to messages. I tried to engage him in conversation but did not manage to find an opening to.
After a half hour, the messages finally stopped coming in.
I set aside my cutlery and was about to speak when brash and insolent footsteps came from the door.
“Wow, Anthony. Are you sure that this dead slump is the home of the president of Featherstone Corporation?” Holden did not seem very different from the last time we met. He was still the same delinquent clad in an expensive suit. Somehow, he had managed to make the suit look cheap.
Holden paused in the middle of the living room and took a look around. He caught my eye and went on spewing insults without a pause. “For someone who doesn’t know you, they’d think that what you’ve constructed here is some sort of a private prison. I already feel like I’m in jail just by being here thirty seconds. Sienna, this has got to be your idea, isn’t it? You wanted to meet me, didn’t you?”
Well, I stand corrected. I’m not the only one unafraid of death. He was another one brazen enough to flirt with Anthony’s wife in front of him. It was difficult to find another scoundrel as despicable as Holden.
I felt angry at how he spoke to me but noticed out of the corner of my eye that Anthony seemed to have expected him. He chewed placidly as he watched the scene.
Holden exhausted all of his theatrics. He pulled out the chair next to me and held his forehead in hand in a pretense of sorrow. “To be honest, I can sense how much you are missing me. However, I’ve been really busy recently to come to you. You wouldn’t blame me, would you?”
I was rather embarrassed. “Can we help you, Mr. Taylor?” I asked pointedly.
Holden had just taken over the Taylor family. He would have been busy culling out those who stood against him; thus, he must want something for him to be here instead of busy doing that.
Holden wasn’t happy when I refused to play along. He pulled a face and resumed his infuriating behavior. “How dreadfully boring. If this is how you plan on receiving your guests, don’t bother inviting me over again.”
I had no way of dealing with his tricks. I glanced at Anthony for help.
Anthony was calm the entire time. After his last bite of dinner, he turned his dark eyes up at me and spoke calmly. “You wanted to look for someone in M Country, didn’t you? Holden’s men have gone on your behalf. You can relax now.”
“You?” I said incredulously, skeptical of Holden’s abilities to do what needed to be done.
“What’s wrong? You can’t accept this arrangement?” Holden said smugly. “Don’t you know that the Taylors control the flow of information in K City? If my men couldn’t locate your fellow, you can consider him dead.”
“How could you say something like that?” I demanded hotly, though I was delighted to hear that his family had access to that much information. However, I still wasn’t convinced. “Besides me, Marcus had not communicated with anyone else. How sure are you that he wouldn’t avoid your men?”
Marcus was at M Country, the home turf of GW Group. He was already at the edge of the lion’s jaws. It was no doubt that he would be extremely careful if he wanted to stay alive to rescue Camelia and their child. This was possibly why he wouldn’t even make any contact with his employees.
Holden smirked as he retrieved a dictaphone from his vest pocket. He pressed play and placed it on the table. “Marcus, get in touch with me as soon as you can. We need to discuss something.” It was my own voice.
Dear God, even I don’t remember saying these words! ”The Taylor family has a lot of connections in the underworld,” Anthony explained with uncharacteristic patience. “Once they got a hold of your phone and analyzed the data, it wasn’t difficult to imitate your voice.”
“This was imitated by AI?” I asked in amazement, my eyes as wide as saucers. I had heard a lot regarding the advancement of AI within the industry recently, so it occurred to me that this may be one of its applications.
Holden smiled smugly as he placed the dictaphone back in his pocket. “Those machines work, no doubt. But the end result is too stiff and inorganic. My new girlfriend is the queen of mimicry. She can literally imitate any style of anybody you can think of. Especially those in bed… hehe. It’s a new experience every night.”
“Mr. Taylor, your tastes are… rather exotic,” I said uncomfortably. The extent of his lust has left me speechless.
But if this was what it took to gain Marcus’s trust, albeit falsely, it would still be a big help. At this comforting thought, I breathed a reluctant sigh of relief.
Though Holden was Anthony’s man, he wouldn’t use the imitated voice to harm Marcus as the interests of the Taylor family were at stake. Like it or not, he was the best candidate for this mission.
Anthony did not fail to notice the change in my expression. I looked up and met his weary eyes. “Now would you believe me?” he asked before I could say anything.
I turned towards Holden. He was a wily fox who only cared about the interests of his family. He must want something in return for his help.
Anthony must have dealt with him beforehand. Probably even agreed to his unreasonable demands. I turned away and looked at Anthony in earnest. “If you are willing to help Marcus, why did you mention having to compete with GW Group and drive the share price down?”
White Corporation was in shambles. Foreign investment took the opportunity to encourage the shareholders to sell their shares for scraps.
When Featherstone Corporation joined the fray, nobody felt secure.
Otherwise, Emery wouldn’t have promised me so heartily to look into it.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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