The topic I brought up halted her in her tracks for a while. Soon, she turned her back to me and pretended as if she was picking a suit. “What kind of question is that? There’s simply nothing you can do with those girls around Anthony, but not me. Don’t even think of getting off so easily if anyone is trying to mess with my man.”
I could feel her fierce and vicious aura even though she was facing away from me. Her words held a sharp tone to them. After all, Emery was a member of the Moore family, a family who was high and mighty to the core. She would never tolerate threats and provocations. I knew she would take action if something had indeed happened.
However, something like that was probably never going to happen between her and Hunter.
I stayed silent, lost in thought. After a while, Emery turned around, her expression looked normal. Then, she walked towards me and sat down by my side. “I almost forgot to tell you this. I’ve sent someone to look into the custody of Summer. The subordinates are preparing an editorial for the manipulation of public opinion, and they sent me the draft article. Have a look at it. If everything’s all right for you, we will get someone to publish it tomorrow.”
As she spoke, she handed her phone to me. My heart immediately sank when I saw the title.
‘Rainbow Couples’ To Adopt A Child.
There was a photograph of two men in suits, pushing a stroller under the title. The man on the right of the photo was pixelated. It was Nick and Jackson.
“No way.” Without hesitation, I handed her back her phone. “Emery, how many people have seen this article?”
“Only a few. I can count the number of people who have read it on one hand. That includes the publisher and people I sent to carry out the investigation.” Emery was lost in thought for a while as she looked at me cautiously. After a moment, she said, “Oh dear, please don’t tell me you’re being soft- hearted at this point.”
I went quiet. Indeed, I didn’t want to lose Summer, but I didn’t want to fight in that way. If that article was published, countless people would get hurt. I didn’t even need to experience the outburst to realize how serious the issue was. The level of acceptance of the LGBT community was already low in the country. It was almost impossible for them to receive supports from the public, especially when it involved the issue of child education. Putting that aside, Jackson’s life would be destroyed if word got out. As for Nick, people who were acquainted with him would definitely recognize him at first sight…
Irritation and disappointment washed over Emery’s face when she saw me acting in that manner. “Sienna, it’s not the time for you to show too much sympathy. Our lawyer has done an analysis of your case, and it’s not likely for you to win this. We only have one way out. Else, you can only wait helplessly for the court decision to give him the custody.”
I shook my head and gave her a wry smile while looking at the obedient little Summer. “I’m not going to let that happen. There’s got to be another way. Summer can’t live without me, and I can’t leave her behind as well. No one can break us apart.”
We had been through so much for more than ten years. Even if Jackson and I were to go to court, I would never ever stab him in the back with that.
I was worried that Emery might do things on the spur-of-the-moment decision. So, I emphasized once again, “Emery, get them to delete it.”
She rolled her eyes at me resignedly. “I don’t know how to explain what a good opportunity this is to you.”
I pursed my lips a little at her comment. Before I could retort, the store manager walked up to us in an attempt to strike up a conversation. “Ms. Moore, have any of the suits taken your fancy? You guys seem a little tired. Why don’t you pick your favorite one first? I will get someone to pack it up for you.”
Emery, whose mind was muddled, simply pointed at the display rack in front of us. A lady in sexy clothes was standing at the spot she gestured to. Emery then said generously, “I want everything on the rack. Please pack everything up and deliver them to my house later.”
The manager was a man of the world. He bent over slightly and said, “Alright. Please wait for a moment.”
After saying that, he turned around to pack up the clothes. Suddenly, a high-pitched and piercing voice of a woman broke the peace. “Wait!”
We followed the direction of the voice and noticed a sexy and smoking hot woman aggressively approaching the manager. “Are you the store manager? Didn’t you see that I was the one who had an eye on the clothes first? And you let other women have it without even asking me! Explain this to me!”
Although she was talking to the manager, she was shooting us a death stare. Obviously, she was not easy to deal with.
If Emery was at her best, I knew she would have definitely stepped forward to confront the woman. However, she was probably feeling worried today, which explained why she completely ignored that woman. Instead, she grabbed Summer’s hand and headed out. “Summer, let’s go home.”
Emery’s carefree and fearless attitude was a trademark of all family members of the Moore family. She simply washed her hands of the situation and walked away, leaving the manager to pick up her slack. Her standards were many times higher than the woman who was yelling rudely. After all, the world is ruled by power, and power is obtained with money. With the Moore family’s reputation, Emery didn’t have to worry about anything. It was clear cut, whether the manager would stand on or her side or the side of justice.
I raised my eyebrows and silently wished the furious woman farewell. All the best! After that, I turned around and followed behind Emery.
.However, the woman was persistent. She hurried over and blocked our way. “Stop right there! Are you going to leave like that without offering a single apology?”
After saying that, she looked at someone who was behind us with puppy dog eyes and started talking in a whiny voice. “Mr. Ziegler, Someone’s bullying me! Are you just going to stand there and do nothing? Boo-hoo…”
I was disgusted by her tone; it almost made me sick. Hence, I turned around, only to see Mr. Ziegler in a colorful suit. It seemed like he was texting on his phone. After a while, he finally lifted his head and walked towards us.
Upon seeing that, the woman immediately moved closer to him and leaned on him, acting innocent while complaining, “Mr. Ziegler, I spent quite some time and finally found a suit which goes well with you and highlights your elegance. But this woman showed up and bought everything on the rack! Even the manager is not doing justice to me.”
“Is that true? Did such a thing really happened?” He gave the manager a cold-eyed stare. The manager lowered his head instantly. He seemed to be very afraid of that man.
A while later, the man’s gaze fell upon us. He smirked once he saw Emery. “Oh, it’s my first love. What are the odds? I guess we were fated to see each other, weren’t we? What do you think, Emery?”
I stared at the man, eyes wide in confusion.
This man with an unusual and unconventional taste is Emery’s first love? Was Emery blind during a period of time?
Compared to the man, Emery’s facial expression was relatively menacing and full of hatred. “You wish! Mitchell. That was your one-sided love. We were never together.” She let out a scoff before continuing, “ I see that your taste is getting more terrible over the years.”
Her last remark was obviously referring to the woman standing next to Mitchell.
Emery had a sharp tongue, so her words always hit their mark. Upon hearing her snide comment, Mitchell immediately felt embarrassed and humiliated. Hence, he pulled his hand back from the woman’s grip and thrust his hands into his pockets. After which, he cleared his throat and bent over to look at Summer. “Is she your daughter?”
Mitchell didn’t seem like a good person, so I subconsciously pulled Summer in front of me in a defensive manner. “ You’ve misunderstood. She’s my daughter.”
He straightened up and raised one of his brows, looking at me. “And you are?”
Emery aggressively stood in front of me. “Stop looking at her with those eyes. She’s taken by someone you can’t afford to offend. Don’t get any ideas up in that horrid head of yours.”
“Oh?” Mitchell smirked scornfully. “I didn’t know that there’s someone the Ziegler family can’t afford to offend in K City?”
Emery sneered in mockery, “It’s a parent’s duty and responsibility to educate their children. We have no obligation to eradicate illiteracy. Goodbye!”
Mitchell turned blue in the face while Emery dragged Summer and I away from the store.
As we left, we could hear the man shouting in dissatisfaction. “Emery, don’t be so cocky! Do you think I wouldn’t be able to find out if you don’t tell me anything? You better watch out!”
A bad feeling washed over me, and I turned back to have a look at the man. Mitchell was already making a phone call, his eyes burning with fury. When he realized I was looking at him, his facial expression changed abruptly when our eyes met. He shot a sly grin at me, sending chills down my spine. My heart began pounding furiously, and I hastily sped up.
Once I got into the elevator, unease filled my mind when I recalled Mitchell’s look. I turned toward Emery and asked anxiously, “Who the hell was that guy?”
Though her eyes were like burning torches blazing with anger, her expression looked disgusted and a little helpless. “A playboy.”
“Huh?” I didn’t catch what she meant. “What do you mean?”
“His head has been full of dirty and filthy thoughts since he was sixteen. He wouldn’t refuse any women as long as they were pretty good-looking. Aren’t all those qualities of a playboy?” All of a sudden, Emery gritted her teeth in anger. “He used to like me in the past. It makes me so sick!”
On our way back, Emery had told me a lot about Mitchell.
She told me about how the Ziegler family cut their teeth in the real estate industry in K City, and how the Zieglers preferred sons over daughters. I heard details about Zayne Ziegler, who was in charge of the company business even though he was capable of nothing, and Thora Ziegler, the second daughter in the family who was forced to make a living outside of the family. The woman went on to establish the Ziegler Investment, a company that mainly managed the real estate and facilities. Ziegler Corporation and Ziegler Investment almost carved up the whole real estate industry in K City.
Even though Thora did not seem to associate herself with the Ziegler family, in reality, if something were to happen to the family, the Zieglers would definitely help each other. Hence, the relationship among the Ziegler family in K City was deep-seated and intertwined in many ways. The family shouldn’t be underestimated. Mitchell Ziegler was the youngest son in the family, a typically rich and good-for- nothing man from a wealthy family. He was a playboy who spent most of his time enjoying himself with many women, having a lot of casual sexual relationships. He used his social status to take advantage of plenty of women, ruining their lives as he did so. Previously, he was even arrested for rape. However, he was released in the end due to the strong forces of the Ziegler family. He was known as the infamous ‘Devil Incarnate’ within his social circle. Fortunately, the Moore family had been bureaucrats for three generations. If it weren’t for the Moores, Emery might have fallen into Mitchell’s hands too.
“That man is such a jinx. Let’s not go to that store anymore… No… We should blacklist the whole mall,” Emery concluded.
I nodded my head in agreement. “Let’s go somewhere a little farther. The city center isn’t big. It’ll be easy to run into an acquaintance of some kind.”
As for an acquaintance like Mitchell Ziegler, it was better not to see him anymore for the rest of our lives.
Ever since I found out about the finance project, Anthony had openly become busy. Sometimes, he only went back home once every three days. I was hardly able to see him during the day.
Even he had been working hard and putting much effort for days and nights, the development of the company in the construction industry was still at risk. A few accidents had happened at the construction site, causing many workers to become disabled even they had been through secret treatment. Hence, they had filed a claim of injury against Featherstone Corporation for getting workers’ compensation. However, an attorney had confirmed that there had been no human operation error from Featherstone Corporation, allowing the claims to be denied.
In the end, the workers decided to file a complaint with the media, and things took another drastic turn due to how the media was framing things. Public opinion switched over to bias towards the weak. Featherstone Corporation was forced to issue an official apology statement and make compensation.
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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