Third Person's POV
The pasta was delicious, and Blake finished every last bite.
He rarely overate, but tonight, he felt pleasantly full.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, it was midday, but the sky was overcast, threatening a snowstorm.
Emily paced restlessly in her room, her anxiety growing by the minute. She had been keeping tabs on the incident back home, but to her surprise, the situation had been resolved quickly. The victim's family had accepted Blake's generous compensation, and the man she had hired was still in police custody.
Emily felt like she was waiting for a death sentence.
The man had been paid fifty thousand dollars, and it was only a matter of time before the authorities traced the money back to her.
What she didn't know was that the man had already confessed everything.
In reality, this case had already been resolved.
On the night the man was arrested, he had confessed everything. The police discovered several accounts, and although the money had been deposited in batches, it totaled fifty thousand dollars. The man, unable to explain the source of the funds, drew even more attention from the police.
Eventually, under pressure, he confessed to being bribed to deceive his bro into drinking, then taking him to a construction site and leaving him to sleep on an exposed floor. He became the culprit and broke down in tears.
The police department had intended to investigate the matter thoroughly, but Blake intervened. As a victim himself, he suggested that the perpetrator be detained temporarily, without further pursuit, until three months later when the case would be finalized.
The police department accepted his request and detained the man without immediately closing the case. However, they had gathered all the evidence and clues needed to apprehend the mastermind at any time.
Blake's intention in halting the investigation was to spare his grandfather from witnessing such ugliness in his final days. However, those who broke the law would inevitably face legal consequences. It was an inescapable fate.
Thus, the culprit remained in custody, and Emily, unable to probe further, grew increasingly fearful.
She constantly felt that the police would come for her at any moment, dragging her away to a dark, damp prison cell. She would no longer be the pampered young lady, driving luxury cars and wearing designer clothes, flaunting herself in front of her friends.
Her elaborately styled hair would be cut short, her face would be ravaged by time, and she would either grow old alone in prison or be bullied by others.
"No, I don't want that life! I don't want it!" Emily shuddered at the thought.
"Emily, what's wrong?" Richard suddenly descended the stairs and saw Emily hugging herself, curled up in a ball. He asked softly, "Emily, what's the matter?"
Emily quickly concealed her fear but her complexion was poor. "Daddy, do you need me to prepare anything for your flight tomorrow?"
"Would you like to come back to the States with me?" Richard asked suddenly.
"Me? No, I won't go back. Daddy, I'll stay here and wait for good news from you," Emily had previously thought about returning to see Blake, but now, fear overcame her infatuation with him, and she dared not go back.
"Alright, I won't force you. I'm returning this time to handle an important matter," Richard's expression turned fierce. "I suspect Blake is investigating the incident involving my brother years ago."
Emily's face froze in shock, and she urgently asked, "Daddy, wasn't Uncle's death an accidental tragedy? Why investigate it?"
"Accidental tragedy?" Richard let out a cold laugh. "You still don't understand me, Emily."
Emily couldn't help but tremble. Indeed, she didn't truly understand Richard.
Despite being father and daughter for so many years, she still felt a sense of fear around him. He was too calculating, his ambitions too grand, and his methods too ruthless. But why was he still in jail after all this time?
"Daddy, you didn't have anything to do with it, did you?" Emily, who had been unaware of the details, had always believed it was an accident. She had naively thought that with Uncle's death, the leadership of the Royal Pack would fall into Richard's hands, and she could become the true princess.
Now, the thought sent a chill down her spine.
Richard didn't directly confirm it but coldly said, "There was someone I should have dealt with more harshly years ago. I never thought she would be the one to ruin my plans."
"Who is it?" Emily asked, her curiosity piqued.
"You don't need to know more about this. It won't do you any good," Richard decided to leave it at that.