Chapter 50

“Mr. Hall…” The two bodyguards hesitated, unsure whether to close the elevator doors, but Liam showed no intention of stopping.

“Wait!” Emma rushed forward, holding food. “If you brought food, why not give it to me personally?”

Without waiting for a response, she grabbed his wheelchair handles and pulled him from the elevator. The bodyguards were stunned.

“You two can go now. I’ll take care of him,” Emma said, dismissing them and leading Liam to the fire escape.

“What’s wrong? Are you mad?” Liam’s mood softened, seeing Emma leave the doctor to chase after him. He gently cupped her face, making her look at him. “You knew I’d be upset, yet you were chatting with the male doctor, huh?”

“You weren’t here yet, were you?” Emma teased, smiling at his darkened expression. “Just kidding. It was just a polite conversation. What were you up to last night?”

“I should be asking you what you were doing last night,” Liam countered.

Emma had defeated the national boxing champion, outsmarted Vere, and even received courteous nods from the world-famous pianist, Darell. Now she could even disarm bombs. Liam wondered what other surprises his wife held in store for him.

Emma pursed her lips. “Last night I disarmed a little something.”

“You call a bomb a ‘little something’?” Liam squinted.

“I didn’t know what it was. I just couldn’t stand the thought of Uncle Sean getting hurt, so I had to face it,” Emma admitted, finding it hard to maintain her lie. “But last night, I felt someone jump from a helicopter to save me. Was that you?” Her intuition told her it was him. His injury explained his absence the previous night; his arrival at the hospital this morning made sense.

She waited for his response. Suddenly, Liam asked, “Aren’t you hungry?”

“Yeah. What did you bring?” Emma’s attention shifted immediately.

She quickly produced the beautifully packaged, still-steaming snacks. “Do you want some too?”

Seeing her quick change of focus, Liam smiled. “No, they’re for you.”

The warm, sweet treat instantly lifted her spirits. Liam watched her, in her hospital attire, sitting on the stairs and munching like a little hamster, occasionally brushing crumbs from her pants.

“Sit here; the ground is cold,” Liam said with concern, gesturing to his lap.

Emma glanced up, considered it a moment, then moved. “Fine. I’ll come over.”

She leaned against him, sitting on his legs, then heard him say coldly, “Turn around.”

“What’s wrong?” Emma asked, puzzled.

“I bought enough for two. Aren’t you going to share with me?” Liam said.

“Alright.” Emma rummaged through the bag, finding several snacks. She produced a box of cookies. “How about these?”

“No.” Liam refused.

She offered a bottle of beverage. “What about this?”

“This one’s for you.” Liam shook his head.

“What do you want to eat then?” Emma asked.

Liam remained calm. “You go ahead. I’ll let you know if I want something.”

“Okay.” Ignoring the darkness in his eyes, she sat on him and ate alone.

Just then, the fire escape door opened. “Mr. Hall…” Levi entered, pausing mid-sentence as he saw Emma straddling Liam, a bit of creamy filling lingering on her lip.

Levi was taken aback. “You are… I’m sorry, Mr. Hall, I shouldn’t have disturbed you. I’ll leave now!”

Emma, likely too exhausted from disarming the bomb to notice her position, didn’t understand his exaggerated reaction. “Why did Mr. Carter act like that?”

Liam, his hand resting on Emma’s waist, said calmly, “He probably thinks we’re being a bit too intimate.”

“What?” Emma felt her face heat up. Ever since discovering his legs weren’t paralyzed at the abandoned villa, she got nervous whenever things got too close. She quickly climbed off his lap. “…I’ll just sit on the floor to eat. It’s cooler down here.”

Liam maintained a mysterious smile. Emma glanced at his profile; his hand supported his forehead, a light smile playing on his lips. “Is this… okay?” she asked.

“Up to you,” Liam replied, watching her.

Minutes later, they left the hospital. The news of Emma defusing the bomb had begun gaining traction when Liam suppressed it. Overnight, all online reports vanished. Only a few rumors remained, soon to be censored.

Emma scrolled through her phone. “You’re pretty powerful, huh? So, this is what it’s like to be wealthy, where even big news can be suppressed.”

“I took some effort,” Liam said.

Emma raised an eyebrow. “Uncle Sean said Aria might be dead. Do you know about it?”

“Yes, both legs were dismembered,” Liam said emotionlessly.

Emma shuddered. “D… dismembered?” Wondering if Liam was involved, she asked, “How did you find out?”

“From the forensic photos,” Liam replied calmly, his emotions unreadable.

Emma probed again, “Do you know who did it?”

“It’s still uncertain. The police are investigating,” Liam’s tone remained steady.

Emma knew he wouldn’t tell her. Aria’s kidnapping at the abandoned villa, before her death, fueled Emma’s suspicion of Liam’s involvement. Her heart grew colder, not from sympathy for Aria, but because her husband was becoming increasingly unpredictable.

“Who planted the bomb at Uncle Sean’s concert?” Emma asked.

“It was Sebastian’s uncle, Parker Dow,” Liam replied.

The name was unfamiliar to Emma.

“In recent years, the Gomez family has been getting bolder. Sebastian’s uncle moved abroad early and became a top tycoon. The Dow family has a feud with the Rivera family overseas. The Rivera family’s four sons are too influential, making them hard to tackle directly. So, they targeted your uncle,” Liam explained.

Emma narrowed her eyes. Her uncle had been placed in grave danger. The names Gomez and Dow were now etched in her memory.