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Chapter 541: 536: Exchanging Hearts_1
Chapter 541: 536: Exchanging Hearts_1
Chapter 541: Chapter 536: Exchanging Hearts_1
“I’ve been holding back from revealing this matter when you were confronting me a while ago, but your father, me, I have a bad temper. Annoy me too much and I might just spill the beans.” Samuel Richardson smirked, appearing like a wicked devil in Emma Smith’s eyes.
“What do you want after, all?” Emma Smith was impatient, a murderous look appeared in her eyes.
From kidnapping her mother and grandmother to publicly revealing her identity, Samuel Richardson made it clear he was putting pressure on her.
“How could you speak like that, child? Have I not made myself clear? I’m just hoping you will take on the identity of ‘Red Rose’ again. After all, your sister is gone. I only have you now.” Samuel Richardson sighed. “I have no heirs. Everything will be yours anyway after I die. Helping me now would be helping yourself.”
“I don’t want to be Red Rose.” Emma Smith retorted coldly.
‘Red Rose’ was her life’s disgrace.
When her father, Samuel Richardson, got involved in the underworld, she had participated too. She was then in her adolescence, unaware of anything, brainwashed, and filled with admiration for Samuel Richardson.
Now, more aged and more awake, she has learnt to distinguish between good and evil.
Her work at “W” these days has led her to understand the true meaning of life.
One’s lifespan is short and doesn’t need to be prominently successful, but one should engage in meaningful actions, not in unlawful activities.
“Then I’ll just have to tell Molly Walker all about your actions from that time. The ‘doctor abroad’ affair too. You had a hand in organizing it, didn’t you?”
As Emma Smith sucked in a sharp breath, the rage made her entire body tremble.
“Though your sister was the principal offender, you were a willing accomplice. Molly Walker would certainly not hold you in such high esteem any longer if she were to find out what you had done.”
Considering Molly Walker’s gentle and trusting eyes, Emma Smith’s nose tingled with sadness.
She had initially helped Molly Walker in the hope of atoning for her past mistakes.
She had indeed intended to confess everything to Molly Walker, but she has never been able to come to terms with the idea, never mind voicing it out.
She feared. She feared that her friendship, one that was hard-fought and dearly won, would be severed.
“Rest assured, I’m only asking you to be Red Rose once more. If you help me, I promise I’ll keep your secret in the future.” Samuel Richardson observed Emma Smith’s struggling expressions and smiled, his eyes alight with amusement.
Having educated Emma Smith for so many years, he knew exactly what she was thinking.
He was certain, absolutely certain, that Emma Smith would help him.
“What do you want me to do for you?” In Emma Smith’s eyes there was a profound calmness, as though she had resigned herself to her fate.
“Help me to obtain some classified information from the ‘W’ Group.”
Not only did he intend to bankrupt the Thompson Group but he wanted to bring down ‘W’ in one fell swoop as well.
…
The next day, Molly Walker made ??a phone call to Emma Smith.
“How are things? Are your mother and your grandmother with Samuel Richardson?”
Emma Smith remained silent for a few seconds. “Yes,” she rasped, “But they are all right. Samuel Richardson wouldn’t dare to harm them.”
“What happened to you?” Molly Walker clearly noticed something was wrong with her words. “Has he bullied you? Do you need my help with anything?”
“No need.” Emma Smith’s voice seemed a little flustered. “I’m fine. Those people you sent over are enough, thank you.”
Although Molly Walker could feel that something was off with Emma Smith, she rationally refrained from asking further questions.
Having such a father is a tough thing. If she were in Emma’s shoes, she probably wouldn’t cope any better.
While Daniel Thompson might not be the best father, he was still way better than Samuel Richardson, as at the very least, Daniel was not engaged in any criminal activities.
As for Samuel Richardson, every sin imaginable was his next move.
After ending the call, Molly Walker felt a pang of unease.
“Should we investigate Emma Smith?” Michael Gallagher asked.
After pondering for a bit, Molly Walker eventually shook her head. “I trust her.”
For some unknown reason, she had this inexplicable trust in Emma Smith.
She had recruited a lot of people and had met countless more. Some people she could judge simply by intuition.
“I find Emma Smith a bit problematic.” Michael Gallagher’s deep eyes betrayed a thoughtful expression. “Don’t forget, she is Samuel Richardson’s biological daughter.”
Molly Walker gazed downward.
The genes of an evil person could be hereditary. Samuel Richardson was ruthless, as was Isabelle Richardson.
And Emma Smith… was she truly an innocent person?
“I want to take a gamble.” Molly Walker grinned slightly. “I am betting that money can buy loyalty.”
“Hmm, I’ll gamble with you.” Michael Gallagher playfully nuzzled her nose and walked towards a sports car.
The car was the latest model from Lamborghini, a limited edition with only five cars worldwide.
Seeing the eye-catching car, Molly Walker paused, hesitating and asked, “Is it too ostentatious?”
Going for the project proposal was one thing, driving such a car might scare others off.
“It’s not just a few large families in Sunnydale City who want this project. There are people from across Orientopia too.”
The project was obviously profitable and prestigious. Moreover, as there were no restrictions on who could bid, people from other places in Orientopia had also come in for the bid.
“A luxury car is a reflection of a certain level of power.”
Seeing Michael Gallagher’s firm conviction, Molly Walker no longer hesitated and got into the car.
In Sunnydale’s most luxurious hotel, at the top-floor Cloud Restaurant, the city’s landscape was bathed in bright lights visible from floor-to-ceiling windows.
Catrina Rodgurez sat by the window, calmly setting down her cup of coffee.
“What? The coffee here doesn’t taste as good as the ones abroad?” The man beside her, wearing glasses, laughed as he watched his proud daughter. “I didn’t expect you to return home earlier. Just in time for this project bid. Let’s see who ends up getting it.”
“It must be Thompson family, right?” Catrina Rodgurez, dressed in a traditional long dress that accentuated her figure, anyone hardly would have ever guessed, stood the woman who had been nominated for a Nobel Prize in Physics.
“That’s not guaranteed. Today’s attendees are not only from Sunnydale City but also other cities in Orientopia.” The man leaned back, letting out a sigh. “No matter who gets this project, as long as they can build our city well, that’s all that matters.”
“Have you told Nicholas Thompson that you’ve returned?”
Catrina Rodgurez glanced up, her long phoenix eyes narrowing slightly, a faint blush spreading on her face: “No.”
“This time you came back because of him, right? I heard that he is going to donate his kidney to his father, so even if you want to stop it, you have no reason to.” Dion Rodgurez jokingly glanced at his daughter.
Indeed, mention Nicholas Thompson, and the grown-up, serious girl will instantly turn into a young girl.
If his daughter can enter into a marriage alliance with the Thompson family, he would have no objections at all.
Business and politics are in synergy, it helps in maintaining stability.
He is always known for his integrity, his daughter is talented, and the people of the Thompson family are of good character that he had met.
“Whether he donates his kidney or to whom, that has nothing to do with me, we are not in a romantic relationship after all.”
Whenever she thought about Nicholas Thompson, Catrina Rodgurez’s face turned as red as an apple.
Before going abroad, Nicholas Thompson had confessed his feelings to her. She said that she would return and marry him only after winning the Nobel Prize. Since then, the two of them have had no contact at all.
She guessed that Nicholas Thompson must have thought it was a way of indirect rejection.
After all, winning the Nobel Prize in Physics was hard.
“You shouldn’t have made such bold declarations in the first place. How fortunate that he didn’t get a girlfriend in these years, or else you would’ve regretted it for sure.” Dion Rodgurez teased his daughter, “You should explain things clearly to him when you meet him this time. You’re planning to stay here after all, so you should also consider your marriage prospects.”