Chapter 14 If You Don't Come, Face the Consequences!

Emily asked, "Hubert, where are you right now? Can you pick up Mia?"

Hubert's voice was heavy. "Emily, things are getting bad."

Emily's nerves, which had just started to relax, tensed up again.

She stood up, gripping her phone tightly, her voice shaking. "What's going on?"

Hubert seemed to find a quieter spot to talk. "Emily, the guy who pushed Mia at the airport told the cops something new. He changed his story. It's not looking good for Mia. But I'm on it, so don't worry."

Emily's grip on her phone tightened, her brow furrowed. "Alright, thanks for your hard work."

Just as she hung up, her phone buzzed again. Without even checking the caller ID, she quickly answered.

"Emily?" The voice was familiar, dripping with malice.

Emily responded, "Yeah, it's me."

The voice on the other end said, "Tonight at 7 PM, Mountain View Manor. If you don't show up, you'll regret it!"

Emily tried to steady her emotions. "What do you mean?"

Liam's voice was menacing. "If you don't show up by 7 PM, you can watch Mia go to jail!"

Recalling Hubert's earlier warning about the dire situation, Emily realized Liam was behind it. Liam was like a devil from hell; it was truly disgusting. He was also like a rat in the gutter; with his sinister little eyes, he always lurked, coveting things that didn't belong to him.

Emily didn't want to engage with him further, gripping her phone tightly. "In a society governed by law, evidence is key. The airport video is enough to prove Mia's innocence. No one can falsely accuse her."

"Is that so? You can try." Liam sneered. "Since you don't plan to help Mia, I'll trouble that little mute she adopted. Emily, your foster mother didn't just adopt you. If you don't care, someone else will."

Liam's cold voice sounded like a rat's squeak in Emily's ears, making her eardrums ache. It was more annoying than cold rain on a winter night.

Emily's nerves tightened at his words. She had a crazy urge to tear Liam apart.

"I know you understand the law and like to educate others about it!" Liam said nonchalantly, "I will make sure no evidence left after what I do to that mute, and she's in middle school, right? Ever heard of school bullying? I've heard there have been quite a few suicides due to school bullying in recent years! What if someone drugs her and takes photos like I did to you last time? How would she react? Wouldn't that be interesting?" Liam laughed maniacally.

Emily's hair stood on end. Her nerves tightened. In her rage, she became even calmer, though her hand holding the phone trembled. She asked, "Where did you get my number?"

Liam scoffed, "Of course, Ethan gave it to me. What did you think?" Liam seemed unwilling to discuss it further.

Liam said, "7 PM, Mountain View Manor, Room 3020. You have less than two hours. It's rush hour in Maple Valley; I hope you make it in time."

With that, he hung up.

Emily's throat felt dry and sore, her breathing heavy and unsteady.

Having been bullied in school herself, Emily knew how terrifying it was. She couldn't let Stella Nelson go through what she had.

Facing such despair, even a healthy person would be on the brink of collapse, let alone the fragile Stella.

Thinking of Stella's bright smile, Emily gritted her teeth, quickly put on her down jacket, wrapped her scarf, grabbed her phone and documents, and headed out to Mountain View Manor.

Stella was also a child Mia had adopted. Her hearing was fine; they had taken her to the hospital when she was young. The doctor mentioned that the child's vocal cords were intact, and it was highly probable that her reluctance to speak was due to psychological trauma suffered in her early childhood. But Stella refused psychological treatment and was very resistant to seeing a therapist. Because of this, Mia insisted on sending Stella to a regular school, hoping she would interact with other kids and eventually speak.

However, Emily was indeed not entirely aware of the occurrences at Stella's school.

Emily arrived at Suite 3020 of Mountain View Manor before seven o'clock.

She stood at the door and peeked through the crack of the door.

Liam was sitting next to Ethan.

In the luxuriously decorated room, Ethan was lazily sitting in a chair, his fingers tapping the table, looking quite impatient.

Liam said, "Ethan! You can't just listen to Amy like that! She tells you not to come, and you really don't? I'm telling you, women are all hypocrites! Amy says she trusts you and doesn't hold that night against you, but you can't take that seriously! Women hold grudges! Who knows when she'll bring it up in a fight! We need to eliminate the problem for good! This drug is hard to find; it took me a long time! Once Emily drinks it, and the drug takes effect, we can ask her some questions and record a video to prove your innocence to Amy. You can't hesitate. Just follow my lead."

Emily forcefully pushed the door open.

Hearing the door, Ethan looked up, surprised to see Emily. He seemed a bit taken aback by her appearance.

Emily scoffed inwardly. What an act! Ethan was the one who had Liam call her, using Stella to threaten her into coming. Now he was puting on a surprised look; who was he fooling?

Emily thought it was foolish of her to have even a shred of hope that Ethan had any humanity left.

"Ms. Thompson, you're right on time!" Liam stood up, nudging Ethan with his elbow, lowering his voice. "Ethan, this is your chance to prove yourself to Amy! Don't waste the drug I worked so hard to get!"

"We didn't invite Ms. Thompson here for anything else." Liam fiddled with his messy hair, walking towards Emily with a smile. "Since Ms. Thompson chose to come on time, it seems you want to show Ethan enough sincerity. After all, Ms. Thompson and Ethan are divorced now, with no more entanglements." Liam turned the table, placing three empty wine glasses in front of Emily.

(I am the author of this book. Thank you all for your love and support! There will be an advertisement coming up next. I hope you can patiently watch the ad, or consider subscribing to remove the ads, because the upcoming chapters are truly exciting. Trust me, you definitely need to keep reading!)