Chapter four

“Big sister… it’s been ages… six years, is it?”

Emma’s resolve suddenly crumbled. Today must be her unlucky day—seeing her sister and her father in one day was too much.

“Samantha?” Emma managed to say, her voice wavering as she fought to hold back the tears threatening to fall. Seeing both her father and her sister brought back memories—memories she had buried deep for so long.

Samantha stepped into the office, her eyes scanning the room, curling her lips in mockery. “Daddy said you weren’t too welcoming, so I wasn’t expecting much…”

Emma’s stomach twisted. She hated how Samantha’s presence still had the power to make her feel small, to remind her of the cold expectations their father had always placed on them.

“Come on, big sis… you abandoned the family estate for this?” Samantha’s voice was dripping with disdain.

“Samantha… what are you doing in my office?” Emma asked, trying—and failing—to keep her composure.

“Nothing much… I just wanted you to know I moved to the city,” Samantha replied, casually leaning against the doorframe.

“What?” Emma’s heart skipped a beat. “What do you mean?”

Samantha smirked. “Oh, come on… there’s plenty to be done. Daddy didn’t trust you enough to carry on with our plan, so he told me to keep watch and make sure you follow through.”

Emma’s pulse quickened. “Our plan? I don’t know anything about any plan. Get out, Samantha.”

“Oh come on. Do you know what it means to have all this? I hear there are other branches across the world”

“I will not hurt Alexander”

Samantha was silent for a while, then her eyes widened in realization.

“Don’t tell me you are in love with him”, she muttered, her voice laced with laughter.

“I don’t know what you are…..”

“Oh come off it Emma. You can fool father but you can’t fool me…oh poor Emma.. she is in love…” Samantha said, cutting her off.

“Get out Samantha.. Now..get out or I will get the security to kick you out…”

“Well I will leave… but if using you is going to be a problem…then maybe I will switch places with you……I could make him fall in love with me and rip a knife in his heart when the time comes. What do you say, big sis?…”

“Get out….” Emma screamed, hearts pounding.

Samantha’s smirk only deepened. “You’ll come around,” she said with a wink before twirling and walking out of the room.

Emma’s hands began to shake uncontrollably. She stumbled back and leaned against her desk for support. The weight of it all—her father’s manipulations, Samantha’s mocking words—threatened to crush her. She didn’t want to cry, but the tears came anyway. She couldn’t smile either.

“Emma?” Brian’s voice interrupted her thoughts as he appeared in the doorway.

“Alexander is ready… you can—”

Emma didn’t let him finish. She rushed to grab her bag, her heart racing, and dashed out of the office. She didn’t take the elevator. She took the stairs, not stopping even when her foot missed several steps.

Tears spilled down her cheeks as she reached the street a few meters away from Reed Technologies. The world around her seemed to blur as she stumbled forward. It felt like everything she had worked for was crashing down in an instant. Her father and Samantha—two people who had always treated her like a pawn in their game—were standing between her and the life she thought she was finally beginning to build.

How could she hurt Alexander? How could she poison him like her father demanded? The man had shown her more love in one year than her father had in twenty. But could she tell Alexander her father's plan?.

Emma found herself leaning against the wall of an old bakery, sobbing quietly, her head hanging low.

“Emma…”

She froze at the sound of the voice, her heart skipping a beat. She didn’t have to look up to know who it was.

Alexander was standing a few feet away, his hand outstretched, his expression filled with concern and confusion.

“Don’t… don’t come any closer,” she whispered, her throat tight as she took a step back.

But Alexander didn’t listen. He stepped toward her with a determined look in his eyes. “Emma,” he said softly, pulling her into his arms. “What happened? Why are you crying? Brian said you just ran off…”

Her heart hammered in her chest, and her body trembled in his arms, but she couldn’t bring herself to look up at him.

“Who hurt you, Emma?” His voice was strained, desperate to understand. “Who did this to you?”

“Let me go, Alex…” she choked out, the words painful to say.

“No,” he said firmly, tightening his hold. “I won’t let you go. I won’t, Emma. Don’t you see? I want you. I’ll do anything to help you.”

Her voice broke as she whispered, “I just want to go home, Alex. Please take me home.”

Alexander’s gaze softened, pain and confusion reflected in his eyes. “I’ll take you home. Just… tell me what’s going on. Please.”

“I can’t… I just want to go home,” she repeated, her voice barely audible.

“Okay,” he said quietly, his hand gently caressing her back as they walked to the car.

The drive was silent, the weight of Emma’s thoughts heavier than ever. Her life had taken a sharp turn. Just when she thought she was free from her father’s control, he had pulled her back in. Now, she had to make an impossible choice—betray the man she was falling for, or face the wrath of the man who had spent years manipulating her. Her father was capable of unspeakable things, she never saw those things but she knew he was ruthless.

Samantha was living in the same city. How did her life suddenly take such a dark turn? She felt choked suddenly, fighting hard to keep her breath steady

“Emma,” Alexander broke the silence, his voice steady yet soft. “I know you want to go home, but how about we stop for some ice cream? Just the two of us, somewhere no one knows me… just a little while longer?”

Emma hesitated, her heart torn. She glanced at him, seeing the sincerity in his eyes, the way he was trying to offer her comfort.

“Alex…” Her voice was a whisper, filled with doubt.

“Come on,” he said, his tone playful yet gentle. “One ice cream won’t hurt, right? I promise I’ll take you home after. Just one more moment with me.”

She stared out the window, the tension in her chest only growing. She was running out of time.

Finally, she nodded. “Okay. Just one.”

As the car rolled into the outskirts of the city, the setting sun bathed the empty road, casting a soft glow on the world around them. Emma felt a small sense of peace, but deep inside, the storm was brewing.

She couldn’t shake the thought of her father’s demands, the weight of the decision that loomed over her.

Alexander’s phone rang, cutting into the unending scenarios playing in her mind

“Where are you, son? My men said you ran off. What’s going on?” Jefferson Reed’s voice crackled through the phone.

Alexander’s face darkened, and he answered, his voice colder than before. “I had to attend to something… I’ll be home soon, Dad.”

A red car sped past them and the sound almost made Emma jump in her seat.

“Good. We’re all waiting for you,” Jefferson said before the line went dead.

Alexander tossed the phone back into the seat, his jaw clenched as he pressed the accelerator, his gaze fixed on the road ahead.

“Emma…” he said, voice softening, but Emma was already lost in her own thoughts.

He was about to ask her why she was crying again when her phone buzzed, the screen lighting up with an unfamiliar number. No name flashed, but she suspected that it was her father.

Emma’s heart skipped a beat.

"Won’t you answer the call?," Alexander said softly, his eyes never leaving the road.

Her hand trembled as she reached for the phone. But just before she could pick it up, the car suddenly swerved—her heart raced as she looked up to see what was happening. Alexander had missed hitting someone, it was by a thin thread.

He rushed out of the car to meet the lady who had fallen. Emma ignored the call and hurried out after him. To her dismay her eyes locked with Samantha’s.

How in the world? She had just left Samantha some minutes ago.