Winning Her Heart Back (Emelie Hoven )

Chapter 856 Emelie Planned to Bring Them Down

"How could that happen?" Emelie paused her work. "Weren't we watching him the whole time?"

Jodie frowned. "We were, but he used a decoy. He swapped clothes with one of his men in the car, and our people didn't catch that. By the time the police showed up to arrest him, he was already gone."

Emelie twirled a pen between her fingers as a hint of admiration flashed in her eyes. "I've always known that lizards will sever their tails to escape danger, but I didn't expect a snake to do the same."

"The police are already searching for him," Jodie continued. "I've also deployed our own team. There's no way he can get far. We've got him surrounded."

"There's a third party involved now," Emelie said as she tapped her pen against the computer screen. The screen displayed the news about the hot spring hotel and its fake deaf and mute employees.

Jodie glanced at the screen and added cryptically, "If we or the police get to him first, he might at least stand a chance. But if those people find him... then he's as good as dead."

Exactly.

Emelie stood up and walked to the small bar in the corner. She grabbed a bottle of red wine and expertly uncorked it with a bottle opener.

As she poured the deep red liquid into two glasses, she said calmly, "I'd always thought that it was odd for him to open that hot spring hotel. After all, a lawyer investing so much in a hotel didn't make sense. That business doesn't generate enough profit to justify the expenses.

"Thanks to Lyle's patience and month-long undercover work, we've finally uncovered the real issue. 70% of the hotel's guests were high-profile individuals with sensitive identities. "That's when we realized Beathan's true purpose. The hotel wasn't opened to generate profits. It was a private venue for these people to conduct unspeakable business away from prying eyes."

Emelie handed one of the glasses to Jodie.

Jodie took it and nodded her thanks before saying, "Ms. Thornton was puzzled about how Beathan was able to get those forged medical records and bail, despite his situation. It turns out that these high-profile individuals were helping him because he had provided them with a safe place for their dirty dealings."

Leaning casually against the bar, Emelie swirled the wine in her glass. "It was all smooth sailing until he went too far. You know about those deaf and mute employees, right? It turns out that they weren't actually deaf or mute, and they were eavesdropping on everything.

That's a major violation of trust. No one will tolerate him now."

Jodie scoffed. "And that is why Beathan had to run. If he hadn't, those people will silence him before the police can get to him, ensuring that he doesn't spill any secrets in desperation."

Emelie took a sip of her wine.

She recalled the last conversation she had with William outside the courthouse. At the time, she had told him that Beathan would meet his end at the hands of his own people. This was what she had meant.

The media frenzy around the whole affair and the "fastest turnaround in history" were just surface distractions.

Her real goal was to expose Beathan's disloyalty to the very people who had protected him. And eavesdropping was an unforgivable crime in their world.

Jodie was beginning to understand Emelie's broader plan. Still, she couldn't help but marvel at how effortlessly Emelie and William had devised it.

Between the possibility of them either having an almost telepathic understanding or communicating privately, Jodie preferred to believe that it was the latter. If it were the former, well, that would be too unbelievable.

"I suppose we should thank Mrs. Russo too," Jodie noted, taking a small sip of her wine.

Natalia was the one who had told Emelie that the hotel's staff weren't really deaf and mute. Emelie gave a quiet hum of acknowledgment.

Jodie didn't understand. "How did Mrs. Russo find out about Beathan's secret?"

This was a critical piece of information, and it was one that Beathan would never reveal willingly.

Emelie set her glass down. "She must have discovered it on her own. They were business partners, after all. Beathan had likely let his guard down around her. The deadliest blow often comes from someone close or a trusted ally.

"Wasn't that exactly what had happened to Xander Pierce back then? His secretary came from the Davis family, his executives were from the Collins family, and his business partner was from the Swanson family. They had all teamed up with his rival, the Middleton family, to bring him down, along with his Xander Group."

Now, Charles had fallen at the hands of his closest lover, Beathan was betrayed by his most trusted partner, and Bryan's empire had crumbled.

Emelie had planned to bring them down exactly the way they had risen. In her eyes, justice was a cycle. Now, all she had to do was wait for Beathan's body to turn up.

Jodie suddenly remembered something. "Ma'am, have you sent Mr. Inning on another assignment? I haven't seen him around lately."

Just then, Emelie's phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID, and sure enough, it was Lyle. She smiled and said, "Speak of the devil."