Chapter 6

Emily’s POV

The cold in detention seeped into my bones.

High walls, wire fences, barred windows. Harsh lights burned twenty-four hours a day, making it impossible to tell night from day.

I curled up on the hard bunk with my arms wrapped around my knees. I had been there for three days. The police had questioned me relentlessly. They examined my bank accounts, reviewed all my communications, and even investigated VisionTech.

The overseas email account that received the files was hidden behind layers of compromised proxy computers. They couldn’t identify the actual recipient. And there were no large, unexplained deposits in my accounts.

The trail stopped there. But because the system logs appeared conclusive, I remained in custody as the primary suspect.

Worse than the physical exhaustion or the mental pressure was my fear for my mother, lying in the hospital’s ICU.

Her heart failure could worsen at any moment. She needed care, money for her treatment, and family at her side.

Suddenly, the metal door opened. A guard stood outside, expressionless. “Emily Carter. Your lawyer’s here.”

I scrambled off the bunk so quickly that my vision went black. Stumbling, I followed the guard to the visiting room.

On the other side of the thick glass sat Mr. Harris, an attorney who had previously worked with Reed Group’s legal department. Before being brought here, I had used my last shred of self-preservation to ask someone to contact him.

“Mr. Harris, how’s my mother? Has the hospital called?” I grabbed the receiver, my voice trembling, my fingers digging against the glass.

He looked troubled and sighed. “Ms. Carter, the hospital has issued three critical-condition alerts. Your mother’s account is overdue, and her caregiver quit after she stopped getting paid…”

My tears spilled instantly onto the cold counter.

“Please, Mr. Harris. Please call Nathan for me…” I pressed my forehead against the glass, my voice broken and pleading. “I’m not asking him to get me out. I just need him to visit my mother and cover her medical bills. I’ll pay him back when I’m released. Please…”

Mr. Harris took out his phone and, in full view of the security camera, dialed Nathan’s private number. He put it on speaker.

Ring. Ring.

Every long tone felt like it was slicing through my heart.

At last, the call connected.

“Hello, Mr. Reed. It’s Harris. I’m at the police station—”

“If this is about Emily, contact Legal.” Nathan’s voice was icy. “Don’t call this number again.”

“No, Mr. Reed, it’s about her mother—”

Beep. Beep. Beep.

He had hung up. The disconnected tone echoed painfully through the quiet room.

I froze. It felt as though the blood had stopped moving through my veins. My lips parted, but no sound came out.

Unable to bear it, Mr. Harris called Nathan’s executive assistant.

Mr. Miller answered in a hushed voice. “Make it quick. Mr. Reed is helping Ms. Blake choose an engagement-party venue.”

“Mr. Miller, could you tell him Ms. Carter’s mother is critically ill? The hospital urgently needs a family member there, and her bills need to be paid—”

Mr. Miller sighed. “Mr. Reed made it clear he won’t get involved in anything concerning Emily anymore. Ms. Blake’s been upset over the leak these past few days, and he’s trying to cheer her up. Who’s going to risk asking him for a favor right now? Please don’t put me in that position.”

The call ended again.

I slowly lowered the receiver and closed my eyes.

He was helping Vivian choose a venue. Vivian was upset, so he had to comfort her.

And my mother was dying in a cold hospital bed.

After five years of devotion, after caring for his paralyzed mother, this was what I received. At my most desperate moment, he kicked me into the abyss without hesitation.

Two days later, Mr. Harris returned.

This time, he carried no folder. He simply looked at me in silence, his eyes slightly red.

Seeing his expression, my heart missed a beat. Terror closed around my throat.

“Mr. Harris…” My voice was barely a whisper. “My mom…”

He lowered his head heavily. “Ms. Carter, I’m sorry. Your mother suffered a massive heart attack last night. They couldn’t save her. The hospital has… already transferred her to the funeral home.”

My mind went blank. Every sound around me disappeared. The guard telling us to hurry, the other detainees talking—everything receded like a tide.

My mother was dead.

The woman who had held my hand even while she was sick, who had told me to stop chasing a man who didn’t love me, who had worried no one would care for me—she had died alone in a hospital. I hadn’t been there. She hadn’t left me a single final word.

“Ah!”

A raw, desperate scream tore out of my throat.

I slammed my head against the glass. Again and again.

“Why? Why?”

Like someone possessed, I pounded the partition until the skin split across my knuckles and blood stained the counter. Tears and mucus streamed down my face. My body went limp, and I slid down the glass onto my knees, sobbing until I retched, until my whole body convulsed.

The guards rushed in to stop me. I had no strength to resist as they pinned me to the floor. My eyes were empty. I was nothing but a body with its soul torn out.

Two weeks later.

They still couldn’t find evidence that I had profited or prove I had deliberately leaked the files. Meanwhile, investigators discovered that VisionTech’s lead engineer had been taking orders from someone else. The chain of evidence fell apart.

When the detention period expired, the police announced that there was insufficient evidence. I was released without charges.

The heavy metal gate slowly closed behind me.

I stood outside the station in the same business suit I had been wearing when I was brought in, now wrinkled and stained. The sun overhead was blinding, but I felt cold. So cold that I couldn’t stop shaking.

I was free. But I had nothing left.