Chapter 216

The studio lights cast a focused glow on Emily Smith's profile. From dusk till midnight, she immersed herself in voicing a game character, oblivious to the storm brewing outside.

William Johnson's car pulled up right on time. Through the window, he watched Emily emerge, his phone screen still illuminated with the breaking scandal about the Johnson family. He pressed his lips together and remained silent.

"What's got you so absorbed?" William turned the steering wheel, catching Emily's suddenly rigid posture in his peripheral vision.

On her phone screen, Mia Harris's looping GIF made Emily's fingers tremble. The explicit images twisted her stomach into knots.

"The Johnsons are in trouble," she murmured, her voice hoarse and unfamiliar.

William chuckled. "Two brothers sharing a woman—now that's scandalous."

Neon lights flickered across Emily's face through the window. She thought of William's ever-smiling eyes, now undoubtedly dimmed.

At the red light, William turned abruptly. "Do you think he'll still marry her?"

"Does it matter?" Emily locked her phone. "I'm leaving BestTech in two weeks."

William's grip on the wheel loosened. He reached for her icy fingers. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have—"

"We ended long ago." Emily cut him off with a flawless smile. "The moment he slid that ring onto Amanda Lin's finger."

No one saw the glimmer of tears in her eyes under the cover of night.

At dawn, William's private jet pierced the clouds. Standing before the gym's floor-to-ceiling windows, he hung up on Henry Johnson, sweat dripping down his jawline.

"Chart a course to Switzerland," he told Zhang Xiao'an behind him, his voice eerily calm.

The stock market's opening bell tolled like a funeral knell. WorldDing's shares plummeted, dragging BestTech's screens into the red. Yet the office was unnervingly quiet—every employee had received William's email sent in the early hours.

"Word is Vice President Johnson flew to Switzerland," Lily White whispered. "Honestly, that woman should've—"

Emily's fingers paused over the keyboard. "Matters of the heart are unpredictable."

A notification popped up in the corner of her screen. William's profile picture stood out, followed by three simple words:

Wait for me.