Chapter 235 - A Broken Friendship

"Hey, is everything alright out here?" Emerson asked nosily as he poked his head between the 'three' men.

"This is meant to be a charity event. I hope you're not getting into a fight like you always do, Danson..." Emerson reminded.

Danson looked at Emerson and frowned, "It's none of your business..."

He then walked off to the other end of the balcony and continued to puff on his cigarette in frustration. Emerson was the last person he wanted to see.

Morton glanced at Emerson and smiled, "There's no argument at all. We were just discussing something, but we're done now. Mars, you can go home, I will see you tomorrow."

Halia looked at the man reluctantly. She didn't want to leave, but she had no choice. So, she turned and walked away. But, just as she brushed past Emerson, she suddenly sensed a weird vibe from him. "Wait for me by the fountain outside," he whispered between gritted teeth in a volume that could only be heard between the two of them.

Halia opened her eyes in surprise but remain composed.

She knew it! She wasn't being paranoid. Emerson knew who she was...

But, at least, he didn't expose her in front of everyone.

"I'm quite surprised to see you here today, Danson. It's been a long time since I've seen you at a charity event," Emerson said after Halia left.

"Tch, don't act like you know me," Danson replied coldly as he leaned over the balcony and took a puff of his cigarette.

Emerson sensed the coldness, but remained professional, "Either way, I'm sure your father would be happy to know that you came today. He always wanted you to attend these events with him."

Danson looked away without responding.

Meanwhile, Morton watched quietly on the side with interest. He had heard rumors about Danson Qian and Emerson Wu. Supposedly, these two were best friends in high school and they used to do everything together. But, out of the blue, their friendship fell apart just before graduation and they were never seen together again. That had already happened about a decade ago, but no one ever found out the real reason why their friendship fell apart.

It seemed, the rumors were true. There was obvious tension between the two.

Unable to converse with the man, Emerson excused himself and left Morton to finalize his matters with Danson on his own. After all, he had to go speak to Halia.

"Now that Mars is gone, I hope everything's fine with you, Mr. Qian. If you have any other concerns in the future, I hope you can contact me instead of threatening my employee," Morton said as soon as Emerson left.

Danson rolled his eyes with disdain. Morton was stern and cold, but he was not phased by him.

"Everything will be fine as long as your legal assistant stays away from my stepmother," Danson warned again.

Morton looked at the man with slight amus.e.m.e.nt.

"You don't have to worry about that. Mars would never be interested in your stepmother..." he laughed. After all, he knew she was a woman.

But, Danson didn't, so he immediately glared at Morton. What did this man mean?

Sensing that the Danson was slightly offended, Morton quickly added, "After all, she's a client and Mars is a professional."

Danson's gaze softened and he took a puff of his cigarette, "That better be the case."

Morton looked at Danson with curiosity. Everyone said he hated his stepmother; he certainly acted that way in front of everyone. But, why was he so offended when Marissa was insulted even the tiniest bit?

"You seem to care about your stepmother a lot," Morton said carefully. "If I didn't know she was your stepmother, I would think that Mrs. Qian was your wife instead of your father's..." Morton said with slight suspicion. He appeared to be joking when he said this, but there was a sense of seriousness to his words.

Danson took another puff of his cigarette and frowned, "I simply don't want her to ruin my family's image."

He then put out the cigarette in his hand and stormed back inside. 

Morton smirked and went back inside as well.

...

Outside the hotel, Halia sat anxiously beside a large fountain and twiddled her thumbs. 

Emerson knew who she was, she was sure of it, but why did he tell her to wait for him by the fountain? What did he want to talk about?

Soon, the familiar man walked out of the hotel and went to sit down beside her.

"What are you doing here, Haili? Are you on a mission?" he asked straightforwardly.

Halia looked at Emerson nervously. She was right, he recognized her.

"Yes", she nodded her head. She couldn't lie to him.

Emerson sighed as he glanced down at the woman's wrist. It was slightly red from Danson's rough grip earlier. He subconsciously pulled her hand over for a closer look, "You need to be careful. Why did Danson grip onto you so hard?"

Halia flinched a little in pain and laughed, "He thought I was seducing Marissa..."

Emerson furrowed his brows and noticed a few other scars on Halia's arm. "Do you always get hurt like this?" he asked.

Halia smiled and shrugged, "It's a part of the job. Someone has to do it."

She then pulled her arm away. 

"Do me a favor. Don't reveal my identity to anyone," she said.

Emerson looked at her with slight pain in his eyes and nodded his head. He didn't understand why Jackson allowed Halia to do such a dangerous job. If Halia was his fiancee, he would make sure she never worked a day in her life again; he would treasure her, dote on her, and pamper her. But, Halia was obviously not his fiancee - she was his future sister-in-law.

It was hard to accept at first, but he had come to terms with it.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Emerson offered as he looked at the woman again.

Halia began to shake her head, she couldn't get Emerson involved, but then she suddenly remembered something, "Are you invited to Roy's party later?"

Emerson lifted an eyebrow and nodded his head, "I'm invited, but I'm not going. I don't like that guy."

Halia hesitated for a second. As much as she didn't want to get Emerson involved, she couldn't think of any other way, "If you want to help, can you take me to that party with you?"

Emerson looked at Halia questioningly. 

"I am investigating him and this is a good opportunity to search his house for evidence," Halia replied. "I'll be careful. You just have to get me inside."

Emerson sighed and looked into the woman's determined eyes. "OK," he nodded his head. "But, won't it be strange for me to take you there?"

Halia shook her head and smiled.

"That's why I'm not asking you to take Mars Wu. I'm asking you to take Haili Feng..." Halia replied with a sly smirk.

Emerson nodded his head slowly with understanding, "If that's what I need to do to get you off this mission sooner, then I'll do it. But, you really need to be careful. Roy is well-known for being a player and a pervert. How will I explain things to my brother if something happens to you?"

Halia smiled reassuringly, "Don't worry, I got it all under control."

Emerson relaxed a little.

"In that case, Miss Feng, would you like to go to a party with me?" he asked as he stretched out his hand.

Halia placed her hand in Emerson's and nodded her head, "I would love to, Mr. Wu."