THE DISABLED HEIRESS, MY EX-HUSBAND WOULD PAY DEARLY.

At that moment James frowned slightly and pulled the phone from his pocket. He looked at the screen, expecting a regular call or maybe one of his investors.

But when he unlocked the screen, his eyes froze for a moment.

"It's a message," James muttered to himself.

Emily watched curiously, tilting her head slightly. "From who?"

However James didn't answer immediately. He opened the message and saw the sender's name William Victor.

The message was short, but it was enough to light up James' face with a victorious smile.

"He accepted," James said with a low chuckle.

"What?" Emily asked, confused.

"William Victor," James replied, his eyes still on the screen. "He's accepted the meeting. He said I should set the time and place."

James' grin widened, his eyes burning with satisfaction.

"This is moving faster than I thought."

At that moment, Emily's face tightened. She stood there, her arms crossed over her chest, her eyes fixed sharply on James.

Yes, she was happy for him happy that he was getting the connection he wanted, the one he believed would finally help him deal with Cora. But still... deep inside, she was burning with anger.

She couldn't just ignore it.

"James," she said, her voice low but heavy with frustration, "I'm happy you got what you wanted. Fine. But I'm not comfortable with this at all."

James looked up from his phone, his brows slightly raised.

Immediately Emily stepped forward, her hands still folded tightly.

"Let me remind you," she continued, her eyes narrowing, "this is the same William. The same William Victor who humiliated us in front of everybody at the ceremony. Have you forgotten? He didn't even blink before ordering them to drag me out like trash."

Her voice cracked a little from the memory, and her face flushed with anger.

"And now, just like that, he's suddenly changing his mind? Just like that, he wants to meet you?" Emily shook her head, her jaw clenched. "I don't like it, James. I don't like it one bit."

She stepped even closer, her eyes locked onto his.

"I think something is wrong. I'm not saying don't go, but I'm saying you should be extremely careful. Don't trust him easily. Something feels off."

At that moment, hearing what Emily just said, James let out a slow breath. He wasn't surprised by her reaction, not one bit. In fact, he had thought about it himself the same concerns, the same suspicion.

He looked at her and nodded slowly. "Emily, I understand you. I really do. To be honest, I've thought about it too."

He walked over to the table and placed his glass of wine down gently, his expression turning serious.

"I've asked myself, why now? Why would William Victor suddenly want to see me? Why would he even entertain the idea of meeting with me after what he did to us at the ceremony?"

He paused, his eyes sharp, his mind replaying everything.

"I have every reason not to believe him," James admitted. "I know that. But after thinking it through... I've come to the conclusion that maybe... just maybe, William has finally seen the light."

James chuckled dryly and shook his head.

"Maybe Cora told him something... maybe she promised him something big. Something she hasn't been able to fulfill. That's the only thing that makes sense. That can only explain why he'd want to turn his back on her now."

He turned back to Emily, his eyes steady and cold.

"As for everything that happened at the ceremony, I'm not even worried about that anymore. I'm not angry about it either. If that mistake can be corrected... if Cora ends up getting the punishment of a lifetime... then I don't care what William did back then."

James picked up his glass again, a small grin forming on his lips.

"As long as the end justifies the means, Emily. That's all that matters."

At that moment, Emily nodded her head slowly, though her face still held a trace of anger. She waved her hand slightly in the air as if dismissing the weight of the matter, but her words still carried a sting.

"No problem," Emily said, her voice tight. "I understand what you mean, James. I just hope that fool... that bastard doesn't backstab you again, just like he did at that ceremony."

Then She folded her arms across her chest, her eyes still narrowing at the memory of that day the embarrassment, the shame. It still burned in her chest like it just happened.

James chuckled lightly, unbothered, his expression calm but cold.

"Well, I'm not sure about that," he replied. "He might backstab me again, who knows? But even if he does, it's not a big deal. It's not something I'll sit around regretting."

He took another slow sip of his wine, his gaze steady on Emily.

"One thing I'm very sure of though," James continued, his tone turning sharper, "is that William won't want to throw this away so easily. He knows this is a great opportunity, a perfect shot at getting back at Cora."

James began pacing slowly, each step measured, his mind racing with possibilities.

"And if I'm right... if my gut feeling is correct, then yes — something is definitely going on between William and Cora. Something deep."

He turned back to Emily with a sly smile.

"So what do I do? Simple. I'm going to use one stone to kill two birds. I'll find out what's really going on between them... and at the same time, I'll use William to my own benefit."

**

At that moment, Samuel was seated inside his study room, a space that looked nothing short of a masterpiece. The walls were painted in deep mahogany tones, rich and warm, with a texture that gave the room a classic yet powerful feel. Around him, the walls were adorned with large, elegant posters vintage art, some abstract, others framed portraits of influential figures, all carefully placed to give the room a blend of culture and authority.

On the far side, a tall bookshelf stood proudly, filled with books arranged perfectly by size and color. There was a large antique globe resting on a corner table, next to a bronze statue of a knight holding a sword. Everything in the room screamed wealth and taste an artwork in itself.

Samuel sat behind a heavy oak desk, reading through a document, when suddenly his phone buzzed, vibrating sharply against the wooden surface. He glanced at it, his face calm but focused. Without wasting any more time, he picked it up and answered the call.

"Any news?" Samuel asked directly, his voice low and steady. "Have you seen Cora today? Is she going somewhere?"

However there was a brief pause on the line before the person on the other end responded.

"Well... that's why I'm calling, sir," the voice said carefully. "It's been almost 24 hours now, actually just a little less and we haven't seen Cora move or leave the house. She hasn't gone anywhere."

Samuel's eyes narrowed slightly, tapping his finger softly on the desk, his mind already calculating what that could mean. But before he could speak, the voice on the line continued.

"But something happened this morning," the person added, his tone shifting slightly. "Something that caught my attention. That's why I'm calling to pass the message to you immediately."

Upon hearing what the person just said, Samuel immediately stood up from where he was seated. The chair pushed back slightly with a soft creak, but he didn't care. His face grew tense, his brows drawn together as he held the phone tighter to his ear.

"What happened?" Samuel asked sharply, pacing slowly across the room. "Is Cora alright? Did someone trouble her? Or was somebody trying to talk down at her? What's going on?"

His voice was calm, but the edge in his tone was impossible to miss. His mind was already racing with worst-case scenarios.

The person on the other end of the line chuckled lightly, shaking his head even though Samuel couldn't see him.

"No, sir, if it was something like that, I wouldn't even bother calling," the man replied. "You know her, she would've handled the situation herself without even blinking."

Samuel stood still for a moment, his eyes locked on one of the posters on the wall, his breathing heavy.

"But this... this was different," the man continued. "This was worse in a way. Somebody showed up this morning, right in front of Cora's parking space in her company, carrying a bouquet of flowers."

Samuel's eyes narrowed sharply, his jaw tightening. "Flowers?"

"Yes, sir," the man confirmed. "But not just any flowers. The bouquet was huge. So tall and wide that it practically covered the person carrying it."

Immediately Samuel's hand clenched slightly by his side, still listening carefully.

"The person presented it to Cora right there, in public. The whole thing caught attention immediately. People were watching, recording, pulling out their phones, it became a scene."

At that moment Samuel's lips pressed tightly together, his mind piecing together the kind of statement this gesture was making.

"So I thought I should let you know immediately," the man added. "Because this doesn't look like a regular gift... this feels like someone is trying to make a statement on her."