Too Far for Longing

Chapter 14 Deal

　　Since the day William left, Emily had been feeling completely out of it for several days straight.

　　The burn on her leg had started to scab over, but the wound in her heart? Yeah, not healing anytime soon.

　　Thinking back to the harsh words William threw at her, Emily felt less hurt now—and way more pissed.

　　Suddenly, the hospital room door swung open.

　　"Why're you back in the hospital again, sis?"

　　It was Christopher's voice.

　　Emily tensed up, inching closer to the call button. "What do you want?"

　　"Relax, I swear I'm not here to mess with you this time," he said, pulling out a chair near the bed but not too close, crossing his legs like he had all the time in the world. "I just wanna make a deal."

　　Emily frowned, remembering the crap he pulled last time. She gave a cold laugh. "If you don't leave, I'm calling someone over."

　　"I get it, you're still holding a grudge for what I did. To make it up to you, I can give you a little tip—for free."

　　"Not interested," Emily shut him down immediately.

　　She didn't trust a word he said, and she wasn't about to let herself get played again. Her hand went for the call button.

　　"That baby Luna's carrying? It's mine!"

　　His words hit her like a truck. Her finger hovered over the button but didn't press.

　　She hated to admit it, but yeah, that bomb he just dropped... it shook her.

　　Christopher gave a smug little smirk.

　　"And what proof do you have that baby's yours?"

　　"I've got dirt on her," he said with a grin way too proud for someone saying something so shady.

　　Emily narrowed her eyes. "What dirt?"

　　"And that right there is the deal I wanna make," Christopher said, his gaze zeroing in on her right hand. "Heard the Carters have this old family ring... William gave it to you, didn't he?"

　　Emily quickly covered the ring with her left hand, not missing the look in his eyes. "So that's what you're after."

　　Christopher chuckled. "That ring's worth a lot, you know. Trade it for what I've got, it's a solid deal."

　　Emily stayed calm. "Let's just see if what's in your hand is even worth it. You go first."

　　"Tsk, gotta say, you've gotten smarter," he said, then paused before continuing, "You really think the whole fall of the Thompson Group was all on me?"

　　Her voice stiffened, "What are you getting at? Trying to play the victim now?"

　　Christopher shot her a look, finally putting both feet down on the floor. "Our family was one of the biggest in City L, remember? I'm not powerful enough to wreck years of business in just a month."

　　That made Emily hesitate. Was he actually telling the truth?

　　Sure, the Thompsons had deep roots, but the stock market could tank anyone, fast—even giants. A month was a long time in that chaos.

　　She didn't answer, but her expression said she wasn't buying whatever he was selling.

　　"Back then, we Thompsons were the last to know anything—like a bunch of fools getting played. And your man? Three years sleeping next to him, and he never told you a word. Doesn't sound like love to me."

　　Her first thought was: the Mitchells had a hand in this.

　　Christopher was petty as hell—no way he'd be helping out Luna unless he had dirt to hang over her head.

　　Emily's voice was ice. "I'm not trading that ring for anything you've got."

　　His eyes narrowed. "So you're just gonna let our family's enemies walk free?"

　　"Save your reverse psychology. You want to guilt-trip me while trying to squeeze me for a ring? Please. You don't even deserve to carry our name," she snapped.

　　His face turned red with anger, jaw tight with frustration.

　　Emily pulled off the ring, held it up.

　　"You want cash, right? We can talk. But I'm not giving you this for whatever nonsense you're holding."