Scarlet Enchantment

Chapter 9

Emily went straight home and immediately filled the bathtub with hot water, soaking herself thoroughly. She had already showered at the villa, but she still felt dirty, scrubbing herself with a towel until her skin almost peeled off, yet the feeling of discomfort persisted.

She had brushed her teeth countless times, reaching every spot the toothbrush could get to. Eventually, she brushed so hard that her gums started bleeding, and the water she spat out was tinged with red.

Just a little more, just a little more and she could have killed him.

Killed him, and then been killed by his men, ending it all. Or, if she were lucky, she might have faced the police and told them the whole truth. If she were even luckier, the police would uncover Damian Blackwood's true identity, and she would be exonerated. If not, they could just consider her a schizophrenic; after all, Damian Blackwood and Sebastian Lane looked so alike, it would be understandable for her to have made a mistake under extreme duress.

But she missed that chance by just a little.

Looking at herself in the mirror, her face was as pale as a ghost, her eyes sunken, making them appear even larger and darker, with a crazy, hateful fire burning in her pupils. This wasn't a good sign. She slowly closed her eyes, silently telling herself she couldn't go mad—not yet—she needed to stay calm and rational.

She resolutely threw away her toothbrush, quickly leaving the bathroom to pack her things. Ryan would be back today, and after being apart for over twenty days, she had no reason to refuse his affection. But she couldn't face her husband with a body marked by another man's traces. She needed to leave for a few days until these marks faded.

It was easy to come up with a reason. An urgent school trip, or a sudden incident involving a student that she needed to handle. Ryan trusted her; any made-up emergency would do, and he wouldn't suspect a thing.

She packed her essentials, a couple of changes of clothes, her wallet, and identification. She also took the new smartphone she had bought online, identical to her current one, along with a SIM card from another city. The purchase process had been elaborate: she lied to a colleague to use their computer and account, even having the package delivered in the colleague’s name, leaving no trace of herself.

She was cautious, not wanting to leave any loopholes for Damian Blackwood.

Emily quickly finished packing. Before leaving, she looked back at her home. In four or five hours, Ryan would be back. If she chose to stay, she could cry in his arms, seek his help, and share her pain and despair with him.

He would be her rock and safe haven, she was sure of it. But he would also be dragged into this mess, facing endless danger.

What is love, really? Is it giving everything unreservedly, or trusting wholeheartedly? Is it bearing everything alone just to see him happy and safe, or facing hardships together, sharing both joy and sorrow? For the first time, Emily didn’t know what to choose. She stood silently at the door, holding her small bag, and after a long time, she bit her lip and left resolutely.

Her car was still at the school, so she took a taxi to the other side of the city and checked into a discreet budget hotel. She first texted Ryan to explain the situation, then called the school to request three days off. After doing so, she stuffed her old phone under the pillow and took out the new one.

Emily was never one to sit around and wait for doom.

Modern smartphones were nearly as functional as computers, and the internet provided unimaginable convenience. She started investigating everything about Damian Blackwood—his identity, background, all his companies, and any possible connections to the executed criminal Sebastian Lane.

Around noon, Ryan texted her back. He had just landed and expressed his longing for her, reminding her to take care of herself. She wanted to call him, but feared losing control of her emotions upon hearing his voice, so she replied via text, promising to call him that evening.

All these exchanges were intercepted by Damian Blackwood.

The monitoring software was installed on a laptop. Damian didn’t have time to watch constantly, so he assigned the task to Kevin. As Damian's bodyguard and semi-assistant, Kevin filtered through these private messages daily, reporting the useful ones to Damian.

Looking at the messages, Kevin couldn't help but marvel, “Mr. Blackwood, how can this woman lie so smoothly? It's like she's telling the truth!”

Damian smirked sarcastically, ignoring Kevin’s remark. He calmly asked, “Has she left the hotel at all?”

Kevin checked the computer records and replied, “No, her phone's been in the hotel the whole time. She even had lunch there. Quite the endurance she has.”

Damian nodded slowly, guessing that she was probably hiding in the hotel to avoid being seen by acquaintances. However, this woman was also very cunning, and he couldn't let his guard down. But what more could she do in her last desperate struggles? For a moment, Damian couldn't figure it out. He habitually opened the drawer and took out a cigarette, not to smoke it, but to fiddle with it between his fingers.

Kevin knew that Damian had a strong craving for cigarettes but never smoked. He glanced at him and couldn't help but say, "Mr. Blackwood, this stuff isn’t as harmful as drugs. Taking a few puffs won’t hurt. You used to avoid it for health reasons, but you’re fine now."

Damian paused at his words, gave a faint smile, and casually tossed the cigarette back into the drawer. "What's forbidden should never be touched."

Kevin stole a glance at the obvious bite marks on Damian’s lips and couldn't help but think privately, “Boss, you said that woman was untouchable, but didn’t you still touch her?”

But he dared not voice this thought, not even with borrowed courage.

Emily spent an entire day in the hotel, but she didn’t find much, even less than what Officer Mitchell had once told her. She only found out that Damian Blackwood existed, and his company, Blackwood Enterprises, was involved in many industries but remained very low-profile, seldom appearing in online news.

In the evening, she called Ryan as promised, and then went out to buy food. There was a fast-food restaurant downstairs, and she chose to take out. While waiting for her order, she suddenly heard someone call, "Miss Carter." She turned and saw the student she had saved from Damian, his name was Mark Benson.

Mark, seemingly just back from a delivery, was wearing a thick coat and carrying a large delivery box. Seeing her, he smiled brightly, "Miss Carter, what brings you here?"

Emily was surprised too. She had chosen this area to stay away from home and school to avoid running into acquaintances, yet she unexpectedly met her student, and it was Mark. The sudden encounter made her a bit nervous, but she quickly composed herself, pointing to the counter to indicate she was waiting for her order, and then asked in surprise, "Are you working here now?"

Mark had been working at a fast-food restaurant in Damian's company’s district, not here.

"I just got transferred. I used to work at the main branch, and this is a branch." Mark explained, chuckling, "Miss Carter, next time you want to order, just call me. I'll deliver it to you."

Emily smiled without saying much, her hand instinctively reaching into her coat pocket to tightly grip her phone. She was wary of the phone, afraid it might still have surveillance functions, but she didn’t dare to discard it, fearing Damian would notice. Her number was called, and she picked up her meal, ready to leave. Seeing Mark intending to escort her out, she quickly said, "You should get back to work. Don’t mind me."

Mark agreed but still enthusiastically saw her to the door.

Watching him stand there, looking as if he wanted to see her off, Emily felt awkward. She didn’t want him to know she was staying upstairs, so she had no choice but to walk along the street with her takeaway, taking a stroll around the block before returning to the hotel.

On Kevin’s monitor, the green dot representing Emily’s location traced a rather square route. Confused, he took his laptop to find Damian. "Mr. Blackwood, take a look at this. I’m puzzled. Could she be in the mood for a walk?"

Damian had just finished a meeting. He had spent the whole day arguing with several senior shareholders over profit distribution, leaving him with a headache. Hearing Kevin’s words, he paused and asked, "What?"

Kevin placed the laptop in front of him, showing the recorded route. "Isn’t this a walk?"

Damian watched for a moment, gently massaging his temples, and said calmly, "Send someone to check what she's doing there."

Kevin nodded and was about to leave when Damian called him back. After a moment of silence, he said, "Forget it, I’ll go myself."

Kevin was taken aback, cautiously looking at Damian and hesitating before advising, "Mr. Blackwood, why waste your energy on this woman? Just kill her. If that doesn't satisfy you, wipe out her entire family."

Damian looked at him, his expression indifferent, "What are you trying to say, Kevin?"

Kevin feared him but felt he couldn’t let his boss go astray. Nervously scratching his head, he cautiously said, "Mr. Blackwood, you once said that woman was unlucky and shouldn't be touched..."

Damian was silent for a moment, making Kevin extremely anxious, before saying calmly, "Kevin, I am destined to be alone and invincible. And," he paused, coldly smiling, "killing her directly wouldn’t be as interesting as tormenting her."

He stood up and walked out first. Kevin hesitated before quickly following, driving him to the budget hotel. Parking downstairs, he asked, "Mr. Blackwood, should I follow?"

Damian answered indifferently, "No need."

Kevin glanced at him, hesitated, and tentatively asked, "Then should I wait here?"

Damian was about to get out, paused, looked back at Kevin, and coldly said, "Wait."

He went upstairs and knocked on Emily's door. Inside, the sound of a TV could be heard. She responded after a moment, her footsteps approaching the door but not opening it immediately. Instead, she asked loudly, "Who is it?"

"It's me, Damian Blackwood." He answered calmly.

The room fell silent. He couldn't help but smile slightly, waiting quietly for the door to open. However, after a while, the footsteps receded as if she was walking back inside. He sneered, took out his phone, and dialed her number. The phone rang inside, and she didn't dare not answer. She picked up.

He sneered, "Emily, don’t think that just because I’ve slept with you, I’ll go easy on you."

She wasn’t angry or upset, calmly responding, "Mr. Blackwood, you misunderstand. I just don’t think we’re close enough for me to greet you in my pajamas. Please wait a moment while I change."

Her response surprised him, momentarily speechless. He hung up and waited outside.

Inside, Emily wasn’t changing. She was hiding the new phone she had bought. Despite her calm words, she was nervous. First, she hid the phone under the pillow but felt it was unsafe, so she moved it to the mattress, then finally decided to kick it under the bed.

This delay took some time. When she finally calmed her heartbeat and opened the door, Damian’s eyes were already showing impatience, but his lips still curved slightly in a mocking smile. "Did you take these few minutes to put on makeup?"

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