Chapter 7 She Had Been Exposed

The document showed that Amelia was 29 years old and married. She had been employed at the auction house for five years.

"Archie!" Daniel called out abruptly.

Archie had only just finished taking care of Daniel's car when he was immediately called into the study. "Did you need something?"

"This profile is exactly the same as the one you handed me earlier," Daniel said with obvious displeasure.

Archie's expression turned uneasy; he had intended to dig deeply into Amelia's background and gather everything Daniel wanted, yet the report only contained the limited information he had uncovered. Other than that, he had no idea what further details he could possibly obtain.

"We were only able to uncover this much about her. Aside from that, the only other thing available is her auction performance over the last few years. Isn't this precisely the information you asked for?" Archie said carefully.

Daniel frowned when he heard that.

Although the report was already thorough, it still failed to give him the answer he was seeking.

He couldn't shake the feeling that Amelia resembled Emilia very closely. Even their names sounded alike.

Yet the information they had gathered showed no link between the two women. He wasn't sure if he was simply reading too much into things.

Still, something about it continued to feel off.

There were countless antique experts in Zloigas, yet his grandfather had insisted he come all the way to Klicta to bring Amelia back. He was certain his grandfather wouldn't make such a request without reason.

With a frown, he took out his phone and walked toward the floor-to-ceiling window, watching a car speeding away below. Then he called Danny.

The line went through.

In a quiet tone, Daniel asked, "Grandpa, who exactly is Amelia Morgan?"

"Have you met her?" Danny replied instead of answering his question.

"Yes, I have," Daniel said.

Danny stayed silent for several seconds before sighing softly. "It seems that during those three years, you truly didn't care about Emilia at all. Otherwise, how could you fail to realize Amelia is actually her when she was standing right in front of you?"

Daniel's brows knit together in shock. "She's Emilia?"

He recalled that Amelia had spent five years working at the auction house, always wearing a white veil and refusing to reveal her face, though she had given him an inexplicably familiar feeling. So his suspicion had been correct.

At that thought, his expression grew colder.

He realized that his instincts had been correct the entire time, and that Amelia was indeed Emilia.

Now he finally understood why his grandfather had insisted he come here to bring her back.

His eyes narrowed dangerously. He finally realized why Emilia had been impossible to locate for five years-she had changed her name and hidden herself here. She must have recognized him immediately when they met at the auction house, which was why she had left without hesitation.

His expression darkened completely as anger surged inside him. He sneered inwardly, thinking how cleverly she had concealed herself.

"Daniel, bring Emilia back," Danny said.

"I will," Daniel replied before ending the call and striding out of the room.

Archie had no idea what had just happened.

All he could sense was that Daniel's presence had suddenly become terrifying.

He had only felt that same terrifying aura from Daniel once before-when Daniel learned five years ago that Emilia intended to have an abortion and divorce him.

Isabel had just reached the doorway of Daniel's suite when she saw him walking out. She was about to call his name, but he paid her no attention at all.

She quickly grabbed Archie. "Where are you going?"

"I'm not sure either," Archie answered hastily as he hurried after Daniel.

Isabel's brows furrowed. It had been a long time since she had seen Daniel in such a hurry. She wondered what could have happened.

Daniel got into the car and immediately called the auction house manager.

"Hello, Mr. Wright," the manager greeted respectfully.

"Is Amelia at the auction house?" Daniel asked.

"She's currently on leave. If you require someone to appraise antiques or..." the manager began.

Daniel hung up before he could finish speaking.

He suspected Amelia had taken leave because she feared being exposed and had deliberately gone into hiding.

"Sir, where should we go?" Archie asked from the passenger seat.

"Send someone right away to find out Amelia's address," Daniel ordered coldly.

Seeing the obvious anger in Daniel's expression, Archie didn't dare ask more questions and immediately passed the order to his team.

Daniel was convinced Emilia wouldn't manage to escape this time.

Before returning home, Emilia brought Madison and the children to a restaurant so they could have something to eat. As they sat there, Madison carefully went over everything that had taken place at the hotel.

Daniel hadn't demanded any form of compensation. After questioning Emilia for a while, he merely told Archie to escort her and Olivia downstairs.

Emilia understood that those questions had come from Daniel's clear suspicion regarding Madison's identity.

Even though the matter had ended without major trouble, she still worried that Daniel might piece things together if he examined the situation closely.

While this thought lingered in her mind, the manager called and asked, "Amelia, did you happen to see Mr. Wright?"

"Mr. Wright?" Emilia knitted her brows. "No, I didn't. What's going on?"

"He called earlier asking whether you were at the auction house. I told him you weren't here, and he sounded quite upset. I think he's trying to find you," the manager explained.

When Emilia heard that, alarm shot through her instantly.

She became convinced that he must have noticed something; otherwise, he would have no reason to look for her.

"Did he say anything else?" she asked quickly.

"No. As soon as he learned you weren't there, he hung up angrily. Amelia, he's a very influential man, so try not to offend him," the manager said worriedly.

"I understand. Thanks for telling me that," Emilia replied before ending the call.

Noticing Emilia's expression darken, Madison asked, "What's wrong?"

"Could you take them to your place first and help me arrange some plane tickets? Any destination will do. I have to return home right away to collect my documents," Emilia said urgently.

Madison stared at her in disbelief. "You're leaving?"

Emilia answered without hesitation, "Daniel has probably realized who I am. He's looking for me."

Surprise flashed across Madison's face. "What should we do? And the kids?"

"He most likely doesn't know about them yet," Emilia replied.

The man she had contacted earlier had helped hide the truth about her children, so Daniel wouldn't be able to discover them-at least not for the moment.

"There's no time to explain. Leo, Asher, and Olivia, go with Madison for now. I'll come find you later," Emilia said.

Facing Daniel herself didn't frighten her. What truly worried her was that he might trace her movements and eventually discover the children.

She knew very well that he had the ability to do exactly that. And she could never allow him to learn about them and take them away from her.

Seeing how anxious Emilia looked, the children quietly followed Madison as she had asked.

They said, "Mommy, be careful."

"I will," Emilia replied.

She drove quickly back to her duplex apartment. Without bothering to switch on the lights, she rushed straight upstairs to her bedroom, pulled her documents from the cabinet, and prepared to leave.

But when she reached the downstairs area of the apartment, she suddenly stopped in her tracks.

A faint point of fire flickered somewhere in the dark. The air carried the lingering smell of cigarette smoke.

Her heart jolted violently.

"Trying to run?" From the darkness, a low voice drifted out.

Emilia recognized it at once.

Moonlight poured through the window, revealing Daniel sitting on the sofa. She had rushed in earlier and never noticed he was there.

For a brief instant, her mind emptied completely.

Then a sharp click sounded, and bright light flooded the room.

The sudden brightness made Emilia instinctively shut her eyes. When she opened them again, she saw Daniel sitting on the sofa with commanding presence, a cigarette held between his long fingers. He slowly exhaled a stream of smoke while his penetrating eyes remained fixed on her, his gaze so sharp it felt as though it might tear her apart at any moment.

Her body stiffened immediately.

At that moment she realized that she had truly been exposed. Not only had he found her, but he had come straight to her home.

She forced herself to stay calm, determined not to let him see her anxiety.

The living room and kitchen were downstairs, while the bedrooms were upstairs. Emilia had no idea whether Daniel had gone upstairs. If he had, he would have discovered the children's existence.

"It's been five years since our last meeting. So should I call you Emilia, or Amelia now?" Daniel said coldly.