Chapter 446 Reinforcements Have Finally Arrived
However, what no one expected was that Desmond, on the other end of the line, also fell silent.
Clara felt a wave of torment, especially when she sensed Dione and Emma's eyes fixed on her, making her even more anxious and short of breath.
"Desmond?" She called out cautiously.
"Clara, I'm here," Desmond responded, but it was as if he hadn't heard Clara's previous request.
He continued, "I'm a bit busy right now. I'll get back to you later."
Before Clara could say another word, Desmond hung up the phone.
"What?"
Not only was she stunned, but Dione was also taken aback.
Emma let out a mocking laugh, her gaze sweeping over Dione. "Is this the guy you said would come back for her?"
Dione's legs nearly gave out.
Fortunately, she managed to steady herself, stammering, "I don't know why Desmond is acting like this."
"Acting like a coward?" Emma finished, waving her hand dismissively. "Get out."
Though Dione was still uneasy, she quickly left when Emma told her to go.
Clara, however, was left behind.
She tried to make herself as inconspicuous as possible, but Emma still noticed her.
"Tell me, can you get Desmond to come back to Starhaven?"
Emma had considered just having someone kidnap him from Luminous City, but it was too far away, and even delegating the task annoyed her.
Clara trembled, cautiously looking at Emma.
She didn't know Emma's exact status, but seeing how respectful Dione was to her, she knew Emma was not someone to be trifled with.
Clara, always quick-witted, suddenly thought of a possibility.
She timidly asked, trying to sound both careful and somewhat flattering, "Ms. Kate, is there something important you need Desmond for?"
Emma raised an eyebrow, finally showing some interest in Clara.
Clara let Emma scrutinize her, though her heart was pounding; she had no choice but to meet Emma's gaze.
Emma found it boring and was about to say something when one of her subordinates handed her a document.
"Ms. Kate, Ms. Saunders left this before she left, said she forgot to give it to you," said the man, handing the document to Emma without looking away.
Emma glanced at it disinterestedly, seeing it was Clara's file.
She looked at Clara, still sitting on the floor with a somewhat flattering expression, and took the document to read.
Clara sat stiffly on the floor, not understanding why Emma suddenly stopped answering her question and started reading a newspaper instead.
But she didn't dare provoke Emma, so she quietly lowered her head and waited.
Time ticked by, and Emma flipped through Clara's file, growing more bored until she suddenly saw a name: Katniss.
And it mentioned that Katniss's husband was Maximilian.
Emma couldn't help but smirk.
Clara's legs were numb from sitting, but she didn't dare move, gritting her teeth to endure.
Fortunately, Emma didn't let her suffer for too long. She spoke up the next moment.
"I want to go after Maximilian. Got any ideas?"
Emma's words hit Clara like a ton of bricks.
She stared at Emma, completely speechless.
Seeing Clara's lips move but no words come out, Emma's patience wore thin.
She threw the file at Clara's head.
"Why are you just standing there? Didn't you hear me?"
Clara was jolted back to reality by the file hitting her, quickly pleading, "Ms. Kate, please don't be mad. I heard you, I was just surprised."
Glancing at one of the papers that had fallen out of the file, Clara saw that it was her information.
She was scared and confused, but knew she had to go along with Emma's mood.
"What's there to be surprised about? If you can't get Desmond back, think of another way!"
After reading Clara's file, Emma knew that Clara's past relationship with Desmond hadn't convinced him to return, making it unlikely he would come back to Starhaven.
Since the Desmond route was a dead end, she had to find another way.
Clara finally understood that Emma wanted Desmond back in Starhaven to pursue Maximilian.
She kept her face neutral and quickly said, "Katniss is married to Maximilian, and it seems like Maximilian cares about her."
Emma's expression darkened at Clara's words.
She kicked Clara, "What are you trying to say? I see you and Katniss don't get along, and you're not even a real member of the Manners family. Stop pretending."
Clara winced in pain, her face briefly contorted, but she quickly masked it.
"I didn't mean that. I was just giving you some ideas." She endured the pain, speaking to Emma.
Emma's cold gaze swept over her, signaling her to continue.
Clara didn't dare delay, saying directly, "You could kidnap her and threaten Maximilian. That way, you wouldn't have to worry about him not complying. If that doesn't work, use Katniss to lure Maximilian and then..."
She watched Emma's expression as she spoke, seeing it was okay at first but growing darker as she suggested how to deal with Maximilian, so she stopped in time.
Emma lazily glanced at her subordinate, "Is it feasible?"
She had always tried to win Maximilian over, wanting to leave a good impression.
Even when targeting Desmond, she had checked that Maximilian and Desmond were only half-brothers and not close, so she had no qualms about going after Desmond.
As for Katniss.
She had considered dealing with Katniss, but hadn't wanted to make things messy or have Maximilian resent her.
"Ms. Kate, Katniss is indeed a problem," the subordinate responded, agreeing with Clara's suggestion to target Katniss.
Emma glanced at him again, asking, "If we go after Katniss, will Maximilian blame me?"
She was asking the obvious.
The man quickly replied, "Ms. Kate, since she suggested it, let her do it."
He finished, giving Clara a look.
Clara felt a chill but had to steel herself, saying, "Yes, Ms. Kate, you don't have to do it yourself. I already sent someone to deal with Katniss."
She suddenly remembered Ryan, who should have acted against Katniss today, though she didn't know if he had succeeded.
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