Chapter 33 Whether You Help or Not, You Have to Help

Mia had never really butted heads with Emily before, but she sure wasn't this friendly either. With a warm smile, Mia walked over and got Emily settled into a chair.

Mia shot a quick look at a maid, who promptly handed over a steaming cup of coffee.

"Emily, have some coffee. Aiden's busy with something in the study but he'll be out soon. Once he's here, we'll start dinner," Mia said.

Emily felt a growing unease. She glanced around and even Isabella, who caught her eye, forced a stiff smile.

'I'm naive, but I'm not dumb. If even Isabella can swallow her pride and play nice, there's definitely more to this than just a dinner invite,' Emily thought.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, Aiden came out and joined them at the dining table. Seeing him, Mia seemed relieved and quickly took her seat.

The meal had barely started, and the atmosphere was tense. Mia was fidgety, and Emily had no appetite, staying quiet.

It wasn't until they were almost done eating that Aiden finally spoke up, "Emily, we asked you to come back because we need you to do us a favor."

Emily felt a pang in her heart. She had thought Aiden hadn't mentioned anything until now out of some consideration for their father-daughter relationship. But now it seemed he had an ulterior motive.

"What is it?" Emily asked, her tone sullen.

"Is this how you talk to me?" Aiden snapped before he could even state his request. He rubbed the armrest of his chair, his face showing displeasure. "I raised you for so many years. What's wrong with asking you for a favor?"

Emily felt increasingly helpless. Aiden was the one asking for her help, yet he expected her to act like she was thrilled about it. "Dad, just tell me what you want me to do, okay?"

Aiden clenched his fists. Needing her help, he could only suppress his anger and speak, "A while ago, a shipment from the collaboration between the Johnson Group and the Wilson Group had issues. The person in charge was Mia's brother, Eli Wilson. It was a minor issue, but the recipient insisted on holding Eli responsible, and even money couldn't resolve it."

Pausing, Aiden continued, "The recipient is from the mafia. The Johnson Family and the Wilson Family can't afford to offend them. Maybe only James can discuss it with them. Emily, you need to ask James to intercede and get them to drop the matter and release Eli. We can discuss compensation later."

Emily looked up in disbelief. "Dad, how could you dare do business with the mafia! Don't you remember what happened to Mom back then?"

"Shut up!" At the mention of Emily's mother, Ava, Aiden's face twisted with rage. He didn't want anyone to know that in the early days of his career, it was Ava who had put in countless efforts to keep things afloat and set many principles, which had little to do with him. Those principles might have been useful when Ava was alive, but now that she was dead, Aiden didn't want to bring up the past anymore.

"Emily, just ask James for help. You don't need to worry about anything else!" Aiden's face was extremely unpleasant as he glared at Emily.

"No way!" Emily shot back firmly.

'Not only is what Aiden and Mia are doing totally against my principles, but James and I are already divorced. Why would he help me?' Emily thought.

"You have to! How can you be so heartless?" Aiden yelled.

Mia was getting desperate now. Eli was her younger brother, and she cared deeply about him. She immediately left her seat and walked over to Emily, pleading, "Emily, please help me. I really have no other options."

"Mom, don't beg her. She's just a cold-blood animal. Has she cared about any of us these years? She doesn't even care about Dad!" Isabella also walked over, her eyes red and glaring at Emily with palpable hatred.

Emily couldn't understand why they acted like she was the one in the wrong.

She wanted to defend herself, but Aiden impatiently pulled open the curtains, dragging her to the window. His tone was colder than she'd ever heard before, "Emily, do you see Ava's tombstone?"

Emily was stunned for a moment and instinctively looked towards Ava's tombstone.

From the corner of the living room window, she could just see the shadow of Ava's tombstone, lonely and lying in the backyard.

Aiden let go of her, his eyes icy. "This shipment is not simple. Emily, you must help Eli whether you want to or not. If you refuse, Ava won't be able to rest peacefully here."

'He's actually using Mom to threaten me?' Emily thought, trembling all over, unable to speak. She knew she shouldn't have had any hope for Aiden, but she never thought it would come to this.

Aiden had completely lost his humanity, harshly questioning Emily, "Answer me!"

Emily hurriedly nodded. "I understand. I'll do my best."

She closed her eyes, a tear slipping from the corner, 'I can't let Mom be unable to rest peacefully even in death. Mom, I'm sorry. I am powerless.'

The next day, Emily took a day off.

She went to the Smith Villa but was stopped by the security at the gate. Just then, she happened to run into James and Olivia, who were returning from picking up Michael from kindergarten.

Olivia's demeanor was very cold, completely different from before.

James comforted her a bit and then walked over to Emily. "Is there something you need?"

At that moment, Michael also ran over, happily looking up and asking for a hug. "Mommy, did you come to see me? I missed you so much!"

As James saw Michael and Emily hug, a trace of warmth crossed his heart. He was about to say something when Olivia suddenly spoke, "James, I have a headache."

Olivia's voice made James stop in his tracks.

He couldn't get involved with Emily in front of Olivia, so he put on a cold and hard expression and said, "Emily, it's not time for you to visit Michael yet."

Emily held Michael in her arms. Seeing Olivia's mocking expression and James's cold and gloomy demeanor, she couldn't bring herself to ask for help.

After a while, Emily shook her head, suppressing the pain in her heart. "I just passed by and wanted to see Michael."