Chapter 17 Turning Heads

Adrenaline coursed through Sheldon's veins as he stared after Emmanuel's retreating figure. Removing troublemakers from the project falls under my jurisdiction as a legal specialist in Cloud Construction. How could I simply stand aside when Emmanuel is ready to risk his life to solve the issue? Emmanuel's bravery inspired Sheldon to follow suit. The latter ran after Emmanuel while vowing through gritted teeth, “D*mn it! I'm going to give it my all even if I lose my life!” When Emmanuel turned around and noticed the other man's approach, he could not help but smile. Emmanuel had faced life-and-death situations with plenty of peers while serving on the front lines. Since his return to Yeringham, Frederick had been the only person who willingly fought alongside him. He was pleasantly surprised to find another ally in Sheldon. He booked a private room to prevent security from booting them. Now that Sheldon had decided to stay, he decided to hire several hostesses for entertainment and asked if Emmanuel wanted to join him. “Go ahead. I'm heading out for a walk!” Emmanuel rarely showed any interest in women and left the room. He walked along the corridor in search of Elena. His efforts paid off. He came across Elena just as she finished touching up her makeup. She appeared to be meeting Samuel. Sheldon had followed Emmanuel out of their private room. When he noticed that the latter was trailing Elena all the way to Samuel's room, he quickly pulled Emmanuel back in panic. He whispered, “Think carefully! This is your last chance! Didn't you see the crowd inside?” Emmanuel appeared unfazed. Assuming he was clueless about Samuel's might, Sheldon added, “Mr. Webber is utterly merciless. He has several people's blood on his hands! And he has a bunch of lackeys who are crazy-good fighters! Each one is fiercer than the next! He'll definitely kill you if you barge in and demand his retreat from the project grounds!” Sheldon thought his advice would intimidate Emmanuel into rethinking his approach. To his horror, Emmanuel replied expressionlessly, “The project will surely be delayed if we don't get rid of Mr. Webber and his men today! No one can stop me from my goal today!” What in the world? Sheldon was completely nonplussed. This man is only a lowly employee. Did he delude himself into thinking he's Terence Group's boss or something? He's more passionate about the fate of this project than the real boss! Just then, the two men suddenly heard a loud crash coming from Samuel's room. Huh, what happened? They pressed their ears to the door. The private room fell into deathly silence. “Enough with that innocent act! People may treat you like a goddess, but you're just a toy to Mr. Webber!” “If you won't strip down and entertain Mr. Webber, we'll destroy more than just your career!” The threats filled Sheldon with fear. Alas, Emmanuel chose that exact moment to kick open the door and barge into the private room. His entrance turned heads. Everyone inside Samuel's private room froze, staring at the intruder in shock. Sheldon's eyes bugged out. He struggled to stay upright on his shaky legs. “Hey, brat. Who the h*ll are you?” Over ten buff men in the room got to their feet and shot Emmanuel murderous glares. They looked as though they would attack him at any minute. These men had served Samuel for many years, and this was the first time they encountered someone bold enough to barge into their private room. Alone. They wondered if he was sick of living. Meanwhile, Emmanuel allowed his gaze to travel across the room. There were over ten hostesses in the room, all scantily clad except Elena. They had cowered silently in the corner of the room during Elena's conflict with Samuel. Bolstered by her reputation in the club, Elena clearly refused to strip down and was splashed with red wine for her audacity. The ruby-red liquid stained her silver-colored miniskirt, dripping down her legs. Like the others in the room, she immediately turned to look at Emmanuel upon his unannounced entrance. She realized then that he was the man who had claimed to be Samuel's subordinate earlier. I guess he doesn't work for Mr. Webber after all. Even as Emmanuel was clearly outnumbered in that private room, he looked at Samuel calmly and declared, “I'm here to see Mr. Webber. My name is Emmanuel Lowe, and I'm Terence Group's representative! I'm here to inform you to pull your men out of the project grounds, which you are unlawfully trespassing!” His words struck everyone silent with shock. Do workers these days have some sort of death wish? How can he be stupid enough to barge into a nightclub and confront the head of underground circles to finish a job? Everyone, including the hostesses, stared at Emmanuel as though he was a fool. Sheldon kept his gaze on the ground, fearing the worst. Only Elena continued to appraise Emmanuel carefully, seeing him in a different light. A man like that can't be some simple character! He has both wits and courage. Consider me charmed! Samuel simply ordered, “Get rid of him!” He wanted to return to his salacious entertainment and could hardly be bothered to figure out Emmanuel's identity. The sooner his men got rid of his unannounced visitor, the better. Two of his subordinates swung empty glass bottles at Emmanuel's head while roaring, “Go to h*ll, you fool!” Sheldon covered his eyes, too frightened to witness Emmanuel's doom. Clang! The sound of glass breaking echoed through the air. But when Sheldon peeped through the gap between his fingers, his jaw dropped to the floor in shock, as did everyone else in the room. Emmanuel had reduced the glass bottles into shards with his bare fists and sent his two attackers flying across the room. Blood trickled down his fists, but his eyes burned with fiery determination. There was no hint of fear in him. So cool! Elena secretly sighed in admiration. The others in the room shared her sentiments. A second later, a couple of Samuel's men grabbed some broken wine bottles and stabbed them in Emmanuel's direction. “Ah!” The hostesses in the private room blanched in fear. A chorus of shrieks reverberated through the room. Once again, Emmanuel nimbly dodged their attacks. With a furious roar, he grabbed his two attackers and rammed their heads together. Crack! Blood instantly streamed down the dazed men's faces. The audience grew increasingly bewildered as they witnessed Emmanuel's vicious counterattack. They had sorely underestimated him. He was no fool; in fact, he was probably the most merciless character in the room. At the same time, Mackenzie finally dialed Emmanuel's phone from the safety of Yociam Residence. She wanted to know what was happening at The Paradise. Alas, despite her incessant calls, no one answered the phone. She muttered to herself, “They can't have beaten him to death, right?” Mackenzie set her phone aside, a conflicted expression on her face. It was impossible to decipher her feelings. Once he's dead, I regain my freedom! So why am I feeling so uneasy over the prospect of his death? Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Mackenzie jumped, startled by the sudden noise. Something akin to relief flitted across her cool expression. Is he back? She opened the door only to see her grandfather standing outside. Terence huffed, “Mackenzie! Where's Emmanuel? How could you send him to handle this matter?” He had rushed over in a panic, anxious to confirm what he had heard over their phone call earlier. As the chairman of Terence Group, he had heard his fair share of horror stories about Samuel Webber. Even the Quillen family dared not confront Samuel directly. Mackenzie replied, “He went to The Paradise. He said he'll fix the issue for me.” “What?” Her explanation infuriated Terence, who demanded, “Send someone to bring him home! He's your husband, for goodness sake! I'll never forgive you if he ends up dead! Don't forget this. The Quillen family is known for its loyalty. Never has a Quillen woman remarried!” Mackenzie scrunched her brows slightly as disbelief gradually colored her features. Terence had always doted on her and never spoke to her as harshly as he did that day. Now, he even claimed he would never forgive her if a man he had only met several times died. Does he seriously expect me to remain a widow for the rest of my life if Emmanuel dies? Despite her fury, her grandfather had put down his foot, leaving her no choice. She put on a coat and left the house, though she did not bother to school her frosty expression into something warmer. He had better not die!