THE HEIR'S REVENGE

chapter 45

It was already such a hectic day and all I wanted to do was take a shower and have some rest, only if Lily wouldn't mind, only shed let me rest today.

“What do you think about today?”

“Well? It was well productive. I didn't expect Winters to be straightforward.”

I didn't expect him too. I thought and looked out of the window with a smile on my lips. Things were slow but they were working. It was working out more than I expected.

Now, all I need to do is concentrate on Lily's birthday party and make sure that everyone is fine.

“But you know that men like Winters could be trouble.”

Of course, I expected this from Henry. He was too careful, the kind of careful where everyone is a suspect until proven otherwise by strong evidence.

“What do you mean?” I indulged him.

“He found those emails and didn't say anything. He claims to have deleted it but I thought so.”

“Well, whether he deleted it or not, we are going to recover the emails then we can see for ourselves what's really happening.” I nodded.

That was settled so we couod now go home in peace but then I received a call from Yemi.

“I'm sorry, Sir for calling you but Emma is here and is insisting to go shopping with us at the mall.”

“What?” I turned to Henry. “Emma is at the mall.”

“I heard.”

"She just happened to be there at the same time Yemi took Lily shopping."

"Apparently," Henry said. He didn't believe that anything was a coincidence. It was more like he was waiting for more information.

I thought about it and he might be right.

Emma knew about this birthday party and she knew that we'd definitely have to go shopping for some things. I just didn't want to think that she was stalking Lily.

As Yemi called, it only meant that she didn't think she could handle it and Yemi was capable of handling things alone.

“Let's go then.” I said the driver.

The mall was so busy on this Wednesday afternoon. Families moved through the ground floor in slow groups stopping at windows and talking loudly.

Yemi had sent me their location while we were in the car. Third floor. She said the shop was called Ribbon and thread and was the best selection for decorating supplies in the city.

Lily stood at the entrance watching with so much interest, the display of ribbon rolls in the window like she was about to make the most important decision.

Maybe she was.

She held on to Yemi's hand while Agent Cole stood beside them doing his job

Emma stood beside Lily. She wasn't doing anything inappropriate, only way hi g Lillu look at the ribbon display and making occasional comments that Lily was responding but not without looking up at Yemi.

.

It looked completely ordinary.

That was the thing about Emma Clarke. She had always been very good at looking completely ordinary while doing something calculated.

Or maybe she was just looking at ribbon with a child.

I still could not always tell the difference and that was the problem.

Lily saw me first.

Her face did the thing it always did when she saw me unexpectedly somewhere. A complete unguarded brightness that she had never learned to moderate because she did not know she was supposed to.

"Brother," she said. "You came."

"I came," I said.

“Henry too?” Her smile brightened the more. “Now, there are enough people to carry everything.”

Henry looked at me sideways holding back his smile. I looked at Emma, my eyes demanding an explanation.

She looked at me like she was nor doing any wrong and even if she was, she was doing me a great favour.

“Hi Ethan.”

“Emma,” I said. “Walk with me for some time.”

We walked slowly further away from others, just farther enough that Lily could still see her back.

"How did you know they would be here?" I asked.

She was quiet for just a second too long.

"I was already here," she said. "I needed to buy some things for myself. I saw Yemi and Lily near the entrance downstairs and I said hello."

"You followed them up here," I said.

Another small pause. "I walked with them," she said. "Lily invited me to help choose the ribbon. I did not push myself in. She asked me."

I looked at her directly. I didn't know if I could trust her but she was here already. She didn't look like she was performing but still.

“Emma.”

“I know. I know.” She stopped me. “I know you don't trust me yet and you have every reason to have your doubts but I didn't force anything. I swear I only met them here and Lily invited me. I couldn't say no to that pretty face.”

I looked at her for a long moment.

The honest answer was that this was probably true. Lily had a way of issuing invitations to people that she liked and these invitations were always so hard to say no to.

I knew this from personal experience.

Another honest answer was that Emma couod have already positioned herself at a place where Lily would see her and issue that invitation.

Both things could be true at the same time.

"You stay where I can see you," I said. "You do not take Lily anywhere without Yemi. You do not discuss anything related to Daniel or Victoria in front of her. And when we are done here you go home."

Emma nodded immediately. She was doing more of agreeing than anything and I wondered why.

"Thank you," she said.

When I was done talking to Emma, Lily was no longer outside.

“She's still choosing ribbons.” Henry said to me and I shook my head. I went inside. She was saying something to Yemi.

"This one," she said holding up a roll.

"That is the same shade as the last one," Yemi said.

"It is not," Lily said. "This one is slightly more blue in the purple. The last one was slightly more pink in the purple. For a butterfly party you want the blue purple not the pink purple."

Yemi looked at the two rolls side by side.

"I cannot tell the difference," she said honestly.

"That is okay," Lily said kindly. "I can tell for both of us."

I stood in the entrance of the shop and watched my five year old cousin educate my professional security agent about the difference between blue purple and pink purple and felt something in my chest that was entirely warm.

Then Emma stood behind me.

“You know she takes after you, right?”

I looked at her but she didn't meet my eyes. She was still looking at Lily. I didn't say anything more.

Henry appeared at my shoulder.

“She finally selected the ribbons, the next thing is the gift bags.”

"How many gift bags?" I asked.

Henry looked at his notepad. "The current guest list stands at thirty-one children."

I stared at him.

"The number increased again this morning," he said. “She told me that one of her friends told two more people about the butterfly release."

"Henry."

"Young master."

"How does one butterfly release become a thirty-one person guest list?"

“Children love things like that.” Henry said. He said it completely without judgment which somehow made it worse.

Emma made a sound beside me.

I looked at her.

And she started laughing trying to hold back herself. We were at the shop for exactly 40 minutes.

At one point Lily held up two different butterfly decorations and asked Emma which one, she'd go for. Emma stared at both carefully, then pointed to the one on the left.

"That one, the wings are more detailed."

Lily looked at the decoration. Then at Emma. Then back at the decoration.

"Yes," she said. "That is what I thought too." She put the other one back.

I watched this from two feet away.

Yemi appeared beside me.

"She is good with her," Yemi said quietly. She wasn't giving a compliment exactly, she was merely making an observation.

"I know," I said. That scared me though.

"Does that make it more complicated or less?" Yemi asked.

I thought about that honestly.

"More," I said. "Definitely more."

Yemi nodded like that was the answer she had expected.