Overbearing CEO's Contract Love
Chapter 280: Unending Troubles

Chapter 280: Unending Troubles

At seven in the morning, Damien Sterling had already sent someone to bring Emma Hart back home from the hospital. Despite the bright sunlight, her heart was clouded with unease.

Back at the villa.

"Miss Emma! You’re finally back! Haven’t eaten yet, right? I’ve made bird’s nest soup and your favorite millet porridge. Come, have some!" Mrs. Harris exclaimed with joy upon seeing Emma enter. She had heard about yesterday’s incidents from Mr. Sterling’s driver and refused to believe that Emma could be so frivolous—it must have been some jealous woman making things up.

"Thank you, Mrs. Harris... just some porridge, please..." Emma’s voice was faint and weak, resembling that of a woman who hadn’t eaten in days.

"By the way, Mrs. Harris, isn’t Mr. Sterling at home?" Emma inquired.

"No, he hasn’t been home all night," Mrs. Harris replied as she placed the warm bowl of porridge before Emma.

Suddenly, a crisp ringtone broke the silence of the dining room.

"Mr. Sterling."

"You’re home now? From today onwards, you don’t need to go to the office. Stay at home, don’t go anywhere." Damien’s voice was brief before he hung up.

Emma didn’t argue; she didn’t want to go to the office anyway, especially not on the first day after becoming the scandal’s protagonist.

She just sat quietly on the living room sofa, watching a movie. She couldn’t watch live TV—perhaps the scandal had already been circulated by the media. Who could have started such rumors?

"Miss Emma, you’ve been watching TV for over an hour now, it’s not good for the baby..." Mrs. Harris noted, worried. She knew Emma was upset but also couldn’t afford to upset Damien.

Emma looked up at the ceiling and sighed deeply, heading to her room, "Mrs. Harris, I feel like painting. Could you get me some paper and pencils?"

"Of course," Mrs. Harris responded.

Yes, staying away from the office was better. No need to face the whispers of colleagues, no need to see Damien’s look that seemed as if he could devour her in anger.

In her room.

After aimlessly doodling for a while, Emma opened the magazine that the elderly gentleman from the hospital had given her, carefully studied the entry requirements of the design contest, and began drafting her submission.

In Damien Sterling’s office.

"Yes, Grandfather, someone maliciously fabricated those rumors. The photos have been proven not to be of Emma. Rest assured, I will find out who is behind this."

"This scandal has turned into a global mockery and significantly impacted our company’s stock. You must provide a perfect resolution," his grandfather demanded sternly before hanging up.

Damien Sterling and his grandfather had just wrapped up their conversation in brief. Damien couldn’t help but think of Emma Hart as a real troublemaker. Ever since she came into his life, complications seemed unending. Yet, he admitted to himself, he couldn’t stay away from her; without her, the house simply didn’t feel like a home.

"Mr. Sterling, we’ve located the original ID of the source of that incident—it originated from our company," the head of the tech department reported.

"It appears we have a saboteur within the company. Have we identified the man in the photo?" Damien Sterling asked slowly, gazing out at the concrete jungle beyond the vast floor-to-ceiling windows.

"Yes, Michael Johnson, 45, facing bankruptcy. He opened a snack shop at Emma Hart’s school a few years ago. During her time at school, he almost molested her, and after she reported him, he left the school," the tech director continued.

"Attempted indecency, bankruptcy, snack shop owner—such a man couldn’t possibly get into the Sterling Group on his own merits. He’s just a pawn... Ha, got it. You can leave now," Damien mused, his brow smoothing as a glint of cold light flashed through his fox-like eyes that had seduced countless women.

"Ryan, come over," Damien called out after hanging up the phone, feeling it had been too long since he’d played the game.

Half an hour later.

A man in his mid-twenties, dressed in designer streetwear, entered Damien Sterling’s office. His features were refined, and his gaze was as sharp as a hawk’s. Standing at six foot one, his body was sculpted from years of fitness—a true masterpiece.

"Damien, darling. Long time no see," the man greeted Damien warmly.

"Indeed, Mr. Garcia," Damien replied, extending his hand for a firm handshake with Ryan Garcia.

"Speak plainly!" Ryan Garcia was a straightforward man.

Damien handed over a photo of Michael Johnson to Ryan, "Bring him in."

Ryan took the photo, smiled at Damien, nodded his head, and then walked out of the office.

Damien and Ryan were only a few years apart in age and had once secretly delved into the underworld together, making them brothers in arms. Anyone who dared mess with Emma Hart was in for trouble.

However, unbeknownst to Damien, at that very moment, Sophia Greenwood was frantically hiding around the corner. It was Ryan Garcia! Realizing that lives were at stake, Sophia, who had planned to have lunch with Damien, knew she had caused a disaster with Ryan’s lightning-fast stride. "Dad—you have to save me!" Sophia dialed her father, her hands and voice shaking violently.

Inside a desolate factory, a room lit only by the harsh glare of incandescent bulbs exudes the pungent scents of cigarette smoke, moist earth, and decaying debris. Damien Sterling sits poised on a chair, flanked by Ryan Garcia and one of his subordinates.

"Mr. Sterling, please... spare me..." Michael Johnson kneels before Damien, his forehead pressed against the gritty floor, never anticipating Emma Hart’s connection to someone as formidable as Damien.

"Had you known this day would come, why act at all? Now, tell me—who put you up to this?" Damien’s voice is calm as he casually twirls a small knife in his hands.

"It was... it was the Director of Design! Sophia Greenwood!" Michael’s voice trembles, not daring to deceive.

"Good. Since you’ve cooperated, I’ll let you off this time," Damien says and hands the knife over to Ryan Garcia.

"No, please don’t!" Michael pleads, crawling backwards, but Ryan’s associate pins him down effortlessly, and Ryan remorselessly cuts out Michael’s tongue. Blood seeps into the dusty floor.

"Here’s $100,000. Take it and disappear. If you stir up trouble again, it won’t just be your tongue you’ll lose next time. Ryan, arrange for him to be shipped to Africa," Damien commands, then stands to leave the grim scene.

Ryan, as always, follows through without question, though he’s internally taken aback by Damien’s intense interest in protecting a woman. It’s a rare side of Damien that Ryan finds surprising.

In the car afterwards,"Ryan, thanks for today. It’s been a while since I felt this vindicated," Damien speaks with a sense of relief.

"You’re too polite. Remember, you can call on me anytime," Ryan responds with a smile, stepping out of the car. Known for his loyalty, Ryan is always ready to fight for his brothers, but Damien Sterling is the only one for whom he’d go to such lengths.

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