“Acalan?” Evelyn gasped. “I’m at his place?”

Adam stormed into the room and narrowed his eyes darkly. “You two were trying to attack Emmeline?”

Panicked, Alana quickly said, “No, we said nothing of the sort, master.”

“Lies.” Adam held her by the neck. “You almost killed her last time. I assume you remember what I put you through?”

Alana sobbed, “I’m sorry, master. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. It’s her. Evelyn said she wanted Emmeline dead.”

“Evelyn?” Adam tossed Alana away and looked at Evelyn darkly. “What is the meaning of this, Ms. Murphy?”

Evelyn was a little scared of Adam. “Why do you defend that woman, Adam?”

“Because I like her.” Adam sneered. “Do anything you want with Abel. Kill him, what do I care? But touch Emmeline, and I will make you pay.”

Evelyn said, “But Adam, she did this to me. She made me a cripple. I was going to marry you and help you climb higher in the family, but I can’t do this when I’m crippled. I’d rather die.”

“What actually happened?” asked Adam coldly. “How did you get in a fight with her?”

“I…” Evelyn stared down. “We had lunch and got into an argument, so…”

“Is that so?” Adam didn’t believe her. “Where did you have lunch?”

“Southcloud,” said Evelyn.

“Southcloud, huh?” Adam whipped his phone out. “Tell me the truth, or I’ll do it myself. Two minutes. I’ll know about what happened in two minutes.”

Evelyn quickly said, “No, please. I’ll talk.”

Adam narrowed his eyes.

“I spiked her drink and hired an old git to sleep with her, so…”

She was slapped before her sentence was finished, and her cheek swelled even more.

Evelyn held her face and gasped in pain. “What did you do that for?”

“You can do anything you want with Abel, but touch her, and you’re done for.”

With tears in her eyes, Evelyn said, “Emmeline belongs to Abel. You’re the one I want. If we get married, you’ll gain a powerful ally. You can’t take her side.”

“Bull.” Adam sneered. “Even if I were to agree to that arrangement, we both know we’ll be using each other. You just want to get close to Abel through me.”

Evelyn did have that idea, and she knew what Adam’s plan was.

“So you’ll never be happy married to me.” Adam sneered.

“I will.” Evelyn looked at him. “Just the fact she used Adelmar Group to bring my family down gives me enough reason to marry you. We’re going to deal with them together, and I need your protection.”

“She goaded Adelmar into this?” Adam narrowed his eyes. “Elaborate.”

“After I took over the business in this city, I was going to lower the prices for the Rykers by three percent, but Adelmar came in and made a better offer. Six percent. They sniped our business and were willing to pay for all damages. But that’s not all. They also cut all supplies to our company and plunged us into a crisis. I had to beg Emmeline before Benjamin would resume the supply, but they demanded a three percent price hike. By all accounts, she shouldn’t have that much power, that Emmeline.”