Dumped My Cheating Ex. Now I'm Sleeping Next to a Billionaire CEO novel Chapter 1288

Mercedes had barely made it a few steps before her senses kicked back in and she came to an abrupt halt. Outside, the place was swarming with guests and reporters. Her cheeks stung, makeup smeared all over her face. If anyone caught that on camera…

She spun around to face Emmy, eyes blazing. “This is all your fault! I won’t let this go. And don’t even think of expecting forgiveness from me.”

Emmy just stared back, her face unreadable. “That’s okay. I don’t need your forgiveness.” She took a few measured steps closer, eyes sharp. “But tell me the truth, Mercedes. Did someone put you up to this?”

From what Emmy knew, Mercedes could never pull off something as extreme as planting a bomb or trying to kill James. If she’d come rushing to the deck, demanding they set sail, someone definitely must have gotten in her head.

Mercedes just bit her lip, stubbornly silent. Emmy let out a cold laugh. “It’s fine if you don’t want to talk. There’s surveillance everywhere on this ship. I’ll find out one way or another.” She shrugged, her tone icy. “How you explain that to Nico… well, that’s not my problem.”

She was about to walk away when Mercedes blurted, “Wait!”

Panic flashed across Mercedes’s face as she hurried to block Emmy’s path. Her voice trembled, a desperate edge coming through. “Please… can we not tell Nico about this?”

Just the thought of Nico finding out that she’d been so easily swayed, nearly putting his life at risk… that would ruin her completely in his eyes. He’d never see her as anything but a disaster. Emmy saving the day would only make her look worse.

Emmy paused, her stare downright chilly. “Who was it?”

Mercedes clenched her fists, obviously wrestling with herself. Finally, she gave in. “If I tell you who it was, will you promise not to tell Nico?”

Emmy’s voice was flat, completely unmoved. “You’re in no position to bargain with me.”

She slammed the lounge door shut with a jarring bang.

Emmy didn’t even flinch. She just moved slowly to the railing at the edge of the deck, resting her hands there, gazing out as the resort’s dock grew smaller and smaller in the distance. Things were starting to make sense now. If Abis was behind this, it all fit. That man always seemed one step ahead.

Back in her first life, Dean had gotten involved with the Emerald Island project too. He probably knew everything about this place, from the ground under their feet to every security protocol. He could have exploited any loophole, slipping a bomb onto the ship without leaving a trace. No one else could pull that off. Ruining James’s grand opening, maybe even trying to take his life… only that madman would dare.

Without realizing it, Emmy clenched her hands so tight that her nails dug into the railing’s paint. Behind her, the lounge door clicked open.

She quickly smoothed her expression, letting out a slow breath and unclenching her fists before she turned around.