Rejected Heiress, Reigning Queen novel Chapter 11

Emma didn't feel she had done anything wrong. Just because Gillian played the victim, did that automatically make her the perpetrator?

"You're crossing the line!"

Charles Lockwood and Violet walked over together; one glared furiously at Emma, while the other looked at Gillian with heartache.

"Gillian didn't study medicine, so it's perfectly normal that she doesn't know about CFT Corporation. Our family is an invited VIP guest of CFT. Even if the CFT representatives arrive, they have to treat her with the utmost respect. How dare you show off in front of her?" Charles scolded.

A hint of smugness flashed in Gillian's eyes.

"If you had any conscience left, you wouldn't take advantage of the Lockwood family only to turn around and mock Gillian. Apologize to her right now!" Charles demanded coldly.

Emma rolled her eyes, completely unfazed. "Then please keep your daughter in check. Don't let her cause a scene for no reason."

"That's enough!" Charles raised his hand, ready to strike her.

But the slap never landed.

Standing behind Emma, Carter Harrington reached out and intercepted Charles's arm.

"Mr. Harrington, what is the meaning of this?" Charles pulled his hand back, bewildered by Carter's intervention.

Carter arched an eyebrow, his voice deep and steady. "Just leveling the playing field."

Emma looked at Charles in silence, her gaze profound.

She still remembered when she was little. Even if she accidentally tripped, her father would only pat the floor tiles, scolding the "bad floor" for daring to bully his precious little princess.

She lowered her eyes, hiding the complex swirl of emotions. Now, in her father's eyes, she was the bad floor tile.

"Mom, I don't want to look at her!" Seeing Carter defend Emma, Gillian immediately turned to Violet.

Violet stepped forward to mediate. "Emma, since you didn't want to attend this summit anyway, why don't you leave first? Don't make this harder for me."

Emma masked the sharpness in her eyes, a playful smile curving her lips. "Sure. I'll get out of your hair."

Without her, could this summit even continue?

Emma turned and walked away, leaving a radiant Gillian behind her.

"Mr. Harrington, let's head inside. The summit is about to start," a nearby man reminded him.

Carter made a show of checking his watch. "I have other matters to attend to."

He strode out with long, purposeful steps. Everyone else assumed he was genuinely busy, but Percy watched him with a flicker of suspicion.

Emma snapped out of her thoughts and shook her head. "No, thank you. I'm about to leave."

"Didn't you want my contact info?" Carter placed the jacket on the stone sphere, gesturing for her to sit.

Emma blinked. As she sat down, she unlocked her phone. "Then accept my request, Carter. I'll transfer the money for the clothes to you."

"I wouldn't accept it even if you did. Consider those clothes my welcome-back gift to you."

Emma stared at him in a daze. Aside from an initially clueless Percy, Carter seemed to be the only person who actually welcomed her back after learning her true identity.

During that brief moment of distraction, people began streaming out of the venue.

"Did something happen? Why did Professor Keaton suddenly cancel the domestic summit and schedule the overseas one so tightly? I don't even know if we can catch the next flight."

A hint of surprise flashed in Carter's eyes. He observed Emma from the corner of his eye, his curiosity piqued.

She hadn't gone inside, and the entire summit was canceled. Could that really be a coincidence?

Gillian walked out and saw Emma still at the entrance. The resentment she had built up from missing the summit was entirely directed at her.

"Emma, are you hanging around here waiting for Mom and Dad? Perfect. You can come home with us. Since you clearly have nothing better to do today, hurry up and sign the transfer agreement."