Rejected Heiress, Reigning Queen novel Chapter 183

Emma agreed to go with Percy.

Things were already chaotic enough. She refused to create more trouble for Travis just to satisfy her own pride.

A profound chill lingered in Carter's eyes as Raymond watched him in silence.

"You've been running around out here long enough. Go back to Capital City."

Carter's expression remained neutral. "I'll wait and go back with Emma. The company's business won't be delayed."

"Look for yourself."

Raymond handed him a phone displaying the country's most popular social media app. The video of the grieving elderly woman crying out against injustice in the restaurant had been uploaded, sparking a massive public uproar.

Netizens had already dug up Emma's identity, dragging the Harrington, Reynolds, and Lockwood families right into the center of the controversy.

"I'll contact PR."

Carter's gaze darkened, but Raymond immediately shot him down. "The Harrington family will remain silent on this matter. At the end of the day, you and Emma haven't even had a wedding. To the outside world, you aren't truly married."

"We're legally married," Carter snapped, his frustration mounting.

Raymond shot him a displeased look. "Carter, you are the head of the Harrington family. You should know your primary responsibilities. The family doesn't care if you swap out a wife, but your wife must never drag the Harrington name through the mud for her own personal issues."

"Raymond, I—"

"Carter, I don't want to force you to make a choice just yet. Be smart and return to Capital City."

Raymond lightly smoothed his hands over his paralyzed legs, a silent, heavy reminder to Carter of exactly why he was in a wheelchair.

Carter's brow furrowed deeply, trapped in an agonizing dilemma.

He couldn't bear to leave Emma to face the impending storm alone, but he also knew that Raymond's words meant he was fully prepared to use his own life as leverage.

They were both incredibly important to him. How was he supposed to choose?

"Can't decide? Then I'll choose for you."

Raymond's voice was unnervingly calm. Carter scowled fiercely, letting out a long, heavy sigh.

"I'll go back to Capital City."

A satisfied smile spread across Raymond's face, and he finally signaled his bodyguard to wheel him away.

Carter stood rooted to the spot for a long time, his posture screaming of a man cementing a drastic resolution.

At the hospital, Percy had already been wheeled out of the emergency room.

Right at that moment, Gillian and Phoebe burst into the room.

"Percy, how did you get hurt?"

Gillian rushed to the bedside, her frantic cries jolting the heavily sedated Percy awake once more.

"Oh, thank god, Percy! You're alright!"

Gillian let out a massive sigh of relief and threw herself over him in tears of joy, landing perfectly on his fresh wound and snapping him into sudden, agonizing clarity.

"Are you trying to kill me?"

Percy hissed sharply in pain. Noticing Emma was still there, his gaze immediately shifted toward her with eager desperation.

"Em, you haven't left yet? Were you worried about me?"

He had passed out when Emma was being threatened by Raymond, so he had no idea why she had actually accompanied him. His drugged mind had simply been obsessing over her.

Seeing her still beside him now naturally filled him with a pleasant surprise.

Before Emma could say a word, Phoebe stepped forward and grabbed her arm.

"Emma, I need you to come to the police station with me."