Rejected Heiress, Reigning Queen novel Chapter 196

Carter wanted to argue, but Hayden blocked him.

"Sort out your internal family drama first."

The Harringtons still hadn't clarified who was actually in charge.

Carter could only watch with a deep frown as Emma left. After they were gone, he sat on the sofa, his face dark, without uttering a single word.

"I'll hand the family crest and the business over to Raymond."

When Carter finally spoke, the expressions of the Harrington family members shifted drastically.

"Are you still throwing a tantrum at your uncle over Emma?" Mrs. Harrington asked with a heavy sigh.

Carter replied coolly, "The company was meant to be run by Uncle Raymond in the first place."

If it hadn't been for him, Raymond wouldn't have been paralyzed and wouldn't have lost his will to live. Carter had only taken over the empire out of absolute necessity.

While the Harrington family descended into a chaotic mess, Emma's days became surprisingly peaceful.

She moved into Elder Shaw's estate, and Hayden trailed after her like a personal bodyguard every single day.

The place she visited the most was The Heron Cafe.

"This cup tastes fantastic."

Emma gently swirled her coffee, her eyes narrowing in a sliver of genuine delight.

Hayden rested his chin in his hand, sitting across from her. His eyes shifted thoughtfully. "You do realize Carter is in love with you, right?"

"Hmm?" Emma didn't understand why he would suddenly bring that up. She looked at him, completely baffled.

Hayden decided to do his buddy a solid favor.

"Actually, you two met a long time ago. When you were a teenager, you visited your nanny's house and gave a few hundred dollars to a boy there."

Emma frowned. The memory was incredibly hazy.

"Did that really happen?"

She used to help people out all the time, but she had absolutely no memory of meeting Carter.

Seeing that she didn't remember, Hayden dropped the subject. If she didn't remember, it meant the event held no weight for her. Why force the issue?

As they were talking, Gillian Lockwood walked into the cafe, practically holding Percy Harrington upright.

Percy seemed to be looking specifically for Emma, bee-lining straight toward her table the moment he entered.

Gillian flaunted the promotion with thinly veiled pride before looking down her nose at Emma.

"Recently, there's been a massive government grant allocated for medical research. I know CFT Corporation is fighting for the project, but I'm here to tell you that you don't stand a chance."

Even though the initial grant money wasn't astronomical, securing the project meant long-term government backing. Carrying a federal seal of approval completely changed a company's trajectory.

Logan's lab was already aggressively gearing up, and the Lockwoods were determined to win this bid at all costs.

Emma let out a cold laugh. "Are the Lockwoods really pinning their hopes on that lab you recommended? You should be praying you don't bankrupt yourselves."

She had done a thorough background check on that lab. It was a complete scam.

Gillian, however, assumed Emma was just mocking her out of jealousy. She fired back defensively, "Then let's wait and see. We'll see exactly whose hands that project lands in."

With that, she dragged Percy away.

Gillian was overflowing with confidence. She had already investigated the official in charge of the grant. The official was a woman who, in her youth, had her marriage destroyed by the other woman crashing her marriage, and had even been tricked into raising the mistress's child for years.

That official absolutely despised "switched at birth" scenarios. Because of Emma's history, she was disqualified from the race before it even started.

Gillian couldn't wait to see Emma's arrogance shattered.