Chapter 566: Emma's Safety

"This feels surreal…" Chris muttered under his breath before releasing Emma from his embrace. Then he spoke to her in Russian.

However, she furrowed her brows when she looked up to meet his gaze. Bewilderment was apparent on her face as she tried to make sense of what he was saying. "What?"

"You didn't understand?"

She shook her head and pursed her lips into a thin line, embarrassed that she forgot how to use her mother tongue. "Sorry… I'm only familiar with some words… but..."

"That's okay. I'll teach you." He smiled.

It was weird looking at her this close. She looked exactly like his sister when she was young—only she was now older and taller. His heart throbbed at the thought of all the time they lost. He remembered their parents, and he hoped that they had forgiven him for not being a good brother—for losing her and being separated for years.

Emma thought the same. This man before her felt very familiar, but he was also strange. Maybe because they had been separated for a long time. And maybe because they both had grown into adults. The last time she saw him was before the fire at that orphanage twenty years ago. She used to look up at him as he was a lot taller than her, and even now that they grew up, she still had to look up at him.

An inexplicable surge of happiness overwhelmed Emma after meeting Chris. Ever since they were abducted, she had depended a lot on him. The entire journey felt really long, but she didn't feel as lonely because her brother was there with her. But that changed after the fire when she learned that he died, and she never saw him again after that.

"Tell me what happened to you after that fire. Tell me everything," Chris probed Emma as he held her shoulders. He had so many questions that his head was about to burst.

"Hold up," Adam interrupted. "Emma, what's going on?" He looked at the two, and he could already guess, but he was still confused. After the incident earlier, he trusted that nothing would happen to Emma—all because he trusted that Katherine wouldn't do anything that would harm her friend, so he allowed them to carry on. But now that things had calmed down, he got frustrated that he wasn't in the loop.

Emma forgot about Adam for a while, and when she realized that, she immediately straightened her back and turned to face Adam who was at the table. "Oh… Um…" Shît. She didn't know what to say.

Nodding to the side, Adam asked Emma for a talk. She walked over to him, and they talked quietly—looking like they were arguing a bit, and from time to time, they glanced at Chris, Katherine, and the rest of the people in the room.

Seeing the secrecy between them, Chris whipped out a phone in his pocket and called someone. He only spoke on the phone for a minute before heading towards the two. "For you," he told Adam as he handed his phone where a call was connected.

Adam was confused as he glanced at the phone, hesitating whether to accept it. "Who is this?"

"Director Hughes of NIA."

Adam tentatively received the phone and spoke to the other person on the line by going to the corner of the room for some privacy. Their conversation lasted for a couple of minutes before he came back with a hard expression on his face.

Then he looked at Katherine as he said, "I can tell you a little about what's going on, but I can't tell everyone."

Without second thoughts, she asked the men from Maverick Security to leave. "We're a package deal." She smiled at Adam, referring to her, Damien, and Chris. Though Styles and Amelia were still connected through the comms, Adam didn't need to know that.

When her friend looked apprehensive in trusting the two men, Katherine stalked towards him and looked at him seriously in the eyes as she told him, "I promise you, whatever it is, we can keep Emma safe. You're protecting her, right?"

Adam exhaled a deep sigh and glanced at Emma before he started, "She's under witness protection—her whole family is. I'm watching over them."

Katherine wasn't shocked when she heard this because it was one of Director Hughes' suspicions. Though this wasn't entirely good news, she thought that it was better than Emma being in a mess like they were. In a way, she was thankful that her friend was on a better side. However, she still felt worried and curious about why the whole family was under protection.

"So… you're a cop?"

He nodded.

Although she hadn't thought of it before, it made more sense to Katherine now. Adam had always been around Emma and her family, and he always seemed serious all the time. Then she asked, "From who? Who are you protecting them from?"

"I can't tell you all the details, but I will tell you some. Her adoptive father was involved with some pretty shady people in Chicago. Their lives were in danger, hence the protection. Esmea is the only safe place for them where it's less likely that the danger will follow."

Hearing this statement, Damien, who had been quiet the entire time, had a neutral expression as he asked, "Why do you say they're only safe in this state? Who are these people after them?"

A small smirk briefly showed on Adam's face when he heard Damien. "You caught on really fast, Mr. Park. I'm sure you have an idea now."

"What is he talking about?" Katherine turned to Damien with an expression laced with curiosity.

Chris, who stood next to Emma at the side, also listened carefully as they spoke.

"Italian-American Mafias…" Damien muttered under his breath, his eyes never leaving Adam's face as he tried to read him.

Adam didn't answer, and his face was devoid of any emotions. He didn't want to reveal too much information as he didn't really trust Damien Park.

"The De Lucas?" Katherine whispered to Damien so only they could hear. "The one you met recently?"

He shook his head and whispered back, "No, they don't have control over Chicago. It must be the other family."

"Listen, Katherine… I trust that this information doesn't go out. Lives are at stake. We need to keep Emma and her family safe," Adam appealed.

"Of course." She nodded in response. "I'm all for protecting Emma. I never want to harm her or her family." She glanced at the woman next to Chris, and they smiled at each other. "Actually... There's something that we need to do…"

"What is it?" Adam probed.

Glancing at Damien briefly, she held his hand as she broke the news to her friends, "We need Emma and her family to move to another house. Somewhere safer… somewhere a lot more people can watch over them. And I have already arranged a place."

Emma and Adam exchanged looks, confused at what Katherine was talking about.

Now that it had been confirmed that Emma and Chris were siblings, this was the best move to do to protect Emma from Parker. But how was she going to convince them without telling them the whole dark truth?