My Great Escape Led Me to You (Emily Blair) novel Chapter 144

A flicker of emotion passed through Emily Blair’s mind as she scanned the crowd of students around her.

In all her years—past and present—this was the first time she’d ever felt the kindness of others. Until now, people had only shown her disdain.

Slowly, a smile curled on her lips, and she nodded politely to the woman helping nearby.

Elizabeth Wilson nudged her shoulder. “Hey, quit daydreaming. Come on, hurry up! Don’t keep people waiting.”

Only then did Emily notice that several skewers of sizzling fried snacks had piled up on the dipping tray, stacked high.

She jumped into action, fumbling a bit as she tried to keep up.

Around their makeshift barbecue stall, a crowd was gathering. Business was so good that Emily and Elizabeth barely had a second to talk, their hands moving nonstop.

Neither of them noticed when, across the street, Amelia Lane strolled out of the school. She paused, sneered at the scene, and pulled out her phone, snapping a photo of Emily as she focused on dipping the fresh fries in sauce.

Amelia’s fingers danced over her screen, sending the picture straight to the Lane family group chat. She tagged every single member, one by one.

“Look at this.”

“Emily Blair’s fallen so far she’s selling street food now.”

“Hilarious. Want a video? I can take one and send it over.”

Isabella Austin replied almost instantly: “Oh my god, seriously?”

“Isn’t she a senior? How’s she supposed to study if she’s working like that?”

“Aren’t you worried Emily will see this if you post it here?”

“I thought she was in this group, too.”

Amelia typed back, her smirk practically audible: “Relax. Even if the Lane family took her in, she’d never be allowed in this chat.”

“Don’t worry, Isabella. My brother only added you to the group, no other girls.”

Isabella had only joined the Lane family group a few days ago.

Emily Blair, on the other hand, had never been in this chat. Not in this life, and not in the last.

Isabella replied with a cute smiley emoji.

He immediately clicked on Amelia’s video. As he watched Emily expertly dip the fresh, golden skewers into sauce, his brow furrowed.

The department head, in the middle of a presentation, caught Andrew’s scowl and froze, a bead of sweat forming on his forehead. Had he made another mistake? He’d just been chewed out—was he about to get it again?

“Mr. Lane, sir, did I make an error somewhere?”

With a sharp snap, Andrew closed his phone, his voice colder and lower than before. “There’s an error in your numbers. Take them back and fix them.”

The department head was bewildered. “Mr. Lane, which numbers exactly?”

He’d barely begun his presentation—how could Andrew possibly have spotted a mistake so quickly?

Andrew picked up his laser pointer, circled a figure on the screen, his patience clearly wearing thin. “Here.” He tossed the pointer onto the desk. “By tomorrow’s meeting, I don’t want to see such a basic mistake again.”

The department head nodded, sweat pouring down his face. “Yes, Mr. Lane. I understand.”

When the deputy director stepped up to give his report, Andrew raised a hand. “Meeting’s postponed. I have other business. We’ll continue tomorrow.”

With that, the rest of the team exhaled in relief, watching as Andrew Lane walked out of the room.