My Great Escape Led Me to You (Emily Blair) novel Chapter 186

The girl’s face drained of color in an instant, going pale as a sheet.

Emily Blair pressed pause on the recording and smiled, her tone light. “I remember your family’s not exactly well-off. So how come you’re carrying a Chanel bag?”

The girl bit her lip, her eyes wide and fixed on Emily, breath coming in shallow bursts. She couldn’t get a word out.

Emily’s gaze dropped to the girl’s hands, trembling at her sides.

“Let me guess,” Emily said softly. “Amelia Lane bought it for you?”

The girl cried out, panicked. “No, no she didn’t!”

Emily’s expression darkened, the faint smile vanishing from her face, her eyes turning cold. “You really are clueless. If you’re going to take a bribe, at least have the sense to hide it. You waltz in first thing in the morning with a brand-new Chanel, as if you want the whole world to know Amelia Lane paid you off.”

The girl looked even more stricken, trying to hold herself together. “I—I don’t know what you’re talking about. I didn’t take any money, I swear!”

Emily took a step closer, her eyes hard and unblinking, a strange pressure filling the space between them.

“I saw you yesterday,” Emily continued, voice low. “You only took a tiny bite of the kebab and spat it out right away. Isn’t that right?”

The girl’s eyes darted with fear. “I don’t know what you mean! I don’t know anything!”

Emily’s voice softened, almost gentle. “You don’t know? Well, let me explain. If I call the police and they find out you took money to smear my food stand, and that you never actually ate the kebab, that’s defamation and fraud. You could go to jail.”

She paused, letting it sink in. “And finding proof is easy. All the police have to do is check your bank account—or your parents’—for any suspicious deposits. Or they could just pull up the security footage and see you never actually ate anything. The truth will come out.”

The girl collapsed to the floor, her face completely drained, eyes wild and desperate.

Emily looked down at her, unmoved. “Amelia Lane sent you to do her dirty work. Did she ever stop to think about what would happen to you? Are you still willing to take the fall for her?”

The girl stared blankly for a few seconds.

Then, all at once, she scrambled to her feet and grabbed Emily’s hand. “I—I was wrong! Please, please don’t call the police, I’m begging you—please…”

“Emily, please, don’t call the police. It was all my fault. Please, don’t do it…”

Once they were seated, Elizabeth plopped herself onto Emily’s desk, giving her a look of admiration.

“Emily Blair, you were amazing—you really handled that like a pro.”

Emily smiled. “It’s all sorted now. You can set up your food stand tonight like usual.”

Elizabeth leaned in, studying her face. “Emily, are you sure you’re just a high school student?”

Emily’s gaze faltered for a moment before she let out a soft laugh. “Why? Do I look that old?”

Elizabeth grinned and playfully tapped her own fist into her palm. “No, that’s not it. I just mean… you seem so mature. Not like any high schooler I’ve met. There’s something about you—you’ve got this presence.”

She kept going, her voice growing more animated. “Seriously, whenever I see you with the other students, if it weren’t for the school uniform, I’d think you were a teacher.”

Emily lowered her eyes, saying nothing.