My Great Escape Led Me to You (Emily Blair) novel Chapter 366

After she finished speaking, Emma George sat in silence for a long while, her gaze fixed blankly on the pitcher sitting on the coffee table. It was clear from her distant eyes that her mind was elsewhere.

Emily Blair frowned and called, “Mom? Mom, what are you thinking about?”

Emma snapped out of her trance, a little too quickly. “Oh, oh... it’s nothing. I was just wondering if the chicken soup is burning. Don’t worry about it.”

But Emily knew her mother well enough to be sure that something was weighing on her—something important. What could it be? Clearly, Emma wasn’t ready to share it with her daughter.

Emily wanted to press her, but with everything else going on, she simply didn’t have the time or energy to deal with her mother’s secrets right now.

Emma stood up abruptly, her words tumbling out faster than usual. “Do you have anything else you want to say? If not, I’ll go check on the soup before it burns.”

Before Emily could answer, Emma had already turned and hurried out of the room, her retreat almost like a flight from battle.

Emily watched her mother’s retreating figure and fell deep into thought.

That evening, Emily logged into her social media account. Sitting at her desk, she slowly typed out a full statement, her fingers moving purposefully across the keyboard.

Before hitting publish, she glanced at the clock.

Eight thirty at night.

She checked her messages again; Arianna George had sent her a reassuring note: “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. Focus on your studies—I’ll handle everything.”

Without another thought, Emily pressed her finger firmly and decisively on the “publish” button.

She switched off her phone, fell back onto her bed, and covered her eyes with her arm, letting out a long, slow breath.

At the same time, in a sleek corner office across town, Jackson took a deep breath and knocked on the CEO’s door. From inside came the low, even voice of a man: “Come in.”

Feeling a slight sense of danger, Jackson lowered his head. “I did suggest to Ms. Austin that we should let you review it first, but she insisted it wasn’t necessary and told me to respond to the school immediately. She was standing right there, so I did as she asked…”

Truthfully, it wasn’t much of a crisis. As long as Ms. Austin was involved, Jackson never worried about Mr. Lane getting truly angry.

Everyone who worked closely with Mr. Lane knew just how much he doted on Ms. Austin. With her, he was patient and indulgent in ways he was with no one else—he responded to her every need, looked after her in every possible way, and made her the one exception to his otherwise exacting standards.

His favoritism was so obvious that even the most stoic staff couldn’t help but marvel at the power of love; even a workaholic like Andrew Lane could turn soft in the presence of Ms. Austin, willingly wrapping himself around her little finger.

It was common knowledge among the staff: whenever Ms. Austin visited the office, Mr. Lane’s mood would improve, and their workdays became much less stressful.

They all secretly hoped she would come around more often to keep Mr. Lane’s temper in check.

Given Ms. Austin’s unique position, the staff treated her as something like a co-owner; they tried their best to follow her wishes, knowing it was the surest way to win Mr. Lane’s favor.