Hello, Ex! I Finally Found My Worth! - Chapter 199

Chapter 199: More Complicated
Alex turned to see one of the personal guards he had hired to look after Emma striding toward him, gripping a struggling man by the collar. The guard’s face was set in a hard, unreadable expression, but his grip was like iron, keeping the man firmly under control.

“He tried to run after the gunshot,” the guard said, shoving the man forward. The shooter stumbled, nearly falling to his knees before he caught himself, glaring up at Alex with defiant eyes.

Emma gasped softly beside him, and Alex’s eyes darkened with barely restrained fury.

“You caught him?” Alex asked, his voice dangerously low.

The guard nodded. “Yes. I was at the corner when I saw him fire at your wife. I secretly chased him, and when he realized I was after him, he turned the gun on me. Fortunately, the bullet didn’t do anything—I was wearing a vest and I had also called the other guy. We managed to bring him down before he could try again.”

Alex’s eyes never left the shooter, his body radiating a lethal calm. The man still looked defiant, but there was something else in his expression now—uncertainty.

“You tried to kill my wife,” Alex said, his voice eerily quiet. The hallway felt colder, the tension suffocating. “And you failed.”

“Who sent you?” Alex asked but the man didn’t respond.

He just clenched his jaw, and his eyes darting as if looking for an escape.

Alex pulled out his phone and immediately called the police. “I want officers here now,” he said the moment the call connected. “I have the shooter in custody.”

If the assassin wasn’t going to tell him anything, he’d just wait for the police since he knew the police would get the information from him whether or not he complied.

Emma swallowed hard beside him, still shaken, but she held onto Alex’s sleeve as if grounding herself.

When the police confirmed they were on their way, Alex hung up and turned to the guard. “You did a good job. I’ll make sure you’re rewarded.”

The man nodded, keeping a firm hold on the shooter.

Alex then pulled out another phone—his private line—and dialed Harry. The line rang twice before his friend’s voice came through.

“Alex? What’s wrong?” Harry asked immediately, his tone sharp with concern.

“A lot,” Alex admitted, rubbing his temple. “But first, thanks for sending someone capable. My guard caught the guy who just tried to kill Emma. The police are coming to take him now.”

There was a pause. Then Harry exhaled sharply. “Damn. I knew something was up when you asked for extra security and if it was possible that Emma must’ve seen right.”

“You were right,” Alex muttered. “But that’s not the only thing I need from you.”

Harry picked up on the shift in his tone. “What is it?”

Alex hesitated, glancing at Emma, who was watching him with tired, worried eyes. He clenched his fist. “I need you to look into someone.”

“Who?”

“Fiona Carter,” Alex said, the name tasting foreign on his tongue. “Find everything you can about her. I need to know who she is, where she is, her age, her favorite food, place—everything.”

“I understand but may I ask? Who is she and why are you interested in her?” Harry asked and Alex sighed.

“Jake just told me I might have a sister and the name he mentioned is the one I just gave to you,” Alex said and Harry frowned.

“A sister? If that’s the case, how come you never mentioned about it? Why is he the one giving you such information?” Harry asked, not quite understanding the whole thing.

Alex sighed and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. “I really don’t know why I don’t remember anything about having a sister or the sort. I don’t even remember my life before I was adopted so I guess that’s why I don’t remember her. My problem is why I must’ve forgotten something of that great importance,” Alex said and Harry narrowed his eyes.

“And you’ve never tried to find your biological family?” he asked and Alex shook his head even though Harry wasn’t there to see him.

“No,” Alex admitted. “I never really saw a reason to. My adoptive parents… they were my family. I never felt the need to dig into my past especially since I don’t really remember it.”

Harry was silent for a moment before speaking again. “That makes sense, but if Jake knows something, then someone else does too. Are you sure he’s telling the truth? Why would he even look into your past?”

Alex clenched his jaw. “To find any thing he could use against me so he could get Emma? I don’t know about anything, in fact, everything is just making my head spill. But I need to find out if he’s telling the truth or not. If Fiona Carter is really my sister, then someone must’ve gone to great lengths to erase her from my life.”

Harry sighed. “Alright. I’ll look into her. But Alex, if this is true, you need to be ready for whatever you might find.”

“I know,” Alex said. “Just get me everything.”

“I will,” Harry assured him. “And Alex… be careful.”

Alex hung up and exhaled slowly, his mind racing. First, the shooting. Now, a possible sister he had no memory of.

Beside him, Emma reached for his hand, squeezing it gently. “Are you okay?”

He looked at her and saw the concern in her eyes. Even after everything, she was still worried about him. He turned his hand over and laced his fingers with hers. “I will be.”

Emma nodded, but her expression remained tense. “Do you think Jake was telling the truth?”

Alex sighed. “I don’t know, but I intend to find out.”

Before Emma could respond, the sound of sirens filled the air. The police had arrived.

Alex straightened, his expression hardening. “Let’s get some answers.”

“Give me a moment to talk to Claire. They have to know what’s going on,” Emma said and Alex nodded.

Emma stepped away from the commotion and pulled out her phone with slightly shaky hands. She exhaled, steadying herself before dialing Claire’s number. It rang twice before Claire’s calm but firm voice came through.

“Emma? Are you back from the hospital? I hope she didn’t cause problems today,” Claire asked in concern referring to Natalie.

Emma swallowed hard, glancing toward Alex, who was speaking with the police. “The test isn’t the problem now. Something else happened, Claire.”

There was a pause before Claire’s tone sharpened. “What happened?”

“Jake was shot,” Emma cried.

Claire inhaled sharply. “What? When? Where are you? Who shot him? How? What exactly happened? Is he okay?” Claire asked, fearing gripping her mind.

“We’re still at the hospital. It happened a little while ago… someone tried to shoot me, but Jake got in the way,” she said, still not understanding why Jake would do that.

A heavy silence settled over the line before Claire finally spoke. “Oh my God! Is he alive? Is it serious? Where was he shot?” she asked in horror.

“He’s in the ICU. The doctors are doing everything they can,” Emma said, trying to keep her voice steady. “Alex and I can’t leave yet. The police are here, and we need to handle everything.”

“The police?” Claire asked and Emma sighed.

“Yeah. The shooter was caught by one of the bodyguards Alex hired to keep watch on me,” she said and exhaled sharply.

“I understand,” Claire said, her voice softer now. “Are you okay?”

Emma closed her eyes for a brief second. “I am… just shaken. But, Claire, there’s something else I need you to do.”

“What is it?” Claire asked in concern.

Emma hesitated but then decided to just say it. “Margaret doesn’t know yet. And I think she needs to. She’s his mother. Could you call her?”

Claire exhaled. “Jake’s mother?”

How was she supposed to tell Margaret about Jake? How was she going to react when she learns that her only son was shot?

“Yes. I don’t know how she’ll take it, but I don’t think she’d like finding out later that her son was shot and no one told her. Besides, I don’t know if he’s going to— just let her know. I’d have called her myself but you know she doesn’t exactly like me so,” Emma said with a sigh.

Claire was silent for a few moments before she finally said, “You’re right. I’ll call her.”

Emma let out a breath. “Thank you.”

“I’ll be there soon,” Claire said firmly. “Stay with Alex, and don’t worry about anything else. I’ll handle Margaret.”

Emma nodded even though Claire couldn’t see her. “Okay.”

As she hung up, she turned back to Alex, who had just finished speaking to the officers. He met her gaze, his expression unreadable.

“She’s calling Margaret,” Emma said softly.

Alex nodded, running a hand through his hair. “Good. Because things are only going to get more complicated from here.”