Chapter 11

Chapter 5

Instead of heading to the hotel Wilson had booked, Emerson brought Anna and Felicia—who had become practically joined at the hip—straight to the port.

According to Felicia's intel, the expedition team would arrive tomorrow, which didn't give him much time to work with.

On the way there, Emerson gave Felicia instructions while driving.

"Felicia, tell your security team to gather intel on all the ships at the dock. I need that info ASAP."

"Oh, okay," Felicia said, momentarily confused before nodding.

She'd been whispering with Anna in the back seat and was caught off guard by the sudden request.

She barely moved—just tapped her watch a few times—and the two cars that had been tailing them accelerated past.

Since Emerson was driving, he missed Felicia's communication method.

But Anna, sitting right next to her, watched the whole thing.

"Did you just do that through your watch?" Anna asked curiously.

"Yeah!" Felicia held out her wrist, showing off the device. "Anna, look! This was a gift from my teacher. It's supposed to be some cutting-edge smartwatch. I just sent the message through it."

While Anna examined the watch, Emerson glanced back from the driver's seat.

Felicia's watch was pink and feminine, perfectly matching her personality.

It looked like a regular mechanical watch, but all the smart tech was built into the dial's glass surface.

He didn't know who had that kind of advanced technology, but someone had managed to cram a sophisticated computer system into that tiny space.

The screen could be controlled by touch like a smartphone from the future.

Emerson could tell this had been made by someone with serious resources.

Regular people couldn't create this kind of bleeding-edge tech.

Wilson really was well-connected!

Last time they'd met, Emerson hadn't given his brother enough credit for his influence.

He'd have to remember to properly acknowledge Wilson's capabilities later.

Emerson was completely wrong to blame Wilson for this, though.

If Wilson knew about this accusation, he'd protest his innocence loudly.

No matter how well-connected he was, he couldn't have gotten this watch!

Because it was made by Tony Stark himself.

Wilson couldn't just order around someone operating on that level—they weren't even in the same league.

Actually, there was quite a story behind this particular piece of technology.

Felicia was starting college this year. Before coming here, she'd done a summer internship at Stark Industries.

How the young apprentice had landed that coveted position was entirely Wilson's doing.

While Wilson couldn't compete with Tony Stark directly, Tony wasn't the only person of influence at Stark Industries.

In the middle and lower management positions, Wilson's word still carried significant weight, so arranging this small favor had been relatively straightforward.

The naive girl had no idea about any of the behind-the-scenes maneuvering and genuinely believed she'd earned the position through her own merits.

During Felicia's time at Stark Industries, Tony Stark had noticed her by pure chance.

What followed was classic Tony Stark behavior—an aggressive, full-court press pursuit. How could a notorious playboy like Tony Stark let someone like her slip through his fingers?

Especially when she was such an exceptional beauty—stunning, natural, absolutely captivating.

Mr. Stark had launched his usual strategy: overwhelming her with wealth, luxury, and his considerable charm.

Unfortunately for him, he'd picked the absolute wrong target.

Felicia had been taken in by Wilson after her father's tragic accident.

Wilson had raised her like his own daughter, ensuring she never wanted for anything and was completely protected from the harsh realities of the world.

This meant the young apprentice had absolutely no understanding of money's power or what it could buy.

Whether during her father's lifetime or after Wilson's adoption, Felicia had lived a life of comfort and security. In her mind, money was simply something that was always available when needed.

Tony Stark's financial offensive was completely unsuccessful—all his usual tactics had zero effect on Felicia.

Although the little apprentice was typically sweet and innocent, she wasn't stupid. From Tony Stark's second appearance in front of her, she'd already figured out his true intentions.

At that point, she'd naturally turned to her guardian for protection and guidance.

While Wilson was inferior to Tony Stark in wealth, technology, and social status, there was one thing about him that Tony genuinely feared.

Wilson was a desperate man—the kind of person who had nothing left to lose and would stop at nothing when pushed into a corner.

Although Tony Stark was definitely a womanizer, he had principles and standards. Throughout his life of countless conquests and frequent appearances on magazine covers, he'd never forced himself on anyone. Every woman had been willing, even if they'd known how things would inevitably end.

Therefore, faced with Felicia's clear rejection combined with Wilson's very real and dangerous threats, Tony Stark had backed down from his most aggressive pursuit tactics.

But he hadn't given up entirely—instead, he'd become even more intrigued and interested in Felicia.

He'd made a formal agreement with Wilson: he wouldn't stop pursuing Felicia, but he would definitely use fair and honorable methods from that point forward.

And Wilson wasn't allowed to interfere with this courtship, or they'd settle their differences the hard way.

By this point, actually winning Felicia wasn't Tony Stark's primary objective anymore.

He'd had plenty of beautiful women throughout his life, and while Felicia was certainly among the most stunning he'd ever encountered, he didn't absolutely have to have her.

What concerned him more now was his reputation and pride!

How could someone as proud and arrogant as Tony Stark allow himself to be threatened and intimidated by Wilson, whom he considered to be from the bottom rungs of society?

He couldn't show any weakness or back down. His massive ego simply wouldn't allow the matter to end like this without some kind of resolution.

To ensure Felicia's safety during his pursuit, Tony Stark had specially created this advanced smartwatch. He wasn't going to allow anything bad to happen to her before he'd had a fair chance to win her over.

However, Wilson, who'd been responsible for delivering the watch to his young apprentice, hadn't told Felicia anything about its true origins or the circumstances surrounding its creation.

He'd simply told her that it was specially made for her protection and left it at that.

Wilson wasn't stupid enough to help Tony Stark earn favor and points with Felicia. If this watch hadn't been capable of protecting his apprentice, he wouldn't have even let her see it—he would have destroyed it with his own hands.

Felicia, as the person at the center of all this drama and manipulation, was completely unaware of these complex machinations and genuinely thought the whole matter was over and done with.

In fact, Emerson's original assessment had been completely correct. Wilson's real purpose in sending Felicia to him was to keep her safely away from people with malicious intentions.

Wilson just hadn't said so explicitly because he didn't think it was necessary to spell out the obvious.

Emerson was trustworthy and would soon be taking his young apprentice deep into the dangerous rainforest.

It would be impossible for Tony to pursue her there. After some time passed, the notorious playboy would inevitably find a new target, and the whole incident would be forgotten.

But Wilson hadn't counted on Murphy's Law being universal and inescapable!