Before they could process Isabella's ultimatum, disaster struck overseas.
A fire broke out in the Shanghai flagship Moretti Grand Hotel.
Massive media attention.
Luxury guest evacuations.
International investor panic.
Alexander had to fly immediately.
This time, he brought Emily.
"Why me?" she asked aboard the private jet.
Alexander reviewed damage reports calmly.
"Because I trust your judgment."
In Shanghai, the scene was chaos.
Smoke damage.
Police investigations.
VIP lawsuits pending.
The regional management team had lost control.
Emily was assigned guest recovery operations.
For forty-eight hours she barely rested.
She reorganized displaced guest accommodations.
Calmed furious investors.
Personally negotiated compensation with elite clients.
Then came the biggest crisis:
A billionaire tech investor threatened to pull a multi-hotel partnership deal unless Alexander appeared in person.
But Alexander was trapped in government legal negotiations.
Emily stepped in.
Alone.
For two hours she negotiated across a marble conference table with executives twice her age.
By midnight—
She saved the deal.
When she returned to the hotel rooftop helipad—
Alexander was waiting there in the rain.
He had clearly just learned what happened.
Without saying a word—
He walked toward her and pulled her into his arms.
Tightly.
As if letting go was no longer possible.
And Emily realized:
This was the first time he had embraced her without hesitation.
Without calculation.
Only feeling.