Love’s Cunning Ruse

Chapter 283

Raines had always been skeptical of Julien’s relationship with Hayden. It wasn’t that he disliked Julien; he simply saw her as a femme fatale who could easily bend the well-respected and principled Hayden to her will.

Julien, on the other hand, didn’t care about Raines’ opinion of her. But Raines had noticed a change in Julien since she had returned from a trip abroad with Hayden. She seemed more self-assured, less restrained. Not only was she bending Hayden to her will, but she had also become more assertive in her dealings with

Raines.

What puzzled Raines the most was why he was now following orders from Julien to investigate Zenith’s whereabouts.

He waited patiently in his black Passat parked near the rear entrance of Zenith’s suburban villa.

Julien arrived in a white Ford Fiesta and joined him in the passenger seat of his car. She got straight to the point, “Has Zenith been in Sycamore Village today?”

“Yes,” Raines replied.

Julien’s usually stoic eyes seemed to hold a touch of gravity. Raines couldn’t tell what she was pondering, but he remembered his reason for meeting Julien.

“Do you think the man who abducted Emily… knew her from before?” Raines asked. He had not only come to inform Julien about Zenith’s whereabouts but also to ask her this question.

Since Raines was Hayden’s right hand, Julien wasn’t surprised by Raines’ keen observation.

“I tried to probe Emily about it when we brought her back to Fred-earlier today,” Raines continued. “There’s a strong possibility that Emily and the man in black know

each other.”

“Zenith,” Julien said, unusually calm for a discussion of this sort with Raines.

She added, “Zenith is Fred’s former student, and Emily is Fred’s daughter. It’s only logical they know each other.”

The crux of the matter was that Zenith and Lucian shared remarkably similar features.

“I also noticed that the man who took Emily looked a lot like Zenith, in terms of height and physique. But… Zenith is currently on his way back to Whispering Pines from Sycamore Village.” Raines, being Hayden’s right hand, was well versed in the matter of Lucian and Zenith.

Raines ventured a bold guess, “You don’t think Zenith and Lucian could be the same person, do you?”

Julien remained silent, so Raines continued, “Although I’m not exactly a genius, I can at least make some basic deductions. Firstly, Lucian is semi-paralyzed and in all the photos we have, he is seen seated in a wheelchair. But Zenith is physically whole. Secondly, Lucian’s whereabouts are unknown, while Zenith, though enigmatic, has traceable movements. Lastly, Zenith used to be a doctor and now he’s a businessman. He has never had any unique experiences or background. But the man who kidnapped Emily is well-trained and adept. So, are you suggesting that these three individuals are in fact just one person?”

“Raines,” Julien suddenly said his name.

“What?” Raines asked, a little bewildered.

He had thought she was about to compliment his analytical skills, but instead, she simply said, “You talk too much.”

Feeling slighted, Raines glared at her and said, “Why did you ask me here?”

“Did you bring the tools I asked for?” she queried.

Raines got out of the car, slamming the door behind him. Julien calmly exited the vehicle as well and retrieved a toolbox from the trunk. Without a word, she turned and walked into the surrounding woods.

“Damn it!” Raines thought, staring at her retreating figure.

Julien turned back unexpectedly, catching Raines’ dark expression. But she seemed unfazed and said, “Don’t tell Hayden where I am.”

Raines laughed, “I work for Hayden, not you. If he asks, I won’t lie.”

“I can lie,” she said, raising an eyebrow at him. “Do you know what I mean?”

Raines remained silent.

Julien smiled, “Raines and I have a mutual affection and are secretly engaged. How about that?”

Raines was taken aback.

“No good?” she asked, still smiling. “Then… I’m head over heels for Raines because of his care, even if he doesn’t feel the same way. Is that more believable?”

“I won’t tell Hayden,” Raines said, slamming his car door shut and driving away swiftly.

“Damn femme fatale, Raines thought, vowing to keep his distance from Julien in the future, even avoiding eye contact.

On a highway leading to Sycamore Village, Zenith sat in a black limousine.

Jesse handed him a phone with a furrowed brow, “Mr. Moore, it’s Bruce.”

Zenith took the phone and pressed the answer button.

Bruce’s voice came from the other end, “Mr. Moore, everything has been taken care of. Your previous tracks have been covered up.”

Though Zenith had successfully evaded Julien’s pursuit, he had left footprints in the soft soil by the lake. After rescuing Emily, Julien had meant to return to the villa for evidence collection tools, but Julie’s sudden disappearance in Sycamore Village had forced her to fly there immediately. Only after everything with Julie was settled, did she instruct Raines to bring over the evidence collection tools.

When she had arrived to rescue Emily, it was still dark. But now, after a full day of running around, it was already night.

Fortunately, the footprints by the lake were still visible.

She crouched down, scrutinizing the soil by the lake. It was soft, and any adult man’s weight would inevitably leave footprints. These footprints varied in depth,

which was unusual.

Julien, who had been ready to take photos, hesitated. Not until she noticed an odd discoloration in the soil. It seemed as if someone had layered fresh soil over the

original footprints, then stepped on it again.

Julien dug into the soil with a shovel, confirming her suspicion…

In a high-rise building at a distance, Bruce, who had been watching through a telescope, grew serious.

After a few seconds of hesitation, he spoke into the phone, warning Zenith, “Mr. Moore, Canary is too sharp.”

Zenith wasn’t surprised, and he hung up the phone.

He believed Bruce could handle the situation and that Julien wouldn’t uncover their secret.

He held his phone, deep in thought for a few seconds. He dialed a number, “Did you mess with Julie today?”

Apparently receiving a negative response, Zenith’s expression relaxed slightly.

A few seconds later, he spoke with certainty, his tone menacing, “You promised me, Julie is mine to deal with.”

In the Noblewood Retreat, Julie, who was leaning against the kitchen door and watching intently, sneezed.

The man cooking her food in the kitchen looked up, frowning, “Did you catch cold?”

“No, just an itchy nose.” Suddenly remembering something, she looked up at the man and asked seriously, “Hey, Zenith’s fingernails, did you bring them back?” “They’re with Dylan Pierson already.” He grabbed the remote and turned up the central heating in the villa.

He had made some soup, baked vegetables, and grilled chicken.

“When did you learn to cook?” Julie sat at the dining table, looking at the few homemade dishes in front of her.

In the past, Kieran was a pampered young master who couldn’t even cook frozen pizza. But now, he was making delicious meals.

He sat across from her, smiling as if waiting for her praise..

Once she asked, he answered proudly, “I learned it for Ivan when he was picky about food.”

Although he summarized it casually, Julie frowned, “What did Ivan eat when he was little?”

Julie remembered when Ivan was just born, she had breast milk. Shannon would teach her how to express the milk and throw it away. Sometimes, she would hold the milk bottle and cry inconsolably.

It should have been her, as a mother, to nurse her baby. But she had to endure the reality of losing her baby.

Now thinking back, Kieran said, “When you held the milk bottle and refused to let Shannon take the milk away, Ivan would even try to eat my hand.”

Back then, when Julie was in postpartum recovery period after childbirth, she was taken out of the hospital by Kieran and settled in another villa. And the nights she thought Kieran was not home, he was actually taking care of Ivan. Noblewood Retreat had several nannies, and Bertha was looking after Ivan during the day when she was in recovery there. Kieran, however, often couldn’t rest until late at night.

Bertha once said that Lucian at that time was not a human but a demon in disguise, because Lucian wanted her life. And today, when Rowan pointed a gun at her head and was about to pull the trigger, she suddenly realized how fast life could be lost.

So even though she disagreed with Kieran’s actions back then and regretted missing Ivan’s early stages of growth, she was grateful that Kieran’s cruel decision, knowing they were no match for Lucían, had given her a chance to see her child again.

Kieran had said that the reason Lucian hated Bertha was because he thought Bertha had drugged them to sleep together. And Lucian wanted to kill her because she believed she had deprived Kieran of

his happiness.

In the end, even the irrational Lucian cared most about his younger brother Kieran.

With this thought, Julie suddenly looked up, her eyes sparkling, “I’ve got an idea!”