“Do you really think I’d believe such an obvious lie?” Justin shouted, his voice echoing throughout the hall.
“You’d rather believe a stranger over your own family?”
“Just because you’re my family doesn’t mean you won’t lie.”
Julian couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Tell him what Janice gave you, Rachel.” The evidence would prove what Julian said was the truth whether Justin liked it or not, or so Julian thought.
Meanwhile, Rachel had been standing there silently for a while. Since she was mute, she never had a big presence whenever it came to groups. Even though there were only the three of them, she was little more than invisible among them. Contrary to Julian’s anger, Rachel looked calm. Since Justin said he found Katie, she didn’t want to explain anything anymore, even though she didn’t know who that ‘Katie’ was or how she managed to impersonate her. Simply put, there was no point explaining anything to someone who never believed her. Thank you, Dr. Peters, but you don’t have to come up with these excuses.
“What’s wrong, Rachel?” Julian stared at her in disbelief. “I thought you got Janice’s package.”
Well, he says he’s found Katie and obviously, it’s not me. Rachel then made some simple gestures, but it felt heavy when she put her hand down.
Justin glanced at her and a sliver of suspicion rose within him.
Julian clenched his fists. He had been holding his fury back for almost a year now, but it finally erupted at that point and he hurled a punch at Justin. “Why won’t you believe her?”
The punch caught Justin by surprise and it hit him right in the face. The impact sent him staggering backward, toppling a chair on his way. Rache gasped but she couldn’t stop them in time.
Even though Justin was caught by surprise the first time, he managed to launch a kick when Julian tried to attack him again as he was much more agile than the other. In the end, they got tangled in a brawl.
Panicked, Rachel waved at the bodyguards outside. The bodyguards realized something was up, so they charged inside and pinned Julian down. Rachel tried to pull the bodyguards away but she was shoved off instead
“Rachel!” Julian couldn’t move an inch since he was pinned against the floor. “Justin, you’re going to regret this one day!” he roared.
Meanwhile, Justin pushed himself up with the sofa and wiped the blood that was trickling down his mouth. “I never regret anything. And it’s getting late. Your mother’s going to be worried if you aren’t home yet.” Justin
glanced at his bodyguards coldly. They got what he was trying to say, so they dragged Julian out.
“Let me go! I can walk by myself!” The bodyguards wouldn’t go too far since Julian was Jusitn’s cousin, after all. Thanks to that, Julian broke free of their grasp easily. “You’ll regret this, Justin Burton!” he shouted as he straightened himself out.
A short while later, Julian revved up his car and drove away into the night, but he stopped by the roadside when he was out of sight. After that, he slowly unraveled the slip of paper in his palm. It was drenched with sweat but he could make the message out clearly. ‘Take me away!
Rachel had slipped that into his hand when she helped him up earlier. A grim determination rose within Julian and he gripped the slip tightly.
Meanwhile, the servants sorted out the toppled furniture and cleared away the glass shards on the floor. It was then that Rachel got up weakly, her face pale.
Upon seeing that, Justin asked, “Do you have anything to say for yourself?” Deep down, he thought to himself, How dare she lie about Katie? How dare she get Julian involved in this?
I’ve said everything I should. Dr. Peters was just helping me.
“He’s helping you? By making that kind of story up? And how did he find out about Katie?”
Rachel froze at that question.
Justin inched closer to her. “Did you tell him everything I told you? My, you do get along well with him.”
Rachel took an involuntary step back, but he held her wrist before she could retreat.
“I know the kind of man Julian is. He is weak but stubborn. He’ll never give up until he takes you away with him, don’t you think?”
What little color Rachel had drained from her face and she shook her head.
“Guards,” Justin said coldly.
The bodyguards who sent Julian off quickly came back. “President Burton.”
“Mrs. Burton wants a change of bedroom.”
Rachel couldn’t believe what she was hearing, but the stab of pain that came from her wrist stopped her train of thought. “You seem uncomfortable here. I think a quiet place suits you better.” Justin had a terrifyingly dark look on his face.
It was already late at night but Amber was still on the balcony, talking to someone on the phone. “Don’t come back if you can help it. You’ll get busted if you see him too much.”
A woman answered, “I get it. When are you going to send me the rest of the money?”
“Relax. You’ll get it, but not now.”
“Why?”
“Justin is a paranoid man. I don’t think he trusts you completely just yet. He’ll use everything he has to verify your identity. You’ll get exposed if he finds out I gave you money.”
“What a drag!”
“A drag?” Amber sneered. “You’re not the victim here, so stop it. If he believes that you’re the one who saved him, you can get anything you want in the world. The money I owe you? That’s gonna be pocket change. Even I have to bow to you then.”
“You don’t have to feel me out. I know what I have to do. You did hire me for this, after all.”
Suddenly, Amber glanced from the corner of her eye and saw someone coming in. “I see. Catch you later then.” She ended the call and came in from the balcony. “It’s late, Dad. Why are you still up?”
“I couldn’t sleep.” Jefferey stood with one hand behind his back. “Who was that?” He asked as he stared at Amber
“Just a friend.”
“Aren’t you going to say anything about the furore between you and Justin?”
“Dad, you wanted me to handle the foundation. Why are you doubting me?”
“I’m not doubting you. Just worried you might drag some unrelated people into this.” Jefferey’s face fell. “I heard Justin adopted a girl you recommended as his sister.”
“She’s not his sister. Just a partner for the foundation,” Amber answered calmly. “Justin and I don’t have time to handle the foundation, so we need a professional for that. That’s why I got my friend to do it.”
“Is that really all?”
“What are you getting at, Dad?” Amber then held Jefferey’s hand and started acting spoiled. “You’re getting stricter on me, Dad. I know you don’t want me to marry Justin, but Rachel is a lost cause now. I’m just doing this for the company. How could you doubt me? I’m your daughter, you know. I won’t harm you.”
It was only then that Jefferey finally cheered up a little. “I’m not doubting you. I just don’t want you to be too rash about this. You must not make a fuss out of Rachel’s incident.”
