Chapter 319 A Place Beyond the Law
Justin responded in a cold voice. “It takes two to tango.”
“I don’t have the time to debate this with you. Hurry up and search for them!” Ryan looked around. Unfortunately, he only met Jason a handful of times before and did not recall how the other party looked. There was no way he could easily spot Jason from among the crowd, so he could only glance back at Justin.
Justin glanced at a spot in the distance. “There.”
Following Justin’s gaze, Ryan saw Jason standing by the bar in the distance. Jason was holding a glass of wine in his hand while gaily chatting with the people around him.
Ryan was about to head there when he was stopped by Justin. “You don’t need to go there.”
Upon hearing those words, he became pensive for a moment and immediately understood what Justin meant. The two of them were not very familiar with the situation on this ship. If they acted together, then it would be over for both of them if they were to encounter any danger. Not only would they lose everything, but they wouldn’t even have a corpse to bury.
“I’ll wander around.”
“Okay.” After watching Ryan leave the banquet hall, Justin finally turned around and walked toward Jason.
Jason was discussing ‘business’ with his friends. During this time every year, he would make a lot of money through this banquet. It was also his highest and most triumphant time of the year.
He was savoring his triumph when he suddenly noticed a familiar figure coming toward him out of the corner of his eyes. The sight startled him.
“Jason.” Justin’s expression was frosty and his manner of speech was rather aloof. “Long time no see.”
Jason was very puzzled. “Why are you here?”
“Don’t you know, Jason? Don’t you know why I came here?”
He quickly snapped back to his senses and studied Justin pensively. “You came to find Rachel. Don’t worry. She is safe and sound. She is only accompanying me for some events at the banquet after all. We are business partners now. Don’t you think you are making a huge fuss out of a molehill?”
“Then, where is she right now?”
“After our business talks, she returned to the room to rest. This ship is so large that it’s possible that she is taking a stroll on her own. What’s wrong? Can’t you contact her?”
He was asking this question despite knowing the answer. It was impossible for a personal phone to send out any messages on this ship. Likewise, the phones specially provided on the ship were as useless as scrap metal if one did not have the other party’s contact information.
At present, he was the only person who knew Rachel’s whereabouts and whether she was safe.
Justin had no choice but to mediate with Jason. “Jason, I have no interest in knowing what kind of business you’ve been doing over the years in the name of the Burton Group. However, I will not sit idly by if you drag Rachel into this mess.”
“Those words displease me. Did you think I dragged her into these affairs? I’m afraid you’ve underestimated her abilities.”
“It has not been long since Rachel returned to the country. No matter how capable she is, she won’t be able to board the Golden Cruise. Isn’t that right?”
The invitation came from Jason. If Rachel had not heard about the news from the secretary, Justin would not be going crazy right now because he could not get in contact with her.
“Jason, you had better tell me now. Where is Rachel?”
“What kind of attitude is that?” Jason’s expression was astonished. He observed Justin’s anxious and impatient appearance, then he immediately said coldly, “Didn’t you grow out your own wings? Find her yourself!” After saying that, he glanced at his watch. “I still have friends to meet.”
He had long since been dissatisfied with Justin when Arthur indiscriminately withdrew all funding previously. There was no need to think to know that Justin was the one who mentioned something to Arthur. How dare he take this attitude with me! What can he do even if he knows Rachel’s whereabouts?
Justin watched as Jason left without another word and clenched his fists tightly. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do. If it were anybody else, he would have his ways to pressure them into answering his questions. But, Jason was his uncle.
His thoughts turned in a different direction. If Jason is currently cooperating with Rachel, then he won’t harm her for the time being. She should be safe at the moment. It’s just that I don’t know where she is. Nevertheless, the Golden Cruise is a place beyond the law. We can’t stay here for long. I have to find her and get her off the ship as soon as possible.
It was already late at night by this time. The luxury cruise ship stopped on the river, facing the most prosperous business district in Riverdale.
At this moment, almost all the people on the cruise ship were gathered in the banquet hall on the second floor. There was barely anybody else on the other floors and the terrace on the fifth floor was even more quiet.
Rachel and Jolly secretly followed Noah and Amber onto the terrace.
“Where are they?” Jolly looked around. “Didn’t they come this way just now?”
“Shh.” Rachel indicated for Jolly to be quiet.
Jolly spread her arms wide. “Look! Do you see anybody here?”
Rachel furrowed her eyebrows slightly. I clearly saw Amber and Noah entering this place, one after another. How can they just vanish into thin air? Could it be… This thought had barely formed when she felt something cold pressing against the back of her neck. A woman’s voice entered her ears. It was a fierce warning. “Don’t move!”
It was Amber. Sure enough, she had been hiding behind the door.
At this moment, there was a knife pressed against Rachel’s neck. The sharp edge of the knife slid against her skin. It was followed by a stinging pain. She jerked in surprise and did not dare to move a single muscle. “Did you notice me a long time ago?”
“Chris, who are you talking to? I don’t think those two are here…” Jolly turned around only to see this scene. Her expression immediately changed and the rest of her sentence trailed off. She couldn’t even utter a single word.
“Stand there and don’t move!” The words had only just left Amber’s mouth when Rachel felt something cold against her neck. Bright red blood trickled down her neck and her collarbone. It was a particularly shocking sight against her fair skin.
How could Jolly dare to move after that? She was so scared that her face turned pale with fright. “I won’t move. Let go of Chris.”
“Let go? It wasn’t easy for me to finally get this opportunity. Do you think I’ll let her go?” Amber’s expression was gloomy and her voice was extremely chilling.
Rachel forced herself to calm down. “You knew we were following you. You did this on purpose.”
“Of course. You are dressed so conspicuously. All the men in the banquet hall were crazy about you. How could I fail to notice you? This worked out fine though. It saves me the effort of searching for you instead.”
“You want to kill me?”
“Everything started because of you! You are a jinx! You ruined my entire family! My mother passed away the moment you arrived. And now, my father is gone. My fiancé and my company… All of them are gone!”
As Amber became emotional, her hand trembled uncontrollably. As a result, the edge of the knife sliced through the flesh on Rachel’s neck. It hurt so much that Rachel was drenched in cold sweat. Nevertheless, she gritted her teeth and did not dare to make a sound, lest she made Amber even crazier.
Unfortunately, Amber was already deranged.
“If I kill you now, everything will be over.”
“Amber Hudson, do you really believe that killing me will solve all your troubles? Will the people in Hudson Pharmaceuticals obey you? Will Justin listen to you?”
“As long as you’re not around, they will! I am the only daughter of the Hudson Family! You’re just a wild sprout!”
“They won’t! Did you think that Evan Holt supported me and allowed me to manage the company just because I’m a daughter of the Hudson Family? That’s not true at all. It’s because of the formula! Have you gotten the formula?”
At the mention of the formula, Amber’s expression immediately darkened. It was precisely because of that damned formula that she had fallen so far from grace.
