Julian suddenly raised his head and the chill in his eyes was enough to make Jessica tremble. Then, he rose to his feet.
“What are you doing?” Jessica reversed in panic, but Julian had caught hold of her wrist. “If you want to peacefully leave Riverdale and to your parents, I highly recommend you to keep quiet and not say anything to anyone. Otherwise, I wouldn’t mind sending you to accompany your brother.”
He glared at her with frigid eyes. It took him what seemed like an eternity to release his grip on her hand. “It’s getting late. You should be heading home to rest and not being outdoors.”
Bang! The sound of the door closed was heard moments after Julian said those words. Jessica’s face paled as she collapsed onto the couch. News of the former president of Burton Group assaulting a minor was once again trending on the news the next day.
People stood in front of Burton Group with banners to boycott the corporation for the entire week, which left the precinct with not choice but to send their officers to mediate the situation. Riverdale Charity Foundation had to remove Justin from the position of vice president.
It was the pressure of public opinion that resulted in the Burton Group holding an emergency board of directors meeting. Although the older shareholders trusted in Justin’s character, Julian caved into the public opinion and insisted on expelling Justin from the Burton Group’s board of directors.
Such a decision would result in a chain reaction because those closely associated with Justin immediately took a stand and distanced themselves from him. It did not take long for Justin’s hard work to perish.
The most exaggerated part was that even Rachel, who had been divorced from Justin for many years, was not spared from the netizens’ taunt and became a trending topic herself. As a result, all kinds of people gathered at her apartment. There were all kinds of curses written on her main entrance-‘Conniving person’, ‘A pervert’s friend’, ‘Accomplice’
The Carter Family did not feel safe for Rachel to continue living at her place and immediately made arrangements for her and Jolly to move back to the Carter Residence.
Justin’s hand slammed on the table in disbelief as the newspaper rustled under his palm. “In order to make me leave Riverdal, you have resorted to them suffering such misery?!”
“Your tactics were way worse back then, wasn’t it? I just found the right time to return the favor.” Julian still had the same expression as he pushed the share transfer agreement toward Justin. “Even if it is not for them, consider it as planning for your future life. Once you have signed this, leave the Burton Group and Riverdale. You can start afresh abroad.” Justin held onto the table as he trembled.
“A few days ago, the incident where a senior member of the Burton Group was alleged to have assaulted a minor has been brought to trial. According to the prosecution, the accused, Mr. Burton, was drinking with his subordinate, Ms. Egerton, on the night of crime. Based on what we know of Mr. Burton’s drug test result, it has been established that there was a significant amount of aphrodisiac in his bloodstream while Ms. Egerton was suspected to have been heavily drugged…”
The news was now playing the legal segment. When Jolly returned to her office, she noticed. that Rachel was watching the same news and immediately took the remote control to switch off the television.
“Why are you watching it? I mean, we already know what the news is reporting. It’s already been clarified that someone held a grudge against Justin and decided to set him up. It just so happened that Jessica was there at the wrong time.” Rachel frowned and refused to discuss the topic any longer. ‘Aren’t you off work? Why did you return?”
“To get my keys. Oh, right, there’s something that I want to let you know. The latest from the bureau is that Justin’s trial is about to end and I heard that his application for migrating abroad to seek political asylu has been approved. The bureau is negotiating with the embassy on this, so once that’s done, there is a high likelihood of Justin leaving Riverdale.”
“He’s really leaving?” “The situation has already arrived at this stage and even involved you. If he doesn’t leave Riverdale, is he asking to be whacked?” Rachel was deep in thought as Jolly took her keys. “Oh, Julian has invited you for dinner, right? When are you leaving?”
“In a short while.” “Okay. Have you contacted Jessica, though? I haven’t seen her around town even though the trial is coming to an end.”
“Nope.” “Don’t worry. Maybe her parents have brought her home.” Jolly was in a rush to leave and she failed to notice Rachel being absent-minded. Had she been more observant, she would have realized that something was bothering Rachel, especially for the past few days…..
The sound of the violin was melodious as it rang throughout the restaurant while the waiter helped to pour the wine for the two diners that night.
“I’ve been busy lately, so I didn’t have much time to swing by to see you. Why don’t we bring the kids out this weekend? I’ve heard that the suburbs are gorgeous during the autumn.”
“That sounds lovely. I’ll ask Jolly and her boyfriend to come along as well.” “Rae, have you ever thought about us going on our own? You know, like an actual family?” Rachel took a sip of the wine. “There’s something that I want to ask you, Julian.”
Julian was slightly startled. “Of course.” “Have you ever considered withdrawing from the Burton Group’s board of directors to become a shareholder instead?”
“Why?” I’d rather see you being a doctor and treating patients.” Julian’s eyes narrowed and after a long silence, he finally asked, “Rae, is it because you feel that I’m inferior to Justin?”
Such a statement had left Rachel silently clenching her fists. Then, she shook her head. “I didn’t mean it in that way.” “Rae, let’s get married once this is all over.”
When she heard that, she was momentarily stunned and didn’t know what to say at that moment. He added, ‘I know that you won’t be able to: accept this now, but I’ll let you fully consider it. You don’t have to feel burdened into agreeing.”
After a moment’s worth of silence, she suddenly commented, “If we want to get married, don’t we need your mother’s permission? When is she coming to Riverdale? Do I have to meet her?”
Julian was obviously stunned by her words. Then, he frowned. “I can decide on my own marriage. There’s no need to see her since I don’t want you to worry about this.”
“Julian, are you scared that I’ll be worried or that I’ll stumble upon something that I should not know about?” As a result of Rachel’s question, Julian ended up spilling the red wine in the decanter due to his abrupt action..
