“Come in!” Dillon answered impatiently.
One of his men walked into the room. The man whispered something to Dillon, and Dillon’s eyes shone before he steered his focus to Rachel. “It’s not hard to prove your innocence, though. Perhaps the people around you will know the truth, especially your… significant other.”
He even emphasized the term “significant other” as he watched her.
He wondered why her face was pale. Is it because of the hot water or what I’ve told her?
“Bring him in.”
As Dillon finished his words, two of his men escorted another man into the room.
However, it was more like they followed the man than escorted him, as Justin’s aura was overwhelming. The men behind them looked like Justin’s bodyguards instead.
“Rae.” It was only upon seeing Rachel that Justin felt slightly relieved.
On the contrary, Rachel was panicked to see him. “What are you doing here?!”
Dillon interrupted Justin just as the latter was about to answer, “He’s here to save the damsel in distress, what else? No man can stand still when he finds that his beloved woman needs saving.”
The topic shifted as Dillon remarked, “By the way, you’re the first man who dares to rescue a person from me.”
Justin only replied with a neutral face, “What do you want?”
“Good question. I would like to find out the answer too. However, it depends on what she did.”
“What do you mean?”
“You don’t know yet, do you?” Dillon sneered as he turned his focus back to Rachel. With a cold look, he pointed his finger at her. “No one dares take me as a fool like her.”
“I’ll settle it if it’s about business.” Justin stated firmly. Although he did not say that in a loud voice, that sentence reverberated throughout the room.
Much to his surprise, Rachel yelled at him. “It has nothing to do with you! Why are you here, though?”
“Rae!”
“Justin, stop meddling in others’ business. Who do you take yourself as? You have no right to meddle in my business even if you’re the president of the Burton Group. Moreover, you aren’t anymore. I’d already be ignoring you if it isn’t for Charlotte’s sake.”
Rachel spoke the harsh words promptly, leaving Justin with no room for discussion. Her words hurt him badly. He was taken aback by them and took time to restrain himself from showing it.
Justin didn’t know whether she was being honest or not. Even if Rachel was lying, he couldn’t distinguish which part of her outburst was true and which one was a falsehood.
“How interesting.” Dillon studied the two before him and applauded. “What a show! What is this drama about? Are you trying to gain my sympathy?”
He then turned to Rachel. “You can’t fool me with your poor attempt to act. I bet your words don’t work on him too because you can’t even convince me.”
Her expression sank when she heard that. “Believe it or not, I’m not acting. Keep your opinion to yourself because you don’t know what happened between him and I. Do you know he ruined my life?”
“Is that so? Tell me more. I’m interested.”
“Rae, you don’t have to do this. I’m not leaving.” Justin stood firmly as he watched her. “I’ll take you with me. Otherwise, I’ll stay here and not go anywhere.”
Clenching her fists, Rachel spoke against her will even though she was thinking differently. “It’s up to you. If you want to risk your life, be my guest.”
“Enough!” Dillon stopped them at that point, as he was getting rather bored. “Did you have fun at the performance? Stop acting all lovey-dovey! I remember that you’re divorced, so it’s too late to have a love-hate relationship, isn’t it?”
He stared into Rachel’s eyes again. “You’re trying to convince me that you don’t care about him, but every word you said was asking him to leave. Do you think I will believe you?”
“Young Master Porter, I’ll repeat it again. I was never a traitor.”
“Is that so? Let’s have a test if you’ve got nothing to hide.” A lopsided grin formed at the corner of Dillon’s lips as he gestured to the men behind Justin. “Hold him down.”
Before Justin and Rachel could respond, the goons held Justin at his sides and restrained him.
“Let go!” His face scrunched up with anger.
“I will, but not now. Did you know that cutting someone else’s arteries might end up in high arterial pressure, causing the blood to spurt from the body? It’s even possible to leave a stain on the ceiling if the blood spurted high enough.”
Drawing out a knife from the fruit bowl, Dillon pointed it at Justin’s throat as he waited for Rachel’s response. “Do you think I can slash his arteries precisely?”
Rachel looked as pale as a ghost as she muttered, “Young Master Porter, it’s true that I resent him, but I don’t want him dead. ”
“Didn’t you say it’s up to him just now?”
“You’re using him to threaten me.”
“Yes, I am.” Dillon nodded as he pressed the tip of the knife deeper into Justin’s skin. At that, the blood from Justin’s wound slid across the blade and landed on Dillon’s little finger.
He changed the knife to another hand and licked away the blood on his finger. The bloodthirst in his eyes was fearsome.
“Young Master Porter!” Rachel’s voice stopped him from continuing to injure Justin’s throat.
Dillon gave her a dark sidelong glance. “Miss Hudson, how can I help you?”
“I need a word.” She stared at him while clenching her fists at her sides.
Deep in his heart, Dillon was hoping that Rachal wasn’t the traitor. After all, he chose her as a partner by himself. If she was proven to be the whistleblower, it would indicate that he had poor judgment and was incautious of his business. “I don’t have much time. You better talk now.”
“We can continue our dealings.”
He was surprised at her suggestion. “What did you say?”
“We can cooperate again. If you’re interested, we can practice the old trading pattern. I believe that none other than Hudson Pharmaceuticals can provide the goods you need among the factories in Riverdale.”
“Are you trying to betray me a second time?” Not only did Dillon have a cold expression, he was cold-hearted too. He had learned his lesson the last time, so he wouldn’t fall for her lies again.
Rachel tightened her fists. “I won’t force you if you aren’t interested.”
However, Dillon wouldn’t say no to it. His deal had resulted in both a failure and a traitor, which caused him to lose everything. Even his base in Yatruinia was busted. It was all counted as his responsibility.
“How am I supposed to trust you?” Dillon observed Rachel as he continued, “I never make a deal with people I don’t trust, regardless of the temptation.”
