Love’s Cunning Ruse

Chapter 295

Glancing at the woman satisfied on the bed, half her arm peeking out from the cover, Kieran gently pulled the covers over her before slipping out of the room.

Just as he closed the door, there was a knock. Kleran beckoned the visitor in with a soft-spoken, “Come in.”

Karl entered and handed Kieran a photo album, “Pictures from Sycamore Village.”

Kieran flipped through the hefty album. It was filled with pictures of Karl and Ivan frolicking in the fields of Sycamore Village, their laughter captured in vibrant colors. Tucked at the end were two special photos of Julie, her radiant smile framed by blooming flowers. The photos were perfectly wallet-sized.

He replaced the old photo of toddler Julie in his wallet with one of the new photos. He placed a loving kiss on a new photo of smiling Julie before putting it to his wallet. Suddenly, the ringtone of his phone interrupted his momentary reminiscence. He glanced at the caller ID and answered the call, with a furrowed brow.

By the time Julie woke up, more than an hour had passed. Realizing she had fallen into Kieran’s trap, she sighed, wishing she had just called him ‘honey’. She changed into a fresh dress and carefully opened the door, only stepping out when she was certain there were no voices in the office.

Kieran, seated at his desk, heard her soft footfalls and asked, “Awake now?”

“Thanks to you,” Julie replied, settling down on the couch across from Kieran. “Did you see my phone?” Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

Instead of answering, Kieran pointed to a cupcake on the coffee table, “Hungry?”

The irresistible treat made Julie forget about her phone. She picked up the spoon, took a big bite from the cupcake, and asked, “Are you busy?”

“Why?” Kieran put down his pen and looked at her.

She hesitated before asking, “From a man’s perspective, do you think Kyle…” Julie then shook her head, “Never mind, should I call Kyle or meet him in person?”

“Honey…” Kieran suddenly put on an apologetic look.

Julie paused, puzzled, “What’s wrong?”

“Kyle called me,” he confessed.

Julie didn’t see anything wrong with this. She placed her cupcake down and asked, “And? Did he agree?”

“I didn’t ask him about cooperating with Sansa’s treatment.”

Julie’s anticipation deflated, she picked up the dessert again and asked, “So you discussed work?”

“I asked him the question you were curious about.”

Julie almost choked on her cupcake, her eyes wide as she waited for his response.

He handed her his phone, “I recorded the call.”

Kyle’s first words on the recording were, “I heard about Sansa’s treatment. I’ll cooperate as much as I can.”

“Who told you?” Kieran asked.

Kyle’s reply was a cryptic, “Sometimes, it’s not good to dig too deep.”

Kieran retorted, “Even so, there are things we need to understand, right?”

“Like kidnapping Emily?” Kyle anticipated Kieran’s question.

There was a pause before Kyle asked, “Mr. Hernandez, have you ever knowingly done something wrong, but stubbornly persisted?”

“So?” Kieran countered. Of course he knew, since he had almost lost Julie because of what he had done.

Kyle chuckled on the recording, “Sometimes, you do wrong things because you’re afraid of threats to her life. But the deepest wounds are those of the heart. So you realized, to protect her, you must not avoid wars, but win them.” He added after a long silence, “That’s why you returned to Joyce, to fight for her. And I, I did the same.”

The recording ended there. Julie listened in silence. Did Kyle mean he also made mistakes because his love for Sansa? Is that why he used her and Kieran’s past as an analogy? He seemed to know their history very well.

Julie leaned against the table and looked at Kieran, “I feel like I understand Kyle less and less. There must be more secrets between him and my sister…”

Kieran stroked her hair gently, “Let’s wait for Sansa to wake up and tell you herself.”

He added, “Fred said there’s no need to do anything special. Kyle just needs to spend time with Sansa, talk to her, reminisce about old times. Ive also asked Karl to arrange more bodyguards for Sansa’s safety.”

Julie gave a nod, just about to speak when there came a knock at the door. Quickly, she grabbed her cupcake and darted over to the couch to make herself comfortable. Watching her, Kieran couldn’t help but flash a grin, calling out, “Come in.”

It was Karl with excitement in his grip on his mobile, as he made straight for Kieran.

Karl was usually unflappable, a guy who’d seen it all. So, Julie was intrigued, to say the least, by his uncharacteristic excitement. She couldn’t help but turn her attention toward Karl curiously.

Karl gestured at his mobile, addressing Kieran, “Mr. Hernandez, Zenith’s secretary, Jesse, just called to set up a meeting with you and Madame for lunch tomorrow.”

At the mention of Zenith, Julie’s calm facade crumbled. She rushed over to Kieran’s side, asking Karl, “What could Zenith possibly want?”

Karl nodded, awaiting Kieran and Julie’s response.

“Reschedule everything for tomorrow afternoon,” Kieran instructed.

With that, Karl excused himself to put the new plan in motion.

“Could it be… Zenith knows we used his blood for the test?” Julie ventured, a bold guess forming in her mind as she looked at Kieran with a touch of excitement.

Kieran seemed to be thinking along the same lines. He immediately dialed Dylan on his phone.

“I’m not sure what happened, but there’s been a glitch with the equipment here,” Dylan reported, “I know you wouldn’t trust anyone else to handle this, so I’m going to move the sample to a different machine. I’ll have the results by tomorrow night, latest. I’ll call you.”

“Okay.” With that, Kieran hung up.

A machine that had never given them trouble before chose this moment to fail… A coincidence? Neither Kieran nor Julie were buying it.

Hotel.

Bruce stood by Zenith, reporting, “I couldn’t tamper with the test since Quad Dylan is personally overseeing it. But I managed to delay the results until tomorrow night by sabotaging the equipment. Jesse called to arrange a lunch meeting with Mr. Hernandez and Ms. Abraham for tomorrow. They accepted.”

“Good”

Bruce hesitated, adding, “Also… Kyle agreed to accompany Ms. Sansa for her treatment. He’ll visit the hospital every evening. Professor Fred is doing his best, but we still can’t predict

When Ms. Sansa will regain consciousness.”

“Make sure they receive their invitation to the bank event tomorrow morning without fail,” Zenith ordered, waving Bruce away.

Once Bruce had left, Zenith pulled out his phone, dialing a mysterious number.

“Time to lay our cards on the table; Zenith suggested to the person on the other end, his voice icy cold.

“Oh? He knows you’re his brother?” The person on the other end seemed disinterested.

“Sooner or later,” Zenith responded, “You know that better than anyone.”

“Hmm…” The person scoffed before asking, “Does your identity pose a problem for you?”

“No.” Zenith’s voice was cold, mechanical, “She killed Bertha, the mother of my child. So she will pay for her crimes. A debt paid in blood.”

“Good.” With that, the person on the other end hung up.

Zenith tossed his phone aside, taking a deep breath before reclining on the couch. After a moment, he picked up his phone again, opening a hidden album and pulling out a photo.

In the picture, Bertha, her long hair cascading down to her waist, was cradling a plump little baby, swaddled in a white blanket, probably around four or five months old. The baby was laughing, showing off his gum-filled smile, his skin and soft.

rosy

Without any makeup, Bertha looked radiant, her face adorned with a warm, tender smile. She was the picture of motherhood. She looked up, her dazzling smile aimed at the camera. The green foliage behind her created a stunning backdrop…