It was extremely late into the night by the time Justin returned to the hotel.
Inside the bedroom was Rachel and she was already fast asleep.
As a cold wind entered the sheets, she was jolted awake. However, before she could even turn around, he was already wrapping his hands around her shoulders and leisurely pulling her into his embrace from behind.
The faint smell of tobacco and his citrus-scented shampoo had mingled together to tickle her nostrils. It wasn’t until she was certain he would not make any further move that she gradually relaxed.
When he felt the stiffness and the wariness of the woman in his arms, Justin was unable to fall asleep.
It took an interminable length of time for her breathing to calm down enough for him to close his eyes.
The hour was late and it happened to be the season when fall changed to winter.
A car was speeding down a road in Riverdale and just as it passed a controlled intersection, a truck suddenly dashed out from the vehicle’s right.
The car driver immediately slammed their brakes before the sound of the car screeching to a halt echoed around the intersection.
Alas, it slammed into the bottom of the truck with a loud crash followed by nothing but thick smoke billowing out.
When Justin woke the next day, his arms were empty. All of a sudden, his heart sank.
Then, he heard the sound of clinking items outside.
Upon opening the door, he found Rachel setting the table.
When she heard movement behind her, she turned around and looked at him in surprise.
After all, he hadn’t even worn his shoes and he was standing on the carpet barefoot.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
As she returned to her senses, Rachel lifted the jug of fruit juice in her hand. I had the hotel send up breakfast.
An astonished Justin stared at her.
After his shower, he sat down at the table. She handed him a glass of milk before she minded her own business while eating her own breakfast, seemingly having forgotten the unhappy events of the previous day.
Upon taking two sips, he set down his glass. “When I’m done with my work, I’ll send you back to Riverdale and bring Nancy over to live with you.”
A startled Rachel looked at Justin before she quickly shook her head. There’s no need, she signaled. Grandma’s not doing too well and I intend to send her to a nursing home after this.
“I’ll have Frankie contact Riverdale’s best nursing home then.”
to return to Riverdale right now.
“Not convenient?”
Aren’t you investigating the Hudson Family’s overseas account? Amber likely doesn’t want to see me right now.
As Justin frowned slightly, he glanced at Rachel.
For some reason, he had the vague impression that something about her had changed yet he couldn’t tell how.
In the past, she wouldn’t have willingly brought the topic of Amber, let alone accompanied the mention with such a provocative attitude.
However, Justin felt a little elated. “You needn’t be wary of her. She wouldn’t dare to harm you. We’re only engaged-nothing concrete has been settled. Since you know I’m investigating the overseas account, just wait patiently for me to finish my work. Understood?” he carelessly said all of this, as if Amber was merely a pawn to him.
With a quirk of her lips, Rachel nodded, but her heart felt as cold as ice.
She wondered whether it was how he evaluated her in front of Amber as well-a pawn to investigate the Hudson Family’s ancestral formula, and nothing else.
It was midway through breakfast when Frankie suddenly knocked on the door. “Something has happened in Riverdale, President Burton.”
“What happened?”
“Madam Lilian was in a car crash last night where she died on the spot. It’s already on the news.”
Justin’s expression immediately changed as he rose from the dinner table to walk into the study.
After preparing a plate of sliced fruit, Rachel stood outside the study to listen to his conversation with Frankie.
“The truck driver was drunk and ran a red light perpendicular to the road that Madam Lilian was traveling on. Madam Lilian’s driver couldn’t brake in time and ran into the truck, crashing the car and killing everyone.”
“When did this happen?”
“About one in the morning.”
“She left the house at one in the morning?”
“She was headed to the airport.”
There was total silence before it was followed with, “Was Jason sending her abroad to lie low as he gave up his fight domestically?”
“It seems likely.”
Rachel’s hand that was holding onto the fruit platter clenched slightly.
The fact was that Justin and Jason had been at loggerheads all along, which was exacerbated by the incident involving Tina. While Jason wasn’t much of a businessman, he extremely loved his wife and daughter.
Hence, if Lilian’s car crash and eventual death were caused by someone else, Justin would be the prime suspect-even if, based on what she was currently hearing, the incident was unrelated.
As she spaced out, the door suddenly opened.
Without any warning, Justin appeared in the doorway and stared coldly at her. “What are you doing here?”
For a moment, she froze before holding up the fruit platter for him to see.
As the caution in his eyes ebbed, he told her, “There’s no need. I have some business to take care of right now. Stay in the hotel and don’t go anywhere.”
Rachel then obediently nodded her head.
Justin left together with Frankie.
Once he left, she put down the fruit platter and sat on the couch while she clutched at her chest as her heart raced.
“I’m sorry, Jason.”
Amber was the first to arrive and comfort Jason at the hospital morgue.
“I wish to be alone with her. Please leave.”
His face was unfriendly, especially when he talked to Amber. Then, he chased everyone out of the room before he stood alone by his late wife’s side.
As she clutched her cell phone, she headed to the stairwell to make a call.
“We’re sorry, but the number you have dialed cannot be reached at this time.”
Justin’s phone had been unreachable ever since she heard the news.
It was odd because there was no way for him to be completely unaware of something so serious happening to the Burton Family. Even if he was in Brookville on a business trip, there was no way he indifferent and not rush home as soon as he could.
as no
Amber’s phone suddenly received an image file.
When she opened the image and enlarged it, her face sank.
It was evidence that Justin had brought Rachel to Brookville!
“This can’t be an accident. There’s no way for it to be a coincidence that right as President Burton was about to leave Riverdale, someone blocked his escape route by accidentally killing his wife in a car crash. Who would believe that?”
“Who could have done it? The Hindenburg Family?”
From outside the stairwell, the voices of Jason’s assistant and his bodyguard could be heard. Amber regained her senses and leaned in to eavesdrop on the conversation.
“Hindenburg Family may have had a falling out with President Burton, but they wouldn’t go to such lengths just yet.”
“Who else could it be then? You’re always by President Burton’s side. What does President Burton think?”
“He suspects… it’s Young Master Justin who did it.”
The people by Jason’s side had always referred to him as ‘President Burton’ and Justin as ‘Young Master Justin’. It wasn’t just as a way of distinguishing them, but rather a method of making Jason happy.
“President Burton’s decision to sell the patent and siphon the project funds might not have been reported to the board of directors just yet, but Young Master Justin must have known about it. There’s no way Madam Lilian’s death is unrelated to him.”
Upon hearing these words, Amber’s heart thudded.
Could Justin really have sent someone to kill Lilian?
As Amber shuddered, she turned to head far away from the hospital and this mess.
However, she only took two steps before she thought of something.
If a hired killer had been relied upon, targeting Jason was a lot easier than Tina.
