Chapter 371 Change in Julian
“My plans?” Rachel asked. Julian’s confident eyes were quite intimidating as he said, “I would like you to head back to Montenegro with me.”
Rachel was stunned. In all the years she had known Julian, he had always been agreeable and gentle. It was rare for him to act so stubbornly, as if rejection was unacceptable to him.
“Julian, I can’t go just yet. I love the five years I spent in Montenegro, and I had so much fun. I want to go back too, but I can’t.”
To her, there were some duties and obligations she had been destined to bear since the moment she was born; they were her responsibilities. After running from them for over twenty years, she decided it was finally time to shoulder them.
Her parents’ deaths were caused by the six formulas of Hudson Pharmaceuticals. Ensuring Jefferey and Amber Hudson get their deserved punishments was just the start of Rachel’s plan. She believed her parents, and even her grandma, would wish for her to restore Hudson Pharmaceuticals back to its former glory. Why else would her mother give her those formulas back then?
“Julian, I know you’re doing this for my sake, but I really can’t go yet.”
“I see.”
With a nod, he then put his spectacles back on and smiled. “It’s fine. I was just asking. I’ve been under a lot of pressure from work lately. Don’t mind me.”
Rachel let out a sigh of relief at that. “Good that you’re not angry.”
“Why would I be angry with you?”
“Say, when do you plan on going back to Montenegro?”
“I don’t know yet,” he replied. There was a conflicted expression on his face. “It’s not my only choice after all.”
Then, just as Rachel was about to speak again, Julian’s phone started ringing. “I have to take this,” he said. “You can keep eating. I’ll drive you home later.”
“Okay.”
However, after Julian left the room, Rachel suddenly lost her appetite.
When Julian’s phone rang just now, she had glanced at it, and the number displayed on the screen looked rather familiar. If her memory wasn’t wrong, it should be Jason’s number.
Why was Julian in contact with Jason?
Perhaps she was wrong, but something felt different about Julian this time.
Later that night, Rachel went home in Julian’s car.
“How are your feet? Do you need me to help you up?” Julian asked when they arrived at Rachel’s home.
“I’m fine,” Rachel replied with a wave of her hand. “Drive carefully. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Sure,” hummed Julian. “You stay safe too.”
In response, Rachel nodded. She then turned and walked into her building.
While she was still wearing the pair of slippers Julian gave her, her feet were still covered in minor injuries. And so, it was rather difficult for her to walk.
Rachel forced herself to push through the pain and walked into the elevator. As soon as the door slid shut, she immediately collapsed against one of its walls. After a sharp inhale of pain, she pressed the intercom button that connected the elevator to the apartments, and said, “Come and help me.”
Jolly, who had been worriedly waiting in the apartment, hadn’t gone to bed yet.
She made her way to the elevator. When the doors opened to reveal Rachel slumped against one of the elevator walls, Jolly hurriedly helped Rachel up to her feet. “What happened to you?”
“Your feet are raw,” said Jolly.
“Is Robin that big of a pervert?” she continued to ask.
“Just what goes on in your mind? My feet are raw because I was walking!” Rachel sighed.
“Didn’t Justin go pick you up? Also, why are you back so late?” Jolly questioned.
When Justin’s name was mentioned, Rachel’s face clouded over. “You were the one who called him and told him I was meeting with Robin?”
One of Jolly’s greatest fears was Rachel turning hostile against her. Upon hearing that, Jolly felt a little guilty.
She helped Rachel to the couch and obediently handed Rachel a glass of water. “I was worried about you. No one could reach you, so who wouldn’t worry?”
Jolly continued to explain, “Ever since the incident at Golden Hill, I have been extremely cautious. I couldn’t get in, so I had to ask Justin for help. After all, the place belongs to his uncle, Jason. The guards can’t stop him, right?”
“You think you’re so sensible, but what can he help with?” Rachel scoffed. “Your parents can also help me, but I didn’t let them step in.”
Rachel knew better than anyone else that Hudson Pharmaceuticals had to restore its reputation if it wanted to dominate the market once more. It was useless relying on connections. One had to build a structure brick by brick. Otherwise, when all connections were broken, a structure would collapse overnight no matter how tall it had been.
And Jefferey was the best example for this.
“From now on, do not ever ask Justin for help when it comes to me. We are through. I don’t want to owe him anything.”
“Fine.” Jolly shrugged. “So, was he the one who drove you back tonight?”
“No. It was Julian.”
“Julian’s back from his trip?”
Jolly was shocked, and she asked, “When did that happen?”
“He said he came back yesterday.”
“And he didn’t even contact us? Damn him! I’m going to call him right now and make sure he pays for it by treating me to a meal.”
“Jolly,” Rachel called out. “Julian’s exhausted. Call him tomorrow.”
“Oh? Feeling bad for him?”
Jolly kept teasing, “No wonder you didn’t want me to ask Justin for help. Dr. Peters is about to take Justin’s place.”
“That’s nonsense.”
After a pause for thought, Rachel continued, “I have a question for you.”
“What is it?” asked Jolly.
“Do you know where Julian went for his business trip?”
“Didn’t he go to Montenegro? Initially, he was going to fly with Hernandez, but then something strange happened to him. Hernandez waited for Julian at the airport for what seemed like forever, and when he finally called the guy, he said he had left on an earlier flight! Hernandez was so pissed off.”
Rachel frowned hard. For some mysterious reason, the call Julian received from Jason suddenly bothered her a lot.
“What are you thinking about?”
Jolly’s question snapped Rachel back to her senses. “Nothing much. Anyway, it’s getting late. Go to sleep. We still have to think about what to do about the approval for the project in Northlane tomorrow.”
“My head hurts just thinking about it. If we really have no choice, I’ll ask my father for help.”
“If we can’t come up with an idea, that’ll be our last resort.”
Once Rachel said that, Jolly let out a yawn, pointed at Rachel’s feet, and said, “I’ll help you into your room.”
“It’s fine,” Rachel said. “I’m going to sit here for a while. You head to bed first.”
“Okay,” agreed Jolly.
After Jolly’s bedroom door closed, the only light turned on in the living room was a floor lamp stationed next to the couch.
Rachel sat on the couch with a cushion in her arms as she ruminated. The more she pondered, the deeper her thoughts were.
After the Jublen smuggling case was solved, Interpol worked with the Riverdale Investigation Bureau to investigate all members involved in the smuggling case. In the end, many people in Riverdale were found to be involved in the case. Some were arrested while others were put on house arrest. However, Jason disappeared without a trace.
Janice had said the investigation was still kept a secret to avoid scaring anyone off. Searches of the cities Jason frequently visited were intensified, but nothing had been found yet.
Logically speaking, Jason should be more cautious if he wanted to avoid being hunted by the investigation bureau. Why would he call Julian using his personal phone number?
Rachel just couldn’t get it. Then, after looking around, she bent down and opened a secret compartment underneath the couch. Inside the compartment was an old phone taped to the bottom of the couch.
After grabbing it, she stumbled her way over to the balcony before making a call with the old phone.
“Hey, it’s me.”
“Why the sudden phone call? Didn’t I tell you to hide for now? This is dangerous,” said the person over the phone.
“I have a lead on Jason Burton. He called Julian Peters about an hour ago. I’m worried he’ll threaten Julian to save himself.”
By now, Rachel’s brows were locked in a frown.
She could think of no other reason for Jason to contact Julian.
