Love’s Cunning Ruse

Chapter 275

Vacation Villa.

Julie was in the bathroom for a shower, and the thought of her recent encounter at the Zenith mansion made her quickly finish and step out in a bathrobe.

The man standing by the balcony had just ended a call. Julie, standing inside the door, drying her hair, saw him motioning her over.

She walked over, and he took the towel off her head, handed her his cellphone, and began to attentively dry her long hair.

‘Should I cut my hair short?” she asked, seeking an answer from him.

She had thought that Mr. Hernandez was a man who preferred long hair and would object to her decision. However, his charming voice came from behind her, saying, “Whatever Mrs. Hernandez decides is fine. Whether it’s long hair, short hair, or even a wig. I’m a man who loves everything about his wife.”

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“Well, I won’t cut it then.” Julie happily fiddled with the cellphone, asking him, “Who was on the call?”

“Julien.”

“What did she say?”

“Dahlia has been blind due to cataracts, and when she went blind, Zenith was already twenty-six,” Kieran replied, his tone carrying a hint of seriousness.

Julie turned around, frowning, “So you are saying… when Dahlia went blind, Zenith had already assumed the appearance of Lucian?”

“Correct. So regardless of whether Zenith is Lucian or not, Dahlia knew about it.” He nodded.

Julie sighed thoughtfully, “So… we can’t get any information from Dahlia.”

Saying this, she grabbed the white towel from his hand, “Oh, what about Zenith’s birthmark? Did you see it? Does he have a birthmark on his back?”

“Check the photo album.” He gestured with his eyes towards the cellphone in Julie’s hand.

As she opened the photo album on her phone, she was still somewhat in shock, “You actually took pictures? Didn’t Zenith notice?”

Judging by Zenith’s attitude at dinner, he should be unaware of this.

However, Kieran simply curled his lips into a mysterious smile and said, “He might not know, or maybe he does and is pretending not to.”

“What do you mean?” Julie turned around, only to have Kieran redirect her attention back to the phone, where he had secretly taken a few pictures.

Indeed, it was Lucian’s back, but there were no birthmarks, let alone traces of a removed birthmark. What caught Julie’s attention were tattoos covering Lucian’s

entire back and upper arms. Not only was there no birthmark, but even the natural color of his skin was obscured.

Julie finally understood what Kieran meant earlier, that Zenith knew he was being photographed but pretended not to. This was because even if they saw his back, the colors of the tattoo completely

covered the spot where the birthmark should have been.

Even after Julie zoomed in on the picture, she still couldn’t discern whether there had ever been a birthmark.

“He’s too cautious…” Julie let out a sigh of disappointment and said to Kieran, “If Zenith really is my brother, he’s being too careful…”

He drew her into his arms from behind and said, “There’s also some bad news.”

She gently laid her soft hand on his, glanced back at him with a radiant smile, “Go ahead.”

“Zenith can’t cure Sansa.” His tone was calm, but his embrace tightened.

Julie shrugged, “As expected, should I say that?”

“But… there’s also some good news.” He said.

“There’s still good news?” Her expression was slightly surprised.

He said, “Hayden has found out why Professor Fred is unwilling to fully treat Sansa.”

“Really?” This indeed was good news. Once the root cause was identified, they could find a solution.

Julie held onto Kieran’s arm, turning back to ask him, “What’s the reason?”

“Someone has kidnapped Professor Fred’s daughter Emily, threatening her life. As long as we successfully rescue Emily and reunite her with Fred, I believe Fred won’t refuse to treat Sansa.” Kieran spoke with confidence, indicating that Hayden might have already communicated with Fred, and Fred seemed to have agreed to Hayden’s conditions.

“So… you’ve found out who kidnapped Emily?” Julie turned back to observe Kieran’s expression, which was somewhat stern at the moment.

“Kyle.” He said.

Julie loosened her grip on Kieran’s hand.

Kyle, she should have guessed it earlier.

She had ended things with him ambiguously, and his reappearance now seemed odd. The first time he showed up in the hospital room, although she didn’t know what he had said to Sansa, it provoked a reaction from her. She should have guessed that all of this had to do with Kyle, and that something must have happened between him and Sansa…

Kieran lowered his gaze to meet hers directly NôvelD(ram)a.ôrg owns this content.

“To prevent accidents, Julien plans to handle it personally this time.” Kieran was referring to the rescue of Emily. If it was Julien handling it, it was like injecting a dose of reassurance for Julie.

Upon hearing that Julien was going to take action, Julie took a deep breath. Holding his hand, she asked, “Why do you think Kyle is behind this?”

Julie frowned her brows, “Last time I asked Kyle, he seemed to imply that he didn’t know Sansa had become a vegetable over the years. After knowing the truth, his first condition was to visit Sansa. He even bought an expensive ring to give to my sister. My sister is now a vegetable lying in a hospital bed, unable to think clearly. Even if they had some past secrets, what threat could Sansa pose to him now? Is it necessary for him to go to such lengths?”

The calculating, scheming Kyle that Julie saw now was nothing like the Kyle she remembered from her past – the one who used to spoil Sansa and was always

courteous.

They seemed like two completely different people!

Tenderly holding Julie’s hand, Kieran looked deeply into her fair-skinned face and said, “To someone in a vegetative state who can’t think or speak, he obviously poses no threat. But what about someone in a vegetative state who might wake up?”

“So, from the beginning, his purpose for coming back was to prevent the possibility of my sister waking up?” Julie laughed coldly, “Then with his capabilities, wouldn’t it have been easier to just kill my sister? He should have known that only the dead can keep secrets. Anyone with a chance of waking up could be a danger at any moment!”

Because of Kyle, Julie’s emotions were spiraling out of control. He had returned to the country with a hidden agenda, pretending to care about Sansa’s wellbeing, but secretly plotting behind the scenes.

The most dangerous enemy is not the one standing opposite you, but the one standing beside you, claiming to be your friend.

Kieran had naturally considered Julie’s thoughts. From an unknown international lawyer, Kyle had hidden his identity and almost married Sansa, then divorced her, and he alone had founded the S&J International Law Firm.

Looking at Julie; he said, “Kyle’s background is strong, even Payne couldn’t figure it out. Even if we protect Sansa to the best of our abilities, there will inevitably be a lapse. If Kyle really wanted to kill Sansa, why would he go to the trouble of kidnapping Emily? And the most important thing is, Fred was ordered not to treat Sansa, to keep her in a vegetative state, not to inject her with lethal drugs. That tells us, Kyle is either trying not to alert others, or he doesn’t want Sansa to die.

But…”

Kieran paused before saying, “Julien said it would be easy to find out who kidnapped Emily. It’s as if they intentionally left clues for her. Considering this, what Kyle did was to tell others. So…”

“He doesn’t want Sansa to die? And he doesn’t want Sansa to wake up?” Julie, holding her head in confusion, asked, “What exactly is Kyle trying to do?”

“Tomorrow Julien will start the rescue mission, we can discuss after we get Emily back.” Wrapping his arm around Julie, he lowered his head and looked deeply into her eyes, “Let’s get some sleep now. Tomorrow morning, we can take Ivan out for a spin, then come back home in the afternoon.”

In the midst of her confusion, Julie fell asleep. She had a dream about the car accident from her childhood. She watched as Sansa was pulled from the driver’s seat by police officers, her body bloody and bruised.

In her dream, she tried to catch up to the ambulance that was carrying Sansa, but it sped away. Julie collapsed on the road, sobbing uncontrollably. Suddenly, a black van zoomed past her. She turned around in shock.

As the van passed her, she saw Kyle at the wheel.

She watched as the van crashed into Sansa’s car, which had just been loaded onto an ambulance. Sansa, who was supposed to be in the ambulance, was now chasing after her parents’ car.

Finally, the black van driven by Kyle collided with Sansa’s red car, sparks flying everywhere. And Kieran was standing right between the two cars…

Julie woke up in a panic, her body drenched in sweat.

She swallowed hard several times, slowly coming back to reality from her dream. But there was no sign of Kieran next to her, the man who was supposed to be sleeping by her side. Even his pillow was cold, suggesting he had been gone for a while.

Confused, Julie threw back the covers and headed downstairs, calling for Kieran,

But all that answered her was the cold air and the echo of her voice in the hall…

“Kieran!!” Julie pushed open the villa door, running towards the garden.