Love’s Cunning Ruse

Chapter 299

Kieran saw Julie’s text message, his expression morphing into a tight frown.

Flavia, noticing their troubled expressions, voiced her concern, “Can I be of any help?”

Julie looked up at Flavia, a small smile playing on her lips, “No, thank you.”

Flavia chuckled, “Well, you’re a friend of my sister, so that makes you a friend of mine.”

At this, Kenton, notorious famous wife-protector, nodded in agreement, “My wife’s got a point there.”

He then turned to Hayden, “Are you going to say anything or just continue being mute?”

“No.” Hayden replied, his tone cold and distant.

Flavia tugged at Kenton’s sleeve, a look that screamed ‘why are you provoking him?’ on her face.

Julien seemed to be oblivious to all the commotion.

Soon, another text message buzzed on Julie’s phone, this time from Zenith, “Julie, go alone. Leave the black box at room 2404. I promise you’ll be safe.”

“I’ll go,” Kieran offered, reaching for Julie’s phone, but she held onto it tightly, not handing over the black box.

Her phone rang again, another text from Zenith, “Ker, Trust me.”

Only Lucian called Kieran by that nickname, not even Amanda used it. Julie’s phone had been delivered just before the banquet by Zenith’s people.

She pried Kieran’s fingers off her phone, looking at him with a determined gaze, “If Zenith is Lucian, we have to trust him. We must trust him.”

The black box contained a USB drive, and if it were as safe as Zenith claimed, he could have delivered it himself or sent someone else. But he insisted Julie do it, indicating the importance and safety of her doing so, and the risk involved if anyone else did.

Kieran understood this.

Their argument over the text messages left the others confused.

“What’s going

which Julien replied, “I thought it was something big.”

wrist, pointing at a small black button, “If you’re in danger, press this. We’ll be there in

to reveal all truths once Julie completed her task, so she had to take the risk.

floor? According to Zenith, we’re not supposed to leave, but we can still watch the entrance

to Julie’s insistence.

**

alert. The task seemed simple enough: leave the black box at the doorstep of the locked room. Julie

locked, there must be someone inside. Julie took the black box out and put it on

a bit too

was so

line of sight. Looking up, she saw a

a building across the hotel, Zenith and Bruce watched through binoculars. Upon seeing Julie startled, Bruce asked, “Sir, should we

men were stationed around room 2404, just

his head, “Wait.”

head, Julie was terrified. “You…you…”

moving closer. Julie’s hand hovered over the black button on

stopping at a safe

luck. She wondered if she should press the button, but

quickly asked, “Are you carrying a

gun daily,” he

box tightly, hoping he wouldn’t

hunch and asked cautiously, “Do… do you live

referring to room

right away, instead, he looked at her, a bit of tension in his gaze, and asked, “What

it out of sight, how did he

clutched the box in her hand, prepared to fight tooth and nail before giving it up. Zenith,

pressing further about the black box in

man had left her on a deserted island, a place where no man dared to venture, full of with unknown and potentially harmful creatures. All he had left her with was a gun with a few remaining bullets. Her survival and escape from

this man, and particularly his associate, Kleist. Thankfully, Kleist was not here today. After all, he was the one who had nearly