Love’s Cunning Ruse

Chapter 304

Nestled at the foot of the cemetery hill, amidst a grove of pine trees, Julien doffed her hat and walked deeper into the woodland.

The one-armed man, Gentry, was sharing a smoke with a slightly shorter companion, Lacy, perched on a fallen log that blocked the path. Lacy was in the midst of lighting Gentry’s cigarette when Julien appeared. Gentry, quick as a flash, dropped his freshly lit smoke to the ground, grinding it into the dirt with the heel of his boot. With a sideways glance at Lacy, who hurriedly pocketed the lighter, they both knew of Julien’s reputed acts of valor. Upon seeing Julien, Lacy couldn’t help but exclaim, “Hello, dear Canary!”

Gentry gave Lacy a swift kick. “Show some class, you’re embarrassing yourself,” he scoffed.

With a grin, Gentry addressed Julien, “Canary, what brings you to us today? Something up?”

“Mr. Gentry, you remember owing me a favor?” Julien inquired.

“Of course!” Gentry was well aware that Julien referred to an incident on a cruise ship when Julien, instead of causing trouble for them, had tipped them off about the cops, allowing them a smooth getaway and sparing them a heap of trouble.

“Canary, what do you need? I ain’t much for skills, but I can run errands and handle odd jobs like my own business. Whatever you need, just name it,” Gentry said, thumping his chest in assurance.

Julien nodded, “Actually, I do need a small favor from you, Mr. Gentry.”

“Spill it.”

“I want to know who you were chasing in Sycamore Village last time,” Julien said, her black military boots planted on the log where Gentry and Lacy had been sitting, her

tone even. All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

Gentry’s previously bold assurance evaporated instantly.

“Well…” Gentry hesitated, looking uncomfortable. “Canary, you know how it is with our way of life. I’m a paid man, and not to mention I didn’t even get the money, but if I tell you, I lose out twice. No money, no job done, and my rep goes down the drain..”

“I want to know who you were chasing in Sycamore Village. I’m not interested in how well you fare in our circles, Julien cut him off abruptly.

Gentry hadn’t expected Canary to be so assertive, and he was taken aback. “I remember you didn’t insist on knowing last time. Why the sudden hardball today?” “I have my reasons now.”

Gentry shook his head, firm in his stance, “I truly can’t tell you.”

“Is it that you can’t tell, or you don’t know? You don’t know the identity of the man you were chasing,” Julien pressed.

Gentry and Lacy both fell silent. Julien was right… they had a photo of the man but genuinely had no clue who he was. They only knew he was skilled, especially the blond, blue-eyed kid at his side. If it weren’t for the fact that their target was already injured, they wouldn’t have caught a glimpse, let alone given him a taste of their wrath. Their expressions were all Julien needed to see-she had hit a nerve.

Julien handed Gentry a photo taken surreptitiously at a recent banquet. “The man you were chasing, was it this one?”

Once again, Lacy and Gentry were struck silent by surprise. The man in the photo was indeed their mission, and right beside him was the very blond, blue-eyed kid with impressive skills.

Gentry realized he should have skipped this meeting.

He neither confirmed nor denied, waiting to see what Canary would do next.

“After I reveal the identity of this man, you’ll have one last chance to tell me who sent you after him and what the purpose was,” Julien said, pointing at Simon in the photo. Gentry and Lacy stared at the photo in silence. They have suspected the man has a secret identity, yet unaware of his true identity. Julien spared Lacy the effort of guessing, as no leads had come up.

Pointing to Simon in the photo, Julien declared, “He is the first in line to inherit the Fitzgerald estate, Simon. You should be familiar with the family-they were always at odds with Miles back in the day.”

Gentry stepped back in shock and glared at Lacy, “I told you we shouldn’t have taken this job so lightly, but you were blinded by the cash. Do you have any idea how powerful the Fitzgeralds are?”

Lacy was utterly crestfallen, “I… Mr. Gentry, I didn’t know we were dealing with the heir apparent! At the time, the offer was good, the job was just to teach the guy in the photo a lesson. I did my homework before taking the job, found nothing, thought he was an easy target from his pretty boy looks. And the money was good, for a lesson, not a hit job, so I took it, I…”

“You found nothing, so he had no background? It’s the ones with no trace that have the real clout. Think about it, why would they need you if a simple search could expose him?”

Julien glared at the pair, “I’m not here to watch you two argue.”

Gentry and Lacy promptly shut up.

Julien continued, “Right now, Simon has no idea who ambushed him that day, but I happen to know. In our world, we value loyalty, but we also play hardball. You know what I’m implying.”

Nick gritted his teeth, casting a wary glance at the formidable figure of Julien. He never doubted the woman’s capabilities; after all, Simon was not someone they could afford to mess with. Weighing his options, he finally ceded, “Canary, since you put it that way, I’ll spill everything I know. But if anything happens to me down the line, you gotta have my back and look out for my crew, alright?”

“Mm.”

Gentry let out a heavy sigh, “Lacy, tell her everything you know!”

When Julie left the hill and made her way back to the car, Julien was already waiting inside.

As she had set off, Julie had taken Julien’s umbrella, but as she returned, her forehead was bare. Droplets clung to her long hair like pearls of sugar.

“Where’s the umbrella?” Julien tossed a towel to Julie from the backseat.

Drying her hair, Julie replied, “Left it up there.”

“At Rankin’s grave, right?” Julien asked.

Julie nodded, a tumult of emotions evident. It was like meeting an old friend after years apart, but the separation of life and death made the reunion painfully bittersweet.

11-45

Suddenly, Davina came to her mind, the woman who had died consumed by hatred.

Seeing Julie fall silent, Julien spoke up, “Thinking about Davina?”

Julie turned to look at Julien, the woman seemed to had some sort of mind-reading ability.

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With a smile that hardly touched her eyes, Julie confessed, “Davina always blamed my parents for her dad going to jail, for her mom remarrying and dragging her along. She said her stepdad in Veridia treated them like dirt, that I abandoned Rankin, that I was the reason he died. But Julien, I really don’t know… I don’t understand why she held such a grudge. She must’ve had her reasons, but she took them to the grave.”

Pausing, Julie frowned deeply, “And how did Davina end up dying so horribly? Who could have snatched her away right under the cops’ noses, even though she was badly injured? That takes some serious clout.”

“If I could figure it out, I’d be comforting you right now,” Julien implied she had investigated, but as Julie had mentioned, their opponent was too powerful, leaving no trails to follow.

Julie sighed deeply, “I think if I hadn’t come today, I would’ve kept fooling myself into believing he was still out there… but seeing him like this, I just can’t describe how I feel.”

The drive was quiet until they neared the city. That’s when Julien finally turned to Julie and asked, “Does talking it out really work?”

“What talk?” Julie was confused, but Julien didn’t repeat herself.

It took a moment for Julie to catch on, then with a sudden smile she asked Julien, “You mean talking between couples?”

Julien didn’t respond.

“I can’t guarantee it’ll work every time, but if you two could just sit down and have a calm discussion, it might do you both some good.” Julie continued.

Talking things out was one thing, but being calm and collected? Julien figured that was a fantasy when it came to her and Hayden.

The car radio played softly in the background until a piece of breaking news caught Julien’s attention, and she cranked up the volume. The radio host was fervently reporting on a mysterious woman seen accompanying Mr. Lionel to a maternity clinic.

Julie frowned, half amused, “The press is relentless nowadays, spotting a pregnancy even when Daphne was all wrapped up like that.”

“At least they haven’t figured out it’s Daphne Flores,” Julien remarked.

But no sooner had Julien finished her sentence, the radio host announced, “Insiders speculate that the woman with Lionel Kemp is likely the viral deputy editor of Gentlemen’s Magazine, Ms. Daphne. For many of Lionel’s fans, she’s a household name, acknowledged by Lionel himself as a ‘revolutionary friend’ and the leading lady on the last variety show he participated in before his sudden departure from showbiz. It seems that every major story about Mr. Lionel has a connection to Ms. Daphne…”

“Isn’t Lionel’s father, Fabian Kemp, a media mogul? How come Lionel can’t squash a single scandal?” Julien muttered disdainfully.

As soon as the broadcast began, Julie had been trying to reach Daphne, but her phone was turned off.

Worried something might have happened to Daphne, Julie tapped Julien’s arm urgently, “Julien, turn around. We need to check on Daphne at her apartment!”