Love’s Cunning Ruse

Chapter 187

The distance between the two was abruptly closed by Hayden’s move. Julien was caught off guard and

quite repulsed. But being a master of concealing her emotions, she maintained a brief silence before

addressing Hayden in a composed manner, “I don’t find our current distance comfortable. What about

you?”

“Do you genuinely want to know my feelings?” Hayden’s chiseled features resembled a meticulously

crafted work of art, his usually icy gaze now warmed.

His rough fingertips gently trailed along the back of her neck, the coarse sensation causing a shiver to

run down her skin. Julien was always on guard against men, but this one… she could only mask her

unique feelings towards him with disgust.

She grabbed his arm tightly, “Are you trying to seduce me?”

He neither confirmed nor denied.

In response, Julien retorted, “Being seduced feels disgusting.”

She used the word “disgusting,” probably the deepest form of repulsion a woman can feel towards a

man. However, this man, who had experienced life and death, seemed unfazed. Instead, he revisited

her previous topic, “You asked what distance I find comfortable. Lien, I prefer a negative distance.”

“Wait till the day I reach into your heart, rip it out, and see how comfortable that distance feels,” she

forcefully shook off the arm resting on her neck, took a step back, and leaned against a chair,

maintaining a safe distance from him.

She of course understood what he meant by “negative distance”.

He didn’t engage in an argument, but looked at her with a somewhat dominant gaze, “Lien, I’ll give you

a choice. Temporarily abandon your mission from the National Security Agency, or permanently

abandon your identity given by the National Security Agency. I think, Klein will listen to me.”

Klein, the previous deputy director and current director of the National Security Agency, had earned his

position through the successful capture of Miles, a feat largely attributable to Hayden’s assistance.

Julien’s parents were both victims of Miles, and Klein had been secrétly looking after the Julien sisters

since childhood. If Hayden were to exert influence to force Klein to fire her, he would likely have no

choice but to comply.

In the end, Julien merely averted her gaze, murmuring as though talking to herself, “Then tell me, what

can I do for you? Apart from my own life, I have nothing else to offer.”

Her tone was sharp, direct, and cold.

Hayden cut to the chase, “If I remember correctly, you’ve had contact with the Fitzgerald family.”

Julien had once been an undercover agent for the National Security Agency, working under Miles.

Although he didn’t fully trust her, he would assign her to handle many important matters, including

those related to the Fitzgerald family.

“Since Miles’ death, I no longer have any ties with the Fitzgerald family,” Julien stated earnestly,

“I don’t need to know the grudges between Miles and them; you just need to tell me about the

Fitzgerald family.”

“The family is known for their secrecy, I only know they own banks and wineries…”

“I’m not interested in their wealth. Tell me about the people,” Hayden cut her off.

Julien suddenly looked at Hayden, “Are you asking about the second young miss of their family?”

“Second young miss?” Hayden asked, puzzled.

Julien chuckled, “Are you curious about that? As expected, all you men care about is beauty.”

“Beauty?” Hayden looked at Julien, his gaze subtly shifting.

Julien didn’t think much about it and continued, “I’ve never met the second young miss of the Fitzgerald

family. All I know is that her name is Beatrice. She is said to be extremely beautiful, with a great figure

and an aura of elegance and mystery. No one has ever seen her photo.”

“Simon, the first heir to the Fitzgerald family, have you met him?” Hayden interrupted again.

Julien was surprised, “I haven’t.”

Hayden didn’t doubt her words. He knew that if even Julien hadn’t met someone, then that person must

be extremely mysterious.

“Simon and Beatrice are siblings. I only know that Simon once had a secret lover, but they broke up.

Simon also had a younger brother, but he’s dead.” “A family feud?” Hayden asked.

Even though he proposed this guess, he was well aware that the brother’s death had nothing to do with

Miles. Otherwise, according to the tradition of the Fitzgerald family, they wouldn’t have given up on

revenge after Miles’ death.

However, Jutfen shook her head, “He died of a terminal illness. Simon started a charity project to

provide free treatment for people with rare diseases in memory of his brother. The feud with Miles

involved the head of the Fitzgerald family and had nothing to do with his children.”

“Look into this Simon, the more detailed the better, Hayden said.

Julien didn’t ask why, but instead told Hayden, “I might not be able to find much. I’m more interested in

the matter with Davina.”

Hayden was aware of Julien’s thoughts. She originally didn’t want to hand Davina over to the police,

having her own ways to make her feel worse than death. But today, he stopped Julien from handling

the situation privately and voluntarily handed Davina over to the police.

Who would have thought the police would be so unreliable, they actually lost her. Hayden said, “If I get

a lead on Davina, I’ll let you know right away.” Julien was taken aback for a moment, then stood up

from Hayden’s study and left.

At Kieran’s urging, the police station sent out several teams to look for Davina, but to no avail.

Davina was jolted awake with a bucket of cold water. She’d been shot multiple times, mostly by Julien,

but none had hit a vital spot. After she was carted onto an ambulance, her bleeding stopped.

After being kidnapped, she passed out from exhaustion. When she came to again, she found herself in

an operating room with doctors and nurses around, but they weren’t operating on her. They seemed to

be waiting for instructions.

It wasn’t until someone splashed cold water on her that she truly woke up. She squinted her eyes open,

seeing an IV needle in the back of her hand. Seems like they weren’t planning to kill her.

Just then, a deep voice suddenly came from a corner of the operation room: “Begin the operation!”

When Davina heard this voice, her body started convulsing on the operating table. She realized she

was tied down and couldn’t move.

“No… don’t!” Her voice, filled with fear, was so weak it could hardly be heard a few meters away.

Her eyes wide open, her pupils constricted.

The doctors and nurses, dressed in scrubs, the surgical knife gleaming silver under the operation light.

Davina’s right hand had been hit by Dylan, and both her knees had been shot by Julien.

Knowing who the voice belonged to, Davina was overwhelmed with fear. She weakly yelled at the

indistinct figure in the corner, “I didn’t do anything wrong! It’s Julie! She killed Rankin!”

Just as she finished speaking, Davina let out a piercing scream.

The doctor was operating on her, but they hadn’t given her any anesthesia! The pain of the scalpel

cutting through her hand left her speechless. The sound of her flesh being cut open felt like the cruelest

punishment.

And this was just the beginning of her punishment.

Before one wave of pain had passed, she felt another doctor slicing open her knee. Davina finally

understood why there were three attending doctors.

Because she had three wounds, and none were anesthetized. The bone-deep pain felt like a trip

through hell, and the intense pain made Davina feel like she was about to pass out. But this was just

the beginning….

The bullet was lodged in her kneecap. To remove it, they had to use a medical drill. The sharp sound of

the drill filled the room. The sensation was far more terrifying than lying on a dentist’s chair. Combined

with the intense pain, she fainted from the pain before the drill even touched her knee.

After Davina lost consciousness, the nurses around her tried to bring her back. She kept fainting, again

and again. Davina even tried to bite her own. tongue to end it all, but the nurses had already filled her

mouth. She was gagged, like a goldfish.

In the end, Davina didn’t know how she held on. She was surprised she didn’t die. After drifting in and

out of sleep for several hours, she woke up again.

Davina knew, this wasn’t the end, but the beginning of her nightmare….

When she woke up, she found herself not in the operation room, but pushed into another room. The

room was dark, with only a bit of light coming in from the window. It was already dark outside, like a

dark curtain was covering everything, making her feel suffocated. She hadn’t received any pain

medication, only left to deal with the post-operative pain.

She was strapped to the bed, not even given a chance to struggle.

“Kill me… please, kill me…” Davina looked at the man standing-in front of the window, crying. The large

figure, under the faint moonlight, looked like it had a pair of devil’s wings…