Chapter 175

Chapter 175

“I am…”

Before Lionel could finish his sentence, Daphne suddenly sat up from the bed, grabbing the phone from him. Like a startled animal, she asked the person on the other end of the line, Julien, “Julie’s been kidnapped?”

Julien, usually quick to react, paused for a moment before responding, “Are you sure you’re not the one who’s been kidnapped?”

Daphne stayed silent.

She wasn’t the one who had been kidnapped, but her current situation was even worse than being kidnapped. Honestly, she wished she

had been.

“Who kidnapped Julie?” Daphne decided to ignore Julien’s question.

Julien’s voice came from the other end, “Think about anyone around you who might have a motive. Call me back when you figured it

out.”

And with that, she hung up.

Daphne felt like Julien was trying to help, so she got up from the bed, looking frantic.

With her feet on the soft carpet, she looked at Lionel with an apologetic expression, “Lord Lion, we are both adults now. We should think more maturely. I won’t make you take responsibility. We…”

“You slept with me. Of course you can’t ask me to take responsibility! This is how adults think.” Lionel, only wrapped in a towel, was leaning against the door frame, raising an eyebrow at Daphne.

Daphne’s face must have been awkward.

She nodded reluctantly, “Yes, you’re right…”

She knew it would end up like this. She knew she shouldn’t have followed Lionel home. When did her IQ drop to zero?

Lionel, looking at Daphne picking up her scattered clothes, narrowed his eyes, “Are you planning to leave now?”

What else could she say?

“Lord Lion, you heard it too. My good friend Julie is missing. I need to find her. Once I do, I’ll come back to apologize!” Daphne quickly

said.

Lionel raised an eyebrow, then pulled out his phone to dial Elliot’s number, “Any lead on her? Isn’t Julie Elliot’s old flame? His resources should be better than yours.”

Daphne knew about the relationship between Lionel and Elliot. So, it wasn’t surprising that Lionel suggested Elliot. Elliot indeed had

more resources.

So, when Lionel called Elliot, Daphne didn’t stop him.

“Elliot, your old flame has been kidnapped. Are you involved in this? Did you do it out of jealousy because she rekindled her romance with your love rival?” Lionel said to Elliot in a teasing tone.

Elliot’s voice came from the other end, “Make it clear!”

“I’ve heard that your old flame has been kidnapped. I just want to ask if you know about it.” Lionel continued to tease, “If you really did kidnap Julie, I must say you are impressive.”

Elliot finally got it, “Julie’s been kidnapped?”

Hearing the excitement in Elliot’s voice, it was clear that Elliot had nothing to do with Julie’s kidnapping.

Ignoring Lionel, Daphne snatched the phone and asked Elliot, “Mr. Sanches, are you sure you don’t know about Julie’s kidnapping? Could it be someone she knows…”

Before Daphne could finish her sentence, Elliot hung up the phone.

Hearing the phrase ‘someone she knows’, Elliot immediately thought of Adeline.

He remembered something Adeline had once said.

“Do you think Kieran loves Julie?”

“If Kieran loves Julie, Julie won’t be unfortunate. If Julie marrying Kieran is a blessing, can you let go then?”

So, what Adeline had wanted to do back then was to prove whether Kieran really loved Julie?

Ellot dialed Adeline’s number as he opened the door of the CEO’s office.

He thought Adeline wouldn’t pick up, but surprisingly she did.

“Where are you now?” Elliot asked directly.

A laughing Adeline answered, “You sound anxious. Did you find out about Julie’s kidnapping?”

Elliot was silent.

As expected, Adeline was involved.

“Don’t worry, I won’t harm her. I’m at Lavender Club, come over.” Adeline said and hung up.

When Elliot tried to call her back, she was already on another call.

Adeline called the kidnapper, “How much longer?”

“Don’t worry. In ten minutes at most, I’ll deliver her to you safely.” The kidnapper confidently replied.

Lavender Club was just across from the Ray Consortium building. In less than five minutes, Elliot was there.

Upon seeing Adeline, his first words were, “Where’s Julie?”.

Adeline shrugged, smiling as she asked Elliot to sit on the sofa, “Why the rush? I won’t harm her. Since I’ve brought her here, let’s discuss how to prove a man’s love for a woman, shall we?”

“Adeline, you’re digging your own grave!” Elliot glared at Adeline. This woman had never done anything that gave him peace of mind.

Adeline always acted like an older sister, but it was always Elliot who cleaned up her messes. Sometimes he wondered if his twin sister, who looked nothing like him, was a genetic mutant. It turned out that they were not blood-related.

Elliot shot Adeline a somewhat irritated look, “So you want to know how much Kieran loves Julie, huh?”

Adeline nodded, retorting, “Don’t you want to know?”

“If you’re so eager to know how much Kieran loves Julie, then just wait and see how you’re going to die when Kieran finds out the truth!” Elliot snapped.

Adeline fell silent.

Sometimes, Elliot really had a sharp tongue.

Adeline had considered the possible consequences when she decided to kidnap Julie. She had prepared herself to face the outcome even before she took actions.

In the matter of falling for Elliot, Adeline had done a lot of stupid things. She knew in Elliot’s heart, she was just family to him, blood-related or not, there was no way they could develop a romantic relationship.

So, she had tried hard, attempting to like other people, trying to see their good points.

Kieran was an amazing guy, this had always been Adeline’s belief. Therefore, for a long time, she had tried to make herself fall for this outstanding man.

Then Elliot came back home, for his first love.

It wasn’t until later that Adeline found out that Elliot’s first love was Kieran’s ex-wife.

At first, Adeline had genuinely tried to push Julie and Elliot together. But from the moment Julie and Kieran got back together, as an observer, she knew Elliot and Julie could never be together.

If Julie could bring happiness to Elliot, she might genuinely smile and bless them.

But now, she couldn’t stand by and watch Elliot get more and more entangled in this emotional mess. She had gotten used to telling herself that she and Elliot could never be together. So even if Elliot didn’t love her and didn’t end up with her in the end, she could accept it with grace.

But Julie was special in Elliot’s heart, the girl he had been deeply in love with for many years.

Adeline couldn’t exactly put into words what she was doing. She just thought, if Kieran truly loved Julie, if Julie was happy, perhaps Elliot would feel a bit better!

What Adeline didn’t know was that the person who was truly stuck in the triangle between Elliot and Julie was herself.

Elliot pulled Adeline to sit by his side, his gaze calm as never before.

“Adeline, there’s something I may never have told you.” He looked at Adeline deeply, “Julie is the one I like, but not the one I must have.” “What do you mean?” Adeline had never seen this look in Elliot’s eyes before.

Elliot said, “If I had to be with her, I wouldn’t have chosen to study abroad back then. The first time I kissed her, Kieran was there. Since then, I knew their feelings for each other were mutual. I knew they would eventually be together. If she and Kieran are happy, I can accept it. But I know her life after divorcing Kieran isn’t good, she isn’t happy. So, I came back. I came back hoping to give her a happy family, and I proposed to her. But it turns out, she doesn’t need me.”

Elliot gave a helpless smile, gently holding Adeline’s shoulders, “I’ve tried, I’ve done my best. Even if I failed in the end, I won’t regret it.

Lionel used to say, we’ll meet many people in life. Not everyone who stays will become your lover, but they are certainly the ones you love, whether it’s friendship or family… For Julie, I still have feelings, but not necessarily to be with her, so there’s no need to test whether Kieran truly loves her. At least I know, the one she truly loves, is definitely not me.”

After all this, it seemed like Adeline finally got it…

After a moment of silence, she took out her phone and dialed the kidnapper’s number, “Send her back to Simpo Co., I’ll pay you.”

However, as soon as Adeline finished speaking, a hesitant voice came from the other end of the line, “Someone else took her away…”