Chapter 83
Logan stood up and paced around the living room, his smile growing increasingly twisted.
Suddenly, he remembered something.
Juliana.
Right—Juliana was treating him.
A thought flashed through his mind like lightning, freezing him in place.
Then an enormous wave of euphoria surged through him.
He understood.
He understood everything!
Logan burst into laughter again, doubled over, tears nearly streaming from his eyes.
He'd always thought Juliana had returned to the country to get revenge on him, to latch onto Lucas as her meal ticket.
Now he saw how completely wrong he'd been!
This woman had been helping him all along!
She'd returned to Lucas's side as a doctor, claiming to treat him. And the result? Lucas's old injury had flared up, leaving him half-dead from pain!
This wasn't treatment at all.
This was a death sentence!
"Juliana... I really underestimated you." Logan murmured to himself, his eyes full of obsession and admiration. "Your feelings for me run so deep."
In his mind, everything Juliana did was for him.
She hated Lucas, so she was torturing him in the cruelest way possible, making him fall from the clouds of hope into the hell of despair again.
She was doing all this to clear obstacles for him, to help him ascend to the position of Sharp family head!
This realization made Logan tremble with excitement.
That old hag Ashley wanted to pay money to have Juliana killed?
Foolish!
Juliana was his sharpest blade, the perfect mole he'd planted beside Lucas!
How could he possibly let anything happen to her?
Logan grabbed his phone and quickly dialed a number.
"Hey, that job I had you working on—stop it."
The person on the other end sounded confused. "Why? We're all ready to go."
"I said stop, so stop! Don't question me!" Logan's tone carried impatience and arrogance. "Remember—don't touch a hair on Juliana's head. She's mine."
He hung up and hummed a tune smugly.
Walking to the floor-to-ceiling windows, Logan gazed at the glittering city night view as if already seeing his future ruling over everything.
He pulled out his phone, found Juliana's number, and composed a message, his face bearing a confident smile.
[Well done.]
On second thought, that wasn't enough. He deleted it and typed again.
[My darling, wait for me.]
……
Her phone vibrated in her pocket.
Juliana was preparing to change Lucas's dressing when she heard it. She pulled out her phone and glanced at it casually.
A text from an unknown number.
[My darling, wait for me.]
Juliana's brow furrowed instantly.
"Darling"?
What nonsense was this?
She clicked on the number and saw it was from a local area code. She ran through everyone she knew but couldn't think of anyone with this number.
Probably just spam.
Juliana didn't give it much thought.
She put her phone on silent, picked up the tray, and entered Lucas's bedroom.
Lucas was propped against the headboard, looking much better. He held a tablet showing red and green candlestick charts flickering alarmingly.
Juliana's tone carried disapproval. "You're a patient. You need rest."
Lucas looked up from the tablet, his gaze settling on her face.
"There's a small problem."
Just then, his private phone rang urgently.
"Mr. Sharp, we have a crisis!" His assistant Mason's voice was barely controlled panic. "News about your injury flare-up and being bedridden has somehow leaked. It's all over the internet! Our company's stock price... is plummeting!"
Juliana's heart sank sharply.
She instinctively moved closer to look at Lucas's tablet.
Sure enough, Sharp Group's stock chart showed a straight green line plunging downward like an abyss, devouring trillions in market value.
Online, hashtags like #LucasCriticalCondition and #SharpGroupHeirInDanger were climbing at alarming speed, quickly dominating the trending topics.
The public fervor triggered direct panic selling in the capital markets.
"Have you traced the source?" Lucas asked calmly.
"Yes! It started from a small account on an entertainment gossip forum. We traced the IP and found it's the same group that planted informants in your residence before!"
Logan.
That name immediately sprang into both Lucas and Juliana's minds.
Juliana's expression darkened. She'd only come to treat Lucas last night, and today this news broke—the timing was too convenient.
"Mr. Sharp, what should we do? Should we issue an immediate denial? The PR department has already drafted a statement!" Mason sounded frantic on the other end.
"No need." Lucas spoke two words flatly.
"What?" Mason was stunned. "No need? But if we don't control this, the stock price will—"
"Issue an announcement," Lucas interrupted, instructing methodically, "thanking the public for their concern, confirming that I am indeed unwell and recuperating quietly."
At those words, not just Mason but even Juliana froze.
Wasn't this essentially confirming the rumors were true? This would only spread the panic further!
"Mr. Sharp, please reconsider! This—"
"Do as I say. Also, have the legal department prepare to monitor media outlets and marketing accounts maliciously spreading rumors and manipulating public opinion. Collect all the evidence."
"...Yes." Though Mason was full of questions, he immediately complied.
"Finally, notify everyone—tomorrow morning at ten, we're holding a press conference."
After hanging up, Lucas casually tossed the tablet aside with a light thud.
He was... turning the tables?
Juliana looked at him and suddenly understood his plan.
Logan thought he'd caught Lucas's weakness and couldn't wait to release it, expecting to see him panicking and Sharp Group descending into chaos.
But Lucas refused to play along.
Not only would he not deny it, he'd go along with their narrative, make things even bigger, let all the demons jump out, and lay their evidence bare in the sunlight.
Then tomorrow, he'd appear at the press conference healthy and commanding, and all the rumors would collapse on their own.
By then, not only would the stock price stabilize, but he could turn around and ruthlessly deal with everyone who'd kicked him while he was down.
Only...
Juliana looked at his somewhat pale face, feeling unsettled.
Though the plan was brilliant, it placed too much burden on his body. He was clearly still in pain, yet he had to push through handling so much business while performing for everyone.
"You..." Juliana opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but swallowed it back.
She turned and left the bedroom.
Before long, Juliana returned carrying a bowl of steaming porridge.
The porridge was soft and fragrant, its aroma filling the air.
"You didn't eat dinner. You must be hungry now. Eat something first." She held out the bowl.
"My hands have no strength." His response was brief.
Juliana fell silent.
A man who minutes ago had been strategizing and commanding armies was now telling her he didn't have the strength to hold a bowl?
Who was he kidding?