Chapter 206 More Harm Than Good
"I see. Well, I'm going to go have some fun then. You two chat."
Hearing that this was Lucas's "former boss," Faith lost all interest in Julie and left with the female celebrity Lucas had introduced her to.
Julie's gaze had been fixed on Faith's hand tugging at Lucas's sleeve, and then she suddenly heard how Lucas introduced her, combined with Faith's dismissive behavior—the anger in her heart was almost impossible to suppress.
She gritted her teeth hard and said, "So this is the type you like?"
Lucas frowned.
"The type I like has nothing to do with you, Ms. Crawford. I've already left Aurora Media. From now on, let's just pretend we don't know each other when we meet."
With that, he turned and walked away.
Julie was so angry she could barely breathe.
Her hands clenched into tight fists.
She swore to herself that she would have Lucas.
She took out her phone and called one of her subordinates.
"Start the plan. Go outside and bring that person in."
"Yes."
Julie's subordinate left through the west side door.
Amelia had just been watched by Julie's bodyguard and couldn't do anything for the moment.
Now that no one was around and Julie's attention was all on Lucas, she easily made her way to Orval's side.
"Mr. Montes, do you have a moment to chat?"
Orval looked at her.
"I don't think we have anything to talk about, Ms. Richardson?"
"Not necessarily." Amelia smiled slightly and said, "Maybe I can give you what you want."
Orval frowned slightly.
Amelia waved her phone and handed it to Orval.
"Someone wants to talk to you. Take it."
Orval took it suspiciously.
A moment later, his eyes widened slightly, and his expression changed noticeably.
"Yes, I'll think about it."
The call ended. Orval handed the phone back, but his attitude toward Amelia was completely different from before.
"How do you know........?"
"That's not important. What's important is, what will you choose? An uncertain future, or the actual benefits we're promising you?"
Orval took a deep breath and said, "Julie has a plan."
Amelia listened carefully.
She nodded at Orval and said, "Then our alliance is established."
"Will you go back on your word?" Orval asked anxiously.
Amelia looked at him deeply.
"Go back on my word? Over these small things we promised you? Do I need to?"
Orval was speechless.
Amelia left quickly.
Orval clenched his fists, his fingers still trembling slightly.
He had betrayed Julie.
A few minutes ago, he hadn't even had such a thought.
But now he'd already done it.
However, if Amelia could even contact that person, he was willing to take this gamble.
...
Amelia returned to the dessert area.
She quietly ate a piece of mousse cake.
Sweets could lift one's mood and clear one's mind.
Before long, someone suddenly appeared in front of her.
It was Uma.
Amelia showed obvious surprise.
"Uma, what are you doing here?"
Uma smiled and said, "Mrs. Richardson was worried that you weren't feeling well and would get tired at the event, so she asked me to keep you company."
Amelia nodded. "That's good."
But from the corner of her eye, she was watching a certain direction.
Julie's bodyguard was staring this way.
"Ms. Richardson, would you like to rest for a bit? You look a little pale. Why don't you go drink some water and sit down?"
Amelia agreed.
"Let's go to the lounge then."
There were many lounges here. Amelia chose an empty one and went in.
There was no bed inside, but there was a large sofa.
As soon as the door closed, Uma immediately came over with a glass of water.
"Ms. Richardson, this is the water they asked me to give you."
Julie didn't know that Uma had already switched sides back to Amelia, so she felt comfortable using her.
And Amelia's illness came at just the right time, giving Uma a legitimate excuse to come find her.
Even God was helping her.
She took the glass, observed it for a moment, then tested it with a silver needle before saying, "There's only sleeping pills in it. Looks like Julie can't be bothered with harming me and Faith, she just wants to make her own thing happen."
Uma nodded. "They only told me to stay by your side and give you this water. They didn't tell me to do anything else."
Amelia acknowledged this and said, "Then let's wait for the show to begin."
She walked to the window and opened it.
The window here was very low, only reaching her chest, making it easy to climb out.
She called Byron.
"Get ready."
"Yes."
Uma was somewhat surprised.
"Someone else knows about our plan?"
"Uma, you don't need to ask about these things. Just wait here."
Uma nodded vigorously.
She wasn't very clever anyway. Whatever Amelia told her to do, she would do.
...
Something soon happened at the reception.
As Faith passed by a guest, the guest suddenly claimed Faith had bumped into her.
Faith hadn't bumped into anyone, so naturally she didn't admit it.
She wanted to just leave, but the entertainer grabbed her and wouldn't let go. The two started arguing.
Lucas noticed the situation and immediately walked over.
"Faith, what's wrong?"
"She's accusing me! I didn't bump into her!"
The entertainer retorted, "What do you mean you didn't? Am I a vegetable? Can't I feel when someone bumps into me?"
Lucas said directly to check the surveillance cameras, and the entertainer immediately backed down, saying she might have been mistaken, then turned and left.
"She deliberately framed me! I don't know why—I don't even know her, let alone offend her," Faith said.
Lucas believed Faith.
He thought of Julie.
Perhaps because Faith had gotten too close to him, Julie was deliberately targeting Faith.
He instinctively looked up to search for Julie but didn't see her.
Lucas felt even more uneasy, with a panicked feeling in his heart.
He grabbed Faith and said, "If you and Amelia have nothing else, you should go back. I have a bad feeling about this."
Faith thought to herself: You're only getting this feeling now?
But she said, "Amelia disappeared earlier. I don't know where she went."
Lucas felt anxious and quickly called Amelia.
No one answered—it showed the phone was off.
He immediately went to look for Amelia, not even bothering with Faith.
Soon he learned from a server that Amelia had gone to a lounge.
He breathed a sigh of relief and immediately headed for the lounge the server had mentioned.
As soon as he entered, Julie, who had been nowhere to be seen, emerged from behind a load-bearing wall.
Her lips curved up slightly as she waited quietly.
Soon, someone walked out of that lounge.
It wasn't Lucas who had just gone in, but her bodyguard, Paxton.
Paxton glanced in her direction and gave her a slight nod.
Julie's smile grew wider.
Because she knew this meant the job was done.
Lucas was already "obediently" waiting for her inside.
But Julie wasn't in a hurry to go in. Instead, she went to find Faith.
She wouldn't feel good about doing this without venting her anger first.
"Whose daughter are you?"
Julie's arrogant tone clearly showed she didn't take Faith seriously.
Faith looked sweet and innocent, but she had a sharp tongue.
"And whose daughter are you, putting on airs here? I'd really like to see what kind of people your parents are."
Julie's face darkened.
"Damn it! Who gave you permission to speak to me in that tone?"
Faith sneered.
"Are you going crazy because you can't have what you want? Do you think this is the Middle Ages? People are equal, understand? Whatever tone you use with me, I'll use with you. Got a problem with that?"
"How dare you call me crazy?"
Julie was furious and immediately called Paxton over.
"Slap her!"
Paxton hadn't expected that after everything went smoothly, Julie would start arguing with Faith.
"Ms. Crawford, the important matter comes first."
"I know. But right now, you teach her a good lesson first!"
Paxton took a deep breath and said, "You go ahead. I'll teach her a lesson for you."
The vein on Julie's forehead throbbed, but she finally left.
She headed straight for the lounge.
Only then did Paxton look at Faith and apologize, "Miss, I'm truly sorry. Ms. Crawford has a bad temper. Please forgive her."
"Forgive what? I'm not some delicate woman. Didn't you say you were going to teach me a lesson? Come on, let's go outside and have a fight."
Paxton fell silent.
"What? Are you scared?"
Without waiting for Paxton's answer, Faith grabbed his sleeve and pulled him outside.
Paxton didn't want to cause too much commotion, so he could only follow Faith out to settle it.
Meanwhile, Julie had already pushed open the lounge door.
She looked up and sure enough saw Lucas lying face-down on the sofa, motionless, with his back to her.
Her lips curved up again.
She had deliberately bribed a server to guide Lucas to this lounge.
Amelia wasn't in this lounge at all—she had been taken to another lounge by Uma, whom Julie had bribed, and was unconscious right now.
In this lounge, Paxton had been lying in wait.
As soon as Lucas entered, he would be knocked out and dragged onto the sofa.
And when she came in, she would take off her clothes.
When Lucas woke up, she would scream and shout that Lucas was trying to rape her.
With so many eyes watching, Lucas wouldn't be able to clear his name. He would be taken away by the police.
And she would go negotiate with the Richardson family.
Unless Lucas married her, she would prosecute him for rape.
Lucas wouldn't want to go to prison, so he would have to marry her.
Then Lucas would be hers.
This move, though it would get her Lucas, would also greatly damage her reputation since she'd be exposed in public.
But she was willing to do it.
This was the best, most direct way to get Lucas.
She couldn't wait any longer.
Today was her last day in Goldenvale. Tomorrow she had to leave.
No matter how high the price, as long as she could have Lucas, she would do anything.
She was nearly driven mad by her own obsession.
After confirming Lucas was inside, Julie immediately closed the lounge door.
The lounge was also on the first floor. Even with the door closed, you could faintly hear sounds from outside.
The window in the room was open for some reason, but she didn't pay much attention to it.
The outside was just a small garden anyway—no one was there.
After doing all this, she walked toward Lucas, bent down and sat beside him. After taking off her clothes, she greedily embraced Lucas lying on the sofa from the side and took a deep breath, lost in the moment.
"Lucas, I really love you. Don't blame me. I'll be good to you."
As she spoke, she went to kiss his ear.
But just then, the person moved and slowly turned around.