The wind was strong, and even stronger by the beach.

The two walked onto the soft sand and sat down. Neither worried about dirtying their clothes; both were rather carefree.

Facing the strong wind, Rachel Bailey suddenly said, "Julia, I want to test Hansen Ruiz. Can you help me with something?" Julia Bluen's recent words had been a revelation to her. No matter the outcome, she had to give both herself and Hansen Ruiz a chance. However, she still wanted to test how much he truly cared for her.

"How do you want to test him?"

Julia Bluen was intrigued.

Rachel Bailey blinked her large, sly eyes. She leaned close to Julia Bluen's ear and revealed her plan. Julia nodded repeatedly, signaling her willingness to help with all her might.

Julia Bluen also wanted to ascertain if Hansen Ruiz might hurt her friend in the future. Conveniently, Rachel's plan would also allow her to gauge the depth of Hansen Ruiz's feelings for Rachel.

「Emperor Hotel.」

In a luxurious private room imbued with a romantic and somewhat ambiguous atmosphere, Nicholas Coldwell sat at a round dining table, nervously awaiting Edo Hanley's arrival.

Around noon, he suddenly received a call from Edo Hanley. Edo had invited him to lunch at the Emperor Hotel to discuss a potential collaboration.

Nicholas was still frantically trying to secure shipping containers for his goods when he received Edo's call. Naturally, he was overjoyed. He thought his efforts in dining with those close to Edo Hanley had finally paid off. He hurried to the Emperor Hotel, arriving before the appointed time to await Edo.

He didn't wait long before Edo Hanley appeared, arm-in-arm with a woman who possessed a slender, serpentine waist and a ravishingly seductive beauty.

This was Nicholas's first time seeing Edo Hanley in person. Although Edo Hanley didn't hold a status comparable to Glades Horne's, he was still considered a prince of the transportation world. He often mingled with women, so actual sightings of him were quite rare. Even though Nicholas had a good grasp of the key players in the business world, meeting Edo Hanley in person, given his own status, was almost impossible.

Since Edo Hanley himself had invited him, Nicholas believed his difficulties were about to be resolved, and the setbacks caused by Glades Horne would lose their impact.

He felt somewhat proud inside.

As soon as Edo Hanley sat down, he had Nicholas instruct the waiter to bring drinks and dishes.

Once all the food and drinks were served, Edo Hanley didn't discuss the collaboration. Instead, he persistently urged Nicholas to drink, claiming that once the drinks were finished and the meal was over, the collaboration would be settled.

Hearing this from Edo Hanley, Nicholas's nervousness dissipated, and he relaxed, drinking with him.

The two men and the beautiful woman chatted and laughed as they ate and drank. After nearly an hour, Nicholas was thoroughly drunk, his mind clouded. Edo Hanley and the beautiful woman, however, remained perfectly sober. They continuously urged Nicholas to drink. Often, for every three glasses Nicholas downed, they would have barely finished half a glass themselves.

Seeing Nicholas was drunk, Edo Hanley gave a suggestive look to the beauty beside him. Understanding his cue, she poured another glass of wine. She then discreetly took out a small packet of powder and emptied it into the drink. Once the powder had completely dissolved, she carried the glass over, sat beside Nicholas Coldwell, and cooed, coaxing the drunken man to have one more.

"Mr. Coldwell, come on, have another glass. After you finish this one, your company's goods can be shipped out," the woman purred. She held the drink in one hand while her other sensuously caressed Nicholas Coldwell's shoulder, coaxing him to consume the spiked beverage.

Nicholas Coldwell squinted at the woman, but the image that swam before his eyes was Julia Bluen's. He immediately grabbed the woman's shoulders, exclaiming excitedly, "Julia, is that you? Have you forgiven me? You came to see me, didn't you? I knew you couldn't get over me so quickly! Julia, I love you so much! I don't love Diana Powell at all. Marrying her was entirely because..."

Hearing him spout such nonsense, Edo Hanley promptly took out a pre-prepared voice recorder and captured Nicholas Coldwell's drunken confession in its entirety.

The woman, seizing the opportunity of his agitated state, urged him to drink again.

Subconsciously, Nicholas felt it was Julia Bluen persuading him to drink, so he took the glass and gulped it down in one go. After finishing it, his stomach roiled, and he felt extremely ill. But he was too afraid of "Julia" leaving to pay attention to his discomfort. He tightly gripped the hands of the woman he mistook for "Julia Bluen," refusing to let her go.

He had no idea that after downing the drink, a sudden, unbearable heat coursed through his body, and his consciousness grew even hazier.

"Nicholas..."

A tender voice whispered near his ear. He turned towards the sound, and the image before him was still that of Julia Bluen, the woman he truly loved. Unable to resist, he impulsively pulled "Julia Bluen" into his embrace, muttering incoherently.

Satisfied that the drug had taken effect, Edo Hanley left the voice recorder behind and rose to leave.

After leaving the room, he immediately called the media—every single media outlet in the city.

After notifying all the media, he deliberately left the door ajar.

With all preparations complete, Edo Hanley found the hotel manager. Through a combination of threats and inducements, he compelled the manager to delete all surveillance footage of his own presence in the hotel, leaving only Nicholas Coldwell's.

With this move, he was certain he could destroy Nicholas Coldwell's reputation and ensure the Powell Family would cast him out. This would be the consequence for daring to pester Julia.

Then, with a mere flick of his finger, Glades Horne could reduce Nicholas Coldwell to a beggar, leaving him destitute on the streets.

Julia Bluen had no idea that Nicholas Coldwell was once again being targeted by the domineering Glades Horne. She and Rachel Bailey chatted animatedly by the seaside for a long time. Eventually, hunger set in, and they casually ate at a nearby hotel. Once Rachel Bailey's mood had returned to normal, the two left the beach.

Nothing particularly noteworthy happened that afternoon, or at least, nothing Julia Bluen noticed. Upon returning to her company, she immersed herself in her work again.

When it was time to leave work in the afternoon, she declined all social engagements and hurried back to her home in Grand Gardens.

As she neared her home, she thought of her parents and decided to stop by the Bluen family residence first. She wanted to make sure Sovia Morris hadn't caused any further trouble. Only after confirming everything was calm did she return to her own small home, her mind at ease.