CHAPTER 156: CHAPTER 156: EVEN POACHING IS THIS COMPETITIVE NOW?

Three days later, the "mole" responsible for tampering with evidence in the detention center was uncovered.

Fortunately, he had left himself a way out and didn’t destroy the evidence he took.

The trace examination department successfully extracted a partial fingerprint from an inconspicuous spot on a sneaker that didn’t belong to Juliana.

Meanwhile, another team entered the walk-in closet at Platinum Bay for evidence gathering and managed to collect several fingerprints on the inside of the wardrobe door.

Upon comparison, one of the prints matched perfectly with the partial fingerprint found on the sneaker.

Subsequently, Elias Langley requested further examination of dust composition on the sneaker sole, comparing it with all shoe prints found in Chase Miller’s rental apartment.

The results showed that apart from the complete shoe print found beside the bloodstain after Chase Miller’s death, which came from these sneakers, there were no matching prints detected elsewhere.

This suggests that someone had entered the house with these sneakers, deliberately left the shoe print in blood to frame Juliana, thus increasing suspicion towards framing her while significantly reducing her own suspicion of the crime.

Upon receiving the news, Isaac Grant was scolded harshly, his backer called him a fool for his misplaced priorities and declared he would no longer be involved in this matter.

Although Stella’s fingerprint comparison wasn’t done yet, a week later, Juliana was officially cleared of suspicion and gained freedom.

During her hospital stay, her stomach had also recovered considerably.

On the day of her discharge, Summer Shaw specially prepared a bottle of "Lucky Water" and sprayed it around Juliana in several circles.

Juliana rubbed her nose and couldn’t help but ask, "What is this? The smell is a bit unusual."

Summer Shaw replied with a smile, "It’s water infused with grapefruit leaves, willow branches, and peach blossom petals to help dispel bad luck and turn your fortunes to romance!"

Juliana laughed and said, "Getting rid of bad luck is fine. The romantic luck can be left for you, since you’re the one who’s still single."

Summer Shaw immediately put on a serious expression, "If there wasn’t a cooling-off period, you would have been..."

Before she could finish saying the words "single dog," her eyes spotted Evan Grant standing beside the Maybach, and her words came to an abrupt halt.

Following her gaze, Juliana turned around, the smile fading from her face.

"I’ll wait for you in the parking lot."

Summer Shaw whispered after finishing, and quickly slipped away.

Evan Grant looked at the woman, who had finally gained some weight, but now seemed thinner again, and couldn’t help but feel a bit heartbroken.

He just stepped forward and before he could speak, Juliana retreated a step and spoke in a cold voice.

"I now feel that even hitting you would soil my hands."

The words pierced into Evan Grant’s heart like a knife.

After a few breaths, he finally said, "I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you when you needed me."

Juliana shook her head, "It’s not about whether you’re there or not. You have the right to choose who you love, to pamper anyone you want, but it has nothing to do with me. However, you can’t lend her convenience to harm me."

A bitterness spread in Evan Grant’s heart.

"I didn’t indulge Stella, nor did I... I didn’t..."

Seeing his hesitating form, a sneer appeared on Juliana’s face.

"Didn’t what? Didn’t secretly keep her while hiding it from me? Or didn’t constantly put her priorities ahead of mine?"

"I..."

It felt as though something was gripping Evan Grant’s throat, leaving the words stuck painfully in his chest.

Seeing his speechless condition, the sarcasm on Juliana’s face deepened.

"Evan Grant, if you hadn’t used me as a shield for your matters, I wouldn’t have been dragged into all this. Now, I don’t love you anymore, yet they still won’t leave me alone. I survived purely by luck. If you have any conscience left, you should stay away from me."

Pain, layer upon layer, like waves, washed over Evan Grant’s chest, each one deeper than the last.

This was the pain of being slowly tortured by the person you love.

A pain she once had to endure.

Turns out it hurt so much it was hard to breathe.

Yet, Juliana’s gaze at him lacked any warmth, as if his pain had nothing to do with her.

She turned to leave, brushing past him with only a faint message, "Remember to get our divorce certificate from the civil affairs bureau in a few days."

Nearing the parking lot, Juliana spotted that black car amidst the dense array of vehicles at a glance.

Although she couldn’t see inside the car, it felt as if a calm and familiar gaze landed on her.

She paused, intending to turn and walk over when two cars suddenly stopped in front of her.

Jared Langley and Adrian Langley got out almost simultaneously.

They had come directly from the company after finishing a meeting.

Adrian Langley, eager to beat Jared, didn’t even realize his suit was on backward.

Holding a big bouquet of sunflowers, he hurried to Juliana, speaking excitedly, "Just made it! Here, wishing you never have to come back to such a place and always live towards the sun."

Before Juliana could take the flowers, Jared placed a hand on Adrian’s shoulder, pulling him aside.

Then, standing before her, he leisurely pulled a thin red envelope from his suit’s inner pocket, speaking calmly, "Giving flowers is outdated, nowadays it’s all about practicality when it comes to gifts."

The envelope was thin, but it contained a check.

Adrian protested, "You’re the outdated one! It’s called a sense of ritual, do you understand? Someone who’s all about throwing money around, like you, is actually the ’poorest’ kind of person."

He added, "Spiritually poor."

Jared frowned slightly, "It’s hard to explain anything to someone who wears their suit backward."

Just realizing his clothing mistake, Adrian was about to retort, but Summer Shaw stormed in and quickly grabbed Juliana.

"There’s an urgent matter at the company! Hurry, come with me!"

Before the brothers could react, Juliana was already pulled into the car.

Discontent, Jared looked at Adrian, "You’re not even being urged to marry soon, why are you always competing with me?"

Adrian raised an eyebrow, "I’m just preventing another innocent woman from falling into a ’Jared-style marriage trap’."

Jared looked at him for two seconds before turning back with a deep glance into his own car.

From afar, Evan Grant saw the scene unfold, then returned to his car with a stern expression.

Ethan Carter whispered, "Recently, the police have been everywhere trying to contact Stella to compare her fingerprints at the police station. I’ve already arranged for her to stay at Dreamfall Manor."

"Drive," Evan Grant’s voice was cold.

Meanwhile, in the black car, Quinn Shepherd glanced at the rear-view mirror and intentionally complained, "Nowadays, even the competition for cutting in line is so intense among young people. My nephews were rushing over with shovels even before I left the field."

Elias Langley didn’t respond to him, instead pulling out his phone to send a message.

The moment Juliana was pulled into the car, her phone beeped.

It was a message from Elias Langley.

"Six o’clock, The Azure Pavilion, The Sovereign Hall."

Juliana put her phone away without responding.

Because Summer Shaw had already started babbling.

"I should have told you about Cryovault Titanium earlier, but these days only Adrian could see you. They have strong market resources, and the joint venture subsidiary has a large profit margin. Today, even Ms. Thorne from the Tahoe District is coming in person to finalize the agreement, and as the largest shareholder, you must be present."

Juliana was flipping through the other party’s documents, "Have you thoroughly investigated this company?"

Summer Shaw paused, "I had overseas friends check it, no irregular transactions were found, their background is very clean, and they’re quite strong."

Juliana tapped her nails, "Aetherflame hasn’t made its move yet, and there are many companies better than us domestically. Why did she specifically choose us?"

Summer Shaw fell silent at her words.

To ease the tension, Juliana quickly added, "I don’t mean to veto our collaboration, just that we should investigate thoroughly before signing any agreements."

Summer Shaw nodded, "That’s what I was also thinking, let’s discuss it with her today."

Ms. Thorne from Cryovault Titanium was professional and efficient, facilitating smooth communication between the parties.

Her detailed analysis dispelled Juliana’s concerns, and the collaboration details were swiftly agreed upon.

After seeing her off, Juliana checked the time, it was already half-past six.

Surprisingly, Elias Langley hadn’t called to urge her yet.

Juliana didn’t have time to go home and change, hastily heading to The Azure Pavilion.

It was her first time meeting Elias Langley at an agreed time, yet she was an entire hour late.

Inside, Juliana was already in turmoil.

Elias Langley was sipping tea as the server, dressed like a palace maiden, lifted the beaded curtain for her.

Juliana didn’t notice the 5-centimeter-high platform drop at her feet.

She tripped over it, exclaiming in shock as she fell forward.

In a moment of panic, she braced her hands against the tea table’s edge.

However, the table was too light, causing it to shake violently.

Elias Langley held the table down with one hand, stabilizing both her and the table.

"I’m sorry."

Raising her head, Juliana found herself ensnared in the deep gaze of the man right in front of her, as if containing a thousand unspoken words...