CHAPTER 195: CHAPTER 195: I’M ALREADY YOUR MAN, YET YOU STILL WON’T TRUST ME A LITTLE MORE?

"Was it you at the abandoned factory?" Juliana asked.

"You’re very lucky," the man replied.

It was him.

"Why did you do it?"

The man chuckled slightly, "Even if you know, you’ll die anyway. Want to hear the answer?"

Juliana pressed her lips together, "Even if I don’t listen, you won’t let me go."

"Smart women are rare."

The man moved closer, and Juliana noticed a faint sandalwood scent on him, barely detectable to those with a dulled sense of smell.

He whispered in her ear, "She was born to the wrong family and needs to reincarnate. But you’re not so lucky; I only have one dose of poison meant for her, so for you..."

Just as the man placed the syringe aside and reached for the dagger hidden on the outside of his thigh, he suddenly hesitated, as if realizing something, and instinctively tried to tighten his grip on Juliana’s arm.

But it was too late.

"Bang!"

The door was burst open by a rapid figure, which, without a pause, shot straight towards him like an arrow!

In a flash, the man had to kick Juliana away and hastily dodge.

Raine lunged in vain, immediately shielding Juliana behind her, glanced at the man disguised as a nurse, smiled slightly, and asked, "Are you a eunuch or a transvestite?"

The man, enraged by her taunt, shouted, "I am your grandfather!"

"Oh, so it’s Grandpa. Already buried, why crawl out to scare people? Go back to hell!"

Raine rushed up and engaged him in combat.

On the other side, Juliana, enduring the pain from the kick to her side, staggered to her feet and immediately lunged towards the hospital bed, using her body to shield the still-unconscious Summer.

Seeing that he couldn’t succeed quickly, the man crashed through the window glass and leaped out!

Raine hesitated not a second, swiftly flying in pursuit, their figures disappearing one after another into the dense night outside the window.

At this point, the hospital security finally arrived.

A doctor walked out from behind them, "Are you alright? We’ve already called the police."

After all, when facing a desperate fugitive, it’s natural for ordinary people to protect themselves.

Upon hearing this, Juliana just softly said to the doctor, "Please check her."

She had secretly pocketed the syringe.

Summer was unaffected, and Raine, not lingering on the fight after the opponent escaped, immediately returned.

"Are you alright?" Raine asked, looking her over, phone in hand.

It seemed she was reporting to Elias Langley.

Juliana shook her head.

"The opponent had decent skills, and he got away again," Raine said.

"Are you sure he’s not working with Nathan Chapman?" Juliana asked.

Raine thought seriously for a moment, "If I analyze it from my angle, a lone wolf assassin like him, even if serving the same master as Nathan Chapman, might not know of the other’s existence."

Juliana detected a hint of something and nodded, then turned to leave.

"Where are you headed? Let me give you a ride," Raine offered.

Juliana paused and looked at her, "To hell as well?"

Raine was taken aback, then laughed, "Good people can’t go there."

Juliana couldn’t help but smile faintly, "Thanks for earlier, but I need to stop by the office."

With that, she continued to leave.

The Aetherflame Dynamics CEO’s office was brightly lit.

When Juliana arrived, Caleb Shaw rose to meet her.

"Former colleagues called me, I was already halfway there when you asked me to come back here and wait, what’s going on?"

Juliana handed him a syringe, "Someone disguised as a nurse tried to kill her, but Summer is fine. However, if the disguise had been more professional, it might have worked."

Caleb took the syringe, brow furrowed tightly.

"That person said..." Juliana hesitated, "Summer was born to the wrong family and needs to die."

"She’s my biological sister, our whole family loves her, why should she die?" Caleb blurted out.

Juliana’s eyes darkened slightly, "Maybe they got the wrong person."

"Got it wrong?" Caleb found it unimaginable.

Juliana didn’t explain much, "Can you find a way to test what’s in this syringe? I want to know its makeup, and trace where it came from."

Caleb put away the syringe promptly, "That’s easy, leave the investigation to me as well."

Juliana neither agreed nor disagreed, "How’s the connection with the labs in Kingsford?"

Caleb’s expression turned grave, "They haven’t outright refused, but they’ve set many harsh conditions. The key condition is a complete evaluation before they agree to the heart graft for Summer."

Juliana was silent for a moment, then said, "No matter how demanding, we should cooperate. Follow their requirements to avoid giving them anything to use against us, and find out their true intentions."

Caleb nodded, "But they’ve been saying they would send someone to check on Summer, and keep delaying."

Juliana looked at him, not speaking for some time.

"Is there anything else?" Caleb asked.

"If you want to trace the poison source, could you avoid involving Evan Grant?"

Caleb was silent for two seconds, then nodded, "Alright."

Leaving Aetherflame Dynamics, Juliana felt increasingly weighed down.

Returning to the Langley Residence, Jared Langley was waiting in the living room for her.

Leona Sheridan was there as well.

"Why are you back so late?" Jared came up, frowning.

"Overtime," Juliana replied curtly.

"Next time you work late, let me know ahead of time."

Jared’s tone was forceful, laced with command.

Juliana suddenly felt a wave of irritation.

But she took a deep breath, suppressed her emotions, and responded flatly, "Understood."

Leona chimed in coolly from the side, "I know why Evan Grant doesn’t want you. It’s already 11PM and you’re not home. What rich man would put up with that? A woman ought to prioritize a man above all else."

Juliana turned to glance at her indifferently, a faint smile on her lips, "So, has Mrs. Langley done well maintaining her role as an auxiliary all these years?"

"You..."

Leona was stumped by her words, her face turning pale.

"I’m very tired, going to rest now."

Juliana didn’t look at them again and continued up the stairs, leaving behind the displeased Jared and the livid Leona.

"Son, wouldn’t it be better to find a gentle and compliant woman, someone who’d kneel and change your shoes as soon as you got home? Why do you like someone like her?"

Jared surprisingly lost his look of displeasure at her words.

"I can pay for that kind of service. What’s the point?"

With that, he headed to the kitchen.

Juliana closed the door and finally supported her aching side.

The kick hadn’t been light.

She leaned against the door, closing her eyes and taking a couple of deep breaths, surrounded by a refreshing scent.

Elias Langley’s arm wrapped around her waist, his deep voice murmured by her ear, "Didn’t you say you were alright?"

Juliana leaned into his embrace, "I didn’t want to bother others."

He chuckled lowly, his warm palm slipping under her clothes, massaging her lower back.

"You can trouble me all you want... is it here?"

His fingers pressed gently at a spot.

"A little to the left," Juliana replied.

"Here?"

Juliana nodded.

Elias lightly rubbed at the spot and slowly asked, "Have you eaten dinner?"

Juliana nodded.

"Why aren’t you happy?"

Juliana bit her lip, "Summer is like this because of me, the one who should be in the hospital bed is me."

As she spoke, her eyes reddened.

Elias brushed his chin against her forehead.

"Everyone has their fate, and besides, she hasn’t given up on herself, and neither have you."

"But..."

Juliana thought of what Evan Grant had said, her eyes scrutinizing as she looked up at him.

"You obviously know which lab in Kingsford can do cell culture, yet you said nothing."

Elias smiled lightly, "Is it possible that keeping silent is more beneficial to getting things done than speaking up?"

Juliana was taken aback, suddenly realizing the deeper meaning behind his silence.

"And what about Raine?" Juliana continued, "When the assassin appeared, she was clearly on the scene. Why didn’t she immediately save Summer? Is she just a robot following your orders?"

Elias’ voice remained steady, not a trace of impatience, "You were downstairs at that time; she was downstairs. How could she know what was happening upstairs?"

Juliana’s last bit of doubt finally dissipated.

He gently pressed her furrowed brow with his fingers, speaking softly, "I’m already your man, yet you still won’t trust me a bit more?"

This possessive remark made Juliana’s ears turn warm.

Just then, there was a knock on the door behind her.

Outside came Jared Langley’s gentle voice, "Juliana, open up, I know you’re not asleep yet."