Love's Cunning Ruse novel Chapter 259

When Kieran set his mind on something, not even Amanda could stand in his way. Currently, Kieran was holding onto Amanda's arm, showing no signs of letting go. His determination and confidence clearly indicated his resolution to stand his ground against Amanda.

Amanda and Kieran were watching at each other. In such a situation, Julie found herself at a loss for words and hence chose to remain silent.

Finally, Amanda relented, turning to Basil and saying, "Go get it."

Basil returned with a black box, which contained an ordinary looking recording pen.

Amanda took out the recording pen and handed it to Kieran.

Kieran pressed the play button, and a voice came out. The voice had been altered, and the message was for Amanda to return home and take every opportunity to train Julie, as well as keep Julie indoors as much as possible.

Amanda said, "At first, I didn't take it seriously, but after hearing this recording and finding out from Noah that Joyce had been kidnapped, I had to believe it. With all the incidents that happened afterwards, it made me return home after Basil sorted things out."

"Where did this recording come from?" Kieran questioned.

Amanda replied, "The day Basil accompanied me to the hospital for a full-body check-up, we found this recording pen on the desk when we returned."

Basil pointed at the recording pen and said, "We've had professionals analyze the recording, but the technology is too advanced for us to find out the original voice. Amanda worried that you would be concerned, so…"

"Have Basil take grandma to rest," Kieran instructed Basil.

Amanda held onto Kieran’s hand, "Kieran, I'm a bit uneasy. You mentioned before that Lucian is still alive, so I can't help wondering, since he's still alive, why hasn't he come back? You've been searching for so many years and haven't found him, could it be…"

"He is alive, and we already have some leads. You rest first, and I'll take this recording to get it authenticated, see if we can figure it out."

After Basil helped Amanda to retire, Kieran promptly handed the recording pen over to Payne.

Payne worked through the night, and just as the morning light graced the sky, he arrived at Noblewood Retreat.

Julie was woken up early in the morning by Bolt for training, with Kieran watching from the sidelines. Suddenly, Payne stormed into the room.

Seeing Payne’s dark circles under eyes, Julie was taken aback.

"Do you have the results?" Kieran asked, eyeing the recording pen in Payne's hand.

Payne, with a mysterious air, said to Julie and Kieran, "You guys will never guess who this voice belongs to!"

"It's Lucian's voice," Kieran said affirmatively, with a nonchalant demeanor.

Payne, who was operating his computer, froze in disbelief, staring at Kieran, "How did you know?"

Julie also asked Kieran in surprise, "Why him?"

"Exactly! Wasn't it said that he wanted to harm Julie years ago? But this recording seems to be saving Julie. How did you guess it was him?"

"So, it really is Lucian?" Julie looked at Payne, finding it hard to accept the fact despite Kieran’s surety. The idea that a man who had been avoiding Kieran would send this recording and even alter his voice was hard to swallow.

Payne connected the recording pen to his phone with a data cable and restored the altered voice on his computer. The voice that played was indeed the voice of Lucian that he remembered—deep, steady, and unique. It was somewhat similar to Kieran's, but more mature.

"The technology is indeed advanced. It took me all night to separate the voice. I was scared when I first heard it, so I came over immediately," Payne said to Kieran excitedly. "I thought you guys would never guess who the voice belongs to. How did you know?"

"Not only is the voice on this recording Lucian's, but I think the person who texted Julien using my phone was also arranged by Lucian," Kieran said solemnly.

"Can you tell me how your brain works? I want to clone one," Payne looked at Kieran in admiration, "How did you figure it out?"

"Noblewood Retreat, although not heavily guarded, is not easy for outsiders to enter. The person avoided all the cameras and left no traces, not even fingerprints, was very careful. The same goes for Cedarwood Springs in Canada. The person wasn't caught on camera, and there were no fingerprints on this recording pen. The operations in both places are almost identical."

"So, you guessed it was Lucian just from this? This only proves that the person is cautious, or skilled," Payne argued.

"I didn't just conclude from this."

Payne felt he was silly once again, and this time, he felt ridiculed.

Seeing Payne's about-to-explode expression, Julie laughed at Kieran, "Stop teasing him."