Love's Cunning Ruse novel Chapter 363

Charles stood by Camilla's side, his gaze icy as they watched the tangled wreckage of three cars in the aftermath of a pile-up. His brows furrowed into a deep furrow, evidently surprised by the turn of events. What had seemed like a sure-fire plan had gone awry in an instant they had never anticipated—the traffic light changing at the last second, Julie's sudden realization propelling her to dash across the street.

Camilla, too, had not expected such a twist in their carefully laid plans.

She glanced at the twisted metal of the vehicles and asked Charles, "Who's in the car?"

"It's Dan."

"Get the car." Camilla's voice was sharp with command.

Charles jogged to the parked vehicle, drove it smoothly up to where Camilla stood, and then hopped out to hold the door open for her. As Camilla gathered her dress and slid into the back seat, her expression was a mask of sudden fury.

She pulled out her phone and dialed Kieran. The phone connected, and her tone shifted to one of warmth and concern, "Kieran, where are you and Joyce?"

After her conversation with Julie, Camilla had walked away, and it was only after she was at a distance that the black sedan had sped past to target Julie. At that moment, Camilla had her back turned to the scene of the incident.

"There's been a pile-up by Elite Emporium, right where we were standing. I turned around and suddenly couldn't see you or Joyce anywhere. Are you both alright?"

"We're fine." Kieran's calm voice came through the phone.

A flicker of relief passed through Camilla's eyes. "Thank God. So, where are you now?"

Kieran glanced at Julie, who was beside Sansa’s hospital bed, and replied, "Joyce and I are at the police station."

"What?" There was a hint of surprise in Camilla's voice. "Did they find something on Phoebe?"

"Not yet, we're here to assist with an investigation," Kieran replied.

"Oh…" Disappointment tinged Camilla's voice, her hope of news about Phoebe dashed.

"I'll keep looking around Shadow Lane then! Charles said there are a lot of bakeries around, and Phoebe loves cake. Maybe someone here has seen him."

"Alright."

Kieran hung up the phone. Camilla tossed her phone aside and rattled off a license plate number, "Check where this car went just now."

The car she mentioned was the taxi that Julie and Kieran had just taken.

Charles made a quick call for someone to check and then turned to Camilla, "Miss, you don’t think Mr. Hernandez went to the station?"

Camilla remained silent, her gaze fixated on the world rushing by outside the window, absorbed in thought.

"Whispering Pines has changed a lot, plenty of skyscrapers now. I remember when this whole area was a resettlement zone, mostly filled with migrant workers renting houses." Camilla suddenly said.

Charles nodded in agreement, "The development's been rapid these past years. The old resettlement areas were demolished and turned into business districts with tall buildings. It's really different from before. But Miss, how did you know this used to be a resettlement zone?"

Camilla didn't seem to register Charles' words, her eyes dark with thought as she mused, "I underestimated Julie's place in Kieran's heart."

Charles remained silent, he knew that Mr. Hernandez and Ms. Abraham were forced back into marriage because of the scandal involving Ivan Hernandez. He hadn't expected their bond to be so strong, nor could he have anticipated that in a moment of life or death, Mr. Hernandez would risk it all for Ms. Abraham, darting through a traffic light without a second thought.

Camilla withdrew her gaze from the window and through the rear-view mirror locked eyes with Charles, her voice chillingly clear, "How difficult can it be to get rid of a defenseless woman?"

Charles dared not look into the mirror, instead, he muttered, "It’s not, miss."

Indeed, disposing of a defenseless woman was not a challenge.

"And how hard can it be to make an insignificant woman disappear from this earth?"

Charles fell silent, unable to respond. Camilla's voice rose, tinged with frost, "Then tell me, why can't we get rid of Julie, despite numerous attempts? Incompetent!!"

Charles gripped the steering wheel tighter, not daring to utter a word in reply.

Only when he saw from the rear-view mirror that Camilla had calmed slightly did he dare to speak, "Miss, next time, we'll wait until she's alone before we make our move. I'm sure she won't be able to escape fate."

"Ha!" Camilla scoffed, her eyes narrowing at Charles, "Escape fate?"

Charles immediately shook his head, "No, it's just that our plans weren't thorough. Next time, we'll make sure there are no mistakes."

"No mistakes?" Camilla's lips curled up ever so slightly, her voice regaining its calm, "I've come to realize that Julie is my stumbling block. Do you know how one should deal with a stumbling block?"