Love's Cunning Ruse novel Chapter 364

"The chill in the air today had me feeling under the weather, so I have to head back to my room for a bit of rest. Excuse me," Camilla said, nodding politely to Adeline and Elliot.

Her politeness only seemed to highlight Adeline's earlier indifference as a bit too aggressive.

Adeline hadn't really paid much mind to Camilla until she had retreated to her room. It was then she turned to Julie and said, "I was about to ask who that was, but seeing how she fusses over Phoebe, I figured it out. That's Camilla, right? Bertha's sister, the one who looked after Phoebe all this time? The same Camilla who called Mr. Hernandez during Thanksgiving dinner saying she had to fly home?"

Julie nodded, "That's her."

"Any leads on Phoebe's situation?" Adeline inquired.

Julie frowned and shook her head, "Nothing yet."

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Elliot, who had been standing behind Adeline, chimed in.

Adeline turned to look at Elliot, then leaned toward Julie, pretending to whisper, but loud enough for everyone in the room to hear, "Oh Julie darling, it was all Elliot's idea to come. I told him you had plenty of helps here and that we wouldn't be of much use, but he insisted on making the trip. Can you believe that?"

In reality, Elliot's intentions were pure and Julie was grateful for it. Elliot pulled Adeline back toward him, "Don't mind her; she's full of yarns."

Kieran stepped forward with a smile and thanked Elliot, "Much appreciated."

"Not at all, is there anything specific we can assist with?" Elliot asked.

Before Kieran could reply, the arrival of Julien and Hayden, having heard that Adeline was at the Noblewood Retreat, interrupted them. Kieran turned back to Elliot and said, "Nothing at the moment, but if there's anything Mr. Sanches can do, I'll be sure to ask."

"Are you done chatting?" Julien said to Adeline.

"Just finished. What brings you here?" Adeline said, patting Julien on the shoulder.

"Your brother and I were about to look for you, but you said you were coming here, so we decided to stop by," Julien explained, glancing at Hayden.

Kieran picked up on a key detail, "Brother? Whose brother? Is Hayden Adeline's brother?"

Julie laughed at Elliot, "Looks like you've been replaced."

Adeline gave Julie a thumbs up, "That's right, Elliot's been benched. I can find a better brother in a heartbeat."

Usually, if Julien and Adeline were joking, Hayden would retort by now, but to everyone's surprise, Hayden seemed to relish his new role as the 'brother,' even finding the title rather enjoyable.

"Why is Adeline your sister?" Kieran asked Hayden.

Hayden clapped Kieran on the shoulder, "Long story. You all have a lot on your plate right now, we'll fill you in when things settle down."

"If there's nothing we can help with, then we'll be heading out," Julien told Adeline.

"I'll see you out," Kieran offered, ready to escort them.

Hayden asked, "You heading out for something?"

Kieran was straightforward, "Going to see Payne."

"What do you need from him? We'll be passing by his place on our way back, we can drop in for you," Hayden said.

Kieran produced a USB drive and handed it to Hayden, "Give this to him. It's some tampered surveillance footage. Ask him if he can restore it."

"Will do," Hayden took the USB from Kieran and walked out with Julien.

Kieran suddenly called out to Hayden and Julien, "Thanks a lot, sister in law! I won't see you out then."

Julien was shocked, "sister in law?" Her next target might as well be Kieran!

"Sister in law?" Julie looked at Kieran in astonishment. "For real?"

"Sooner or later," Kieran said with a smirk to Julien, "Right, sister in law?"

"You might as well come out and say goodbye properly," Julien said with a stern face, clearly having something to discuss with Kieran.

Kieran patted Hayden's shoulder, "Make sure you explain to my sister-in-law that I'm a married man. Wouldn't want her to fall for me and get hurt."

Julie hadn't expected Kieran to still joke like this in front of Hayden, but then again, they had a close bond from their days of sneaking peeks at movies not meant for young eyes. It wasn't so surprising they could still banter like this.