Chapter 301 - 300: Julian Fletcher’s Mother Is a Member of the Organization

Chapter 301: Chapter 300: Julian Fletcher’s Mother Is a Member of the Organization

Asher and I leaned against the wall, staring vigilantly at the person on the other side of the door. To think it was actually Julian Fletcher...

Julian peered through the peephole. "They’re smashing the doors. Someone out there can pick the lock; it’s not safe in the room."

Inside Julian’s room, Erin was trembling in the corner with red rims around her eyes. "Julian, you shouldn’t have saved them. They’re a disaster waiting to happen."

I rolled my eyes at her. "Lady, you’re pretty tough to kill."

Erin clenched her hands tightly and glared at me with sheer anger.

I ignored her and walked quickly toward the balcony. "Asher, climb up from here to the deck."

For once, Asher didn’t argue with Julian. The two of them moved the nightstand and coffee table over together to block the door.

Erin looked at me with resentment but kept her mouth shut.

As Asher and I climbed toward the deck, Julian prepared to follow with Erin. "We have to go up, or those people won’t let us off either."

Erin glanced at the bottomless sea below and shook her head in panic. "Julian, I’m scared."

"It’s okay. Just don’t look down," Julian comforted her in a low voice.

He was still somewhat mindful of the so-called debt he owed her for saving his life.

"Just leave her be, and she’ll come up on her own," I said with a frown. I grabbed a nearby lifebuoy to pull myself up, but the rope tying it came loose. Just as I was about to fall, a hand from above grabbed me.

Asher let out a sigh of relief and gave me a push from below.

I used the momentum to climb up, feeling a bit surprised. The one who had pulled me up was actually Ace.

She, Killian, Zeke, and Lucas had brought the child up to the deck and locked the door behind them.

The deck was temporarily safe for now, but if we could climb out of the rooms, they could too. It was only a matter of time before they came up.

"You’re not as outstanding as me in any aspect. You’re just a failed experiment," Ace said coldly, not forgetting to throw in a few mocking words. She seemed eager to prove that she was the most exceptional one among all the test subjects.

I couldn’t be bothered to deal with her. Instead, I looked at Asher, who was being pulled up by Zeke. "Those people are convinced you’re the CEO of Astraeus Group. They won’t just let this go. We won’t be able to hide up here for long."

"AH!" A miserable shriek rang out from Erin inside the room. Obviously, the door had been broken down.

I lay down to peer over the edge and shouted at Julian, "Come up first! Leave her alone!"

Julian gave me a look but still decided to save Erin.

I sighed. This man was hopeless...

"Julian still has some kindness in him." Zeke looked somewhat resigned as he prepared to go down and help.

I stood to the side, silent, with no intention of going down to save anyone.

"You were in love once, at the very least. Are you really going to just stand by and watch them die? You’re quite cold-hearted yourself," Ace deliberately provoked me. She had clearly stated before that being emotional was the biggest weakness, yet she was purposely using these words to agitate me.

"Heh... you and Cecilia are the entities sharing the same genes. Why don’t you go down and save him?" I countered with a sarcastic look.

Below, Erin was still screaming, crying for someone to save them. "Zeke! You guys are police officers! You should come down and save us!"

Even at a time like this, she still knew how to resort to moral blackmail.

Madeline frowned. She grabbed Zeke and shook her head at him. She didn’t want him to risk his life. In truth, when it came to life-and-death moments like this, no matter your identity, it wasn’t wrong to prioritize your own life. Everyone had to ensure their own safety first. Saving people was a noble cause, but sacrificing one’s own life for it hardly seemed worth it.

How could Zeke not understand this reasoning? Yet, he still chose to go down.

With so many people rushing into the room, Julian was no match for them alone.

Ace stood by the railing and shouted, "Julian, is it really worth throwing your life away to save a woman who killed Cecilia and repeatedly exploited your gratitude?"

Erin looked at Ace with fear and resentment. "You’re really like lingering ghosts."

Obviously, Erin was already treating Ace as Cecilia and resenting her accordingly.

"That’s right... I died such a tragic death... I definitely have to come back and claim your life." Ace rested her chin on her hand and looked down, the corners of her lips turning up as if she were enjoying Erin’s life-and-death struggle. "Tell me, if Julian knew that the person who saved him back then wasn’t you at all, and that even this last bit of gratitude was built on a lie, would he still stay down there to save you?"

Erin’s face turned deathly pale. "Stop spouting nonsense."

Ace laughed. "I didn’t expose you before because I thought it was amusing."

Lucas found a rope ladder and wanted to throw it down so Erin could climb up first. Otherwise, it would be difficult for Zeke and Julian to come up, and they would just be dragged down by her. However, Ace reached out and snatched the rope ladder from Lucas’s hands.

Lucas frowned. "What are you doing?"

Killian stepped forward, shielding Ace behind him.

Ace chuckled. "This is so interesting. Let’s watch for a little while longer." She stood by the railing and looked down at Erin. "Do you want to come up?"

Erin looked terrified at the people rushing into the room and screamed, "Let us up! The person they want to catch is Sebastian Lancaster! Why should we have to bear the brunt of it? Let us up!"

"As long as you tell Julian the truth about who saved him back then, I’ll let you come up." Ace seemed to be enjoying the show.

Lucas grew impatient. "Go play somewhere else. Zeke and Julian are still down there! Asher! Felix! Grab the ladder!" Blocked by Killian, Lucas could only call out for Felix and Asher’s help.

Asher looked at me. Since I didn’t move, he didn’t move either.

Felix shrugged, vaulted over the railing, and jumped down himself.

"Are you crazy?" Lucas shouted.

"I’m just warming up." Felix cracked his neck, kicked away a man trying to sneak-attack Julian and Zeke, and joined the chaotic brawl.

Erin was trembling all over, but she simply refused to speak.

A man charged over with a knife and thrust it toward her. Erin cried and screamed for help, but there was only a cold smile in Ace’s eyes.

I frowned. I had to admit, this woman was more ruthless than I was...

"Keep screaming. I have the ladder. If I’m not satisfied, you can all just die down there," Ace said indifferently.

It wasn’t until the blade pierced Erin’s skin that she finally cried out, "You’re a demon! You’re all demons..."

Seeing Erin in danger, Julian disregarded his own safety to save her.

Leaning against the railing, I watched Julian as I snatched the rope ladder from Ace’s hands and threw it down. "Let her come up first."

Julian looked at me but quickly averted his gaze, as if he didn’t dare to meet my eyes. Even though he had told himself countless times that the person before him wasn’t Cecilia.

Erin scrambled up the ladder in a panic and squatted on the deck, crying in sheer terror.

Julian didn’t choose to come up immediately; instead, he rushed over to help Zeke and Felix. He really did... have some kindness in him, but he truly gave all of that kindness to others. He had never given it to Cecilia. Or perhaps, he had unleashed all the malice in his bones onto Cecilia. He thought she was the embodiment of ’evil,’ so she could boundlessly endure all of his malice.

"You guys go up first." Julian told Zeke and Felix to go up before him.

The three retreated to the balcony. Julian held the glass door shut tightly by himself so they could climb up first. Actually, everyone knew that the last person wouldn’t be able to make it. No matter how fast they climbed the rope ladder, it was impossible to reach the deck before those men burst through.

Julian probably had no intention of coming up. He was injured, and there was blood on his shirt.

While Zeke and Felix were climbing up, he looked up at me. His gaze... carried an indescribable sense of desolation.

"If I tell you that the person who saved you back then wasn’t Erin, but Cecilia, would you regret dying here today?" I looked down and asked him.

He didn’t speak. It wasn’t until he could barely hold the door shut any longer that he finally said, "Actually, not long after Cecilia died, I knew... the person who saved me back then wasn’t Erin, but Cecilia... That’s why I chose to commit suicide to punish myself."

Seeing Zeke and Felix reach the top, Julian let go. Those men shoved the glass door open and flooded the already cramped balcony.

"Julian, I was wrong..." Erin suddenly stood up and cried. "The person you’ve always wanted to know about is your mother... When I hid in Victor Quinn’s laboratory, the organization member I saw conducting the handover with him was your mother. She’s the head of another laboratory!"

"Please, I’m begging you, please save him! I was the one who forced him to protect me. I used the secrets I knew to threaten him into protecting me. He loves Cecilia so much. The only reason he was willing to stay alive... was to help Cecilia uncover the truth behind all of this." Erin wept, begging Asher and me to save Julian.