Chapter 265: Adrian Fainted

"Brother, I think someone tampered with the water cooler in my RV."

"I’ve had the water cooler sealed. Send someone to take it to my old lab and find out exactly what kind of poison it is."

Reading the message from Adrian, Julian finally felt a little relieved.

Seeing that it was about time, he knocked on the door to Timothy Lancaster’s office.

"Dad, I’ve finished up here for now. Jay is still at the film set, so I’d like to go pick her up and bring her home."

There was a senior management meeting for the entire group scheduled shortly, yet here he was, asking to go pick up his sister.

Timothy Lancaster scrutinized him for a moment before finally relenting. "Go on. The roads will be dark and slick tonight. Tell the driver to be extra careful."

Once he had permission, Julian told his driver to get the car ready.

He had just reached the ground floor lobby when Lucy Finch came clicking after him in her high heels.

"Mr. Lancaster! Aren’t you attending the meeting later?"

Timothy Lancaster had clearly been sidelining Julian these past few days. If Julian skipped a senior management meeting like this, he would be completely in the dark about the company’s business development and strategic direction. That would mean he was truly being pushed out of the core circle of power.

Julian held his umbrella, his expression serene. "No, I’m not. You should head home early too if you don’t have anything else. It’s gotten colder today."

He finished speaking, turned, and walked into the sheet of rain, about to get into his car. Suddenly, a violent tremor seized his heart.

His umbrella tilted, and rain instantly poured over him.

"Mr. Lancaster!" Lucy Finch cried out, rushing over with her own umbrella.

Julian clutched his chest, staring blankly into the downpour.

He was no stranger to this feeling. The night Alvin had his accident, he’d felt a similar pang in his heart, though it hadn’t been as strong.

And before that, the night Jane fell from the building, it had been the same—like a muffled hammer striking him in the chest.

He bent down, picked up his umbrella, and scrambled into the car. "Let’s go, now!"

Something was about to happen! His heart pounded in his chest as an ominous shadow enveloped his mind.

「 」

Jane didn’t agree to treat Adrian to a meal as an apology. Instead, she went to see Joy Larson.

Joy Larson’s mother was at the film set with her. Being older and in poor health, she couldn’t find a job, so she simply stayed with her daughter and cooked her meals.

When the older woman learned that Jane had helped Joy out earlier that day, she had prepared a special meal to thank her.

The set’s accommodations were modest. The food was set on a small camping table, surrounded by four little stools.

The dishes, kept warm in insulated containers, were simple home-cooked fare, but they looked and smelled delicious.

"I’m so sorry, my mom went to the market too late today and couldn’t get any shrimp," Joy Larson said with an awkward smile, clearly feeling embarrassed about treating her guests to such a simple meal.

She had noticed earlier in the day that Jane’s whole aura screamed that she came from a very good family.

Now, seeing Jasper Sterling with her, that feeling was even more intense.

The old woman nimbly set out the dishes. It was clear she wasn’t very talkative, but her eyes shone with sincere gratitude.

Jane said, "Don’t worry about it. This all looks delicious."

She took a seat with an easy grace that immediately dispelled the mother and daughter’s awkwardness.

Jasper Sterling smiled. "I’m the one imposing. I hope you don’t mind."

Fully aware that he was crashing their dinner, he took the utensils from the old woman’s hands and began serving rice to the two ladies. When he tried to serve the mother, however, she frantically waved her hands and hurried away.

Once the three of them had finished their meal, the old woman reappeared from out of nowhere and efficiently cleared away the dishes.

She also told Joy to take their two "honored guests" for a walk before filming resumed.

The production had rented a quaint, traditional Chinese garden. It wasn’t large, but the scenery was beautiful and perfect for a stroll.

They had just completed one lap around the garden when a crew member called Joy away.

Jane’s gaze landed on a few crew members in raincoats, and she frowned.

"What is it?" Jasper asked. "Is something about to happen?"

Jane thought for a moment. "Quincy Usher is an incredibly vindictive person. After the humiliation he suffered today, do you really think he’d just let it go?"

Jasper followed her line of sight. "You think he’ll come back tonight? Sneak in and try to hurt someone?"

Jane said, "Maybe I’m just overthinking it. Perhaps he doesn’t have the nerve..."

Her voice trailed off.

Among the crowd, a figure flashed by—so quickly she almost thought her eyes were playing tricks on her.

’No way. Was I actually right?’

’Wait, no. If he’s here for revenge on Adrian, do I even need to get involved?’

’But what if he’s here for Joy...?’

At that thought, her heart skipped a beat.

Jasper instantly realized something was wrong. "Which direction did he go?"

"Over there!" Jane took off running in that direction.

Joy Larson was listening to the assistant director explain the scene. When Jane and Jasper entered, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

"You’re saying Quincy Usher snuck back onto the set?" Not only was Joy startled, but the assistant director was also stunned.

He had been busy filming other scenes and hadn’t heard about Quincy Usher starting the "casting couch" rumor about him and Joy. When he found out afterward, he was livid.

He called over a few crew members, explained the situation, and instructed everyone to keep an eye out.

Seeing they had the situation in hand, Jane excused herself. After a moment’s thought, she decided to go check on Adrian.

"You’re saying Quincy Usher snuck in? I doubt it," the agent said, unconvinced.

He had a good impression of Quincy and didn’t think the man would be impulsive enough to return to the set after being thrown out.

What could one person possibly do against a whole film crew?

Adrian picked up a bottle of mineral water. He had only been drinking this particular brand lately. Afraid of being poisoned again, he was extremely cautious about what he consumed and hadn’t used the water cooler in his RV for a long time.

Just as he was about to take a drink, he noticed the bottle cap was already open.

His expression flickered. Pretending he had just opened it himself, he casually handed it to Jane.

Jane took it, toyed with it in her hands for a moment, then set it down. "I’m not thirsty."

Adrian asked, "What’s wrong? Afraid I poisoned it?"

He took it back and drank a mouthful. "Feel better now?"

Jane: "..."

’How childish!’

She had just gotten up to leave when she sensed a shadow lunging at them.

Quincy Usher had seized his moment, rushing forward to stab Adrian.

But halfway there, someone seized his wrist.

Jasper Sterling wrenched the paring knife from his grasp and jerked him forward, sending him sprawling to the floor.

"My God, Quincy, it really is you!" The agent was dumbfounded. "You were trying to kill Adrian? Have you lost your mind?"

Jane asked, "Why did you come back here tonight...?"

She stared into Quincy’s eyes, where she could see the reflection of Adrian standing behind her.

In the reflection, she saw Adrian reach a hand out from behind her. It looked like he was trying to choke her.

The hand made contact with her throat. She should have dodged or fought back, but she didn’t move.

A second later, Adrian’s entire body collapsed against her.

THUD. The water bottle fell to the floor, its contents splashing everywhere.

「 」

Julian had just stepped out of his car when he heard the wail of an ambulance piercing the dark night sky behind him.

A terrible premonition gripped him, and he rushed inside.

"What happened?" he asked urgently when he saw Adrian’s assistant.

"Adrian collapsed!"