"Mr. Hale is here!" one of Lawrence's colleagues shouted.

Seeing Julia and Patrick, Lawrence wanted to leave, but it was too late. He was already dragged into the room.

"Mr. Hale, you're quite influential. Even Ms. Ware came!" someone joked.

Lawrence frowned. Had he known she would be there, he wouldn't have come.

"Ms. Ware, who's this by your side? Care to introduce?" one of Julia's long-time colleagues asked.

Lawrence lifted his eyes and saw Julia holding Patrick's hand.

"Oops, I forgot to introduce him. This is my boyfriend, Patrick Harrison. He just returned from being abroad."

At that moment, Lawrence thought he heard the sound of his own heart breaking.

He had waited for seven years, hoping Julia would finally acknowledge him as her boyfriend. But now, she was officially announcing another man as her partner.

The mood in the room grew awkward. Everyone looked at Lawrence.

Over the years, he had always been by Julia's side. His contributions to her and her company were well known.

Everyone had assumed that he would marry Julia one day. Lawrence had even believed it himself.

"Come on. Let's all raise a glass to our future boss!" someone suggested.

The crowd started to cheer. Julia glanced at Lawrence. "What about you? You're resigning. Aren't you going to drink?"

Lawrence had developed a stomach problem due to Julia. The doctor had advised him against drinking.

"I can't drink." He then picked up a glass of water from the table. "I'll drink to you with water instead, boss."

He emphasized the word "boss" with bitterness before draining the glass in one go.

However, Julia was not pleased. "What now? Now that you've resigned, you can't even have a drink? You're really testing my patience, Lawrence."

His resignation letter was still in her car. Every time she thought of how Lawrence was acting out of spite, she felt a sharp pang of discomfort.

"Jules, don't do this. Today is Mr. Hale's farewell party. How about this? Mr. Hale, let me toast to you. Thank you for everything you've done for Jules and the company all these years."

Patrick wanted to drink, but Julia stopped him.

"What are you drinking for? Your stomach isn't good. What if you get sick again tonight?"

"That was seven years ago. You still remember? My stomach's fine now."

Julia was insistent. "He won't drink, so why should you?"

Her words were like daggers, piercing Lawrence's heart over and over again. She didn't know about his stomach problems, but she remembered Patrick's from seven years ago.

Lawrence couldn't bear to look at them any longer. He grabbed a bottle of beer from the table, opened it, and began drinking with a frown.

Julia glanced over at him. Seeing him drinking, she couldn't help but speak up, "You said you can't drink, but now you're drinking nonstop. Why do you have to be like this, Lawrence?"

She sneered. "You won't even toast to Patrick, but now you're drinking away. When did you become so petty?"

With that, she stormed out of the room. But before she could get far, a few burly men blocked her path. "Well, well, what a beauty!"

Frowning, Julia tried to walk around them, but they stopped her.

"What do you want?" she demanded.

"What do we want? You tell us." The man at the front, Brandon Foster, waved his hand, and the others immediately stepped forward to restrain her.

Just as Julia was about to call for help, Lawrence appeared.

"Let her go!" he commanded.

"Lawrence, save me!" Julia was scared. Although she was used to being decisive in the business world, she was still a woman, and this situation naturally made her nervous.

"Who the hell are you? I suggest you stay out of this!" Brandon growled.

As soon as he said that, Lawrence had already raised his fist and landed a punch right on Brandon's face.

"Let her go!" Lawrence shouted again as he delivered a powerful kick to Brandon's stomach.

Anger flashed in Brandon's eyes at once. "Mr. Hale! Punching me once is fine, but you should know when to stop! I'll be charging extra money for this!"

In the chaos, Julia, just freed from her restraints, rubbed her red wrists. She asked in confusion, "What money?"

"It's nothing." Brandon sneered. "This gentleman said if we abducted you and he came to the rescue, he could force you to marry him. What's wrong? Now you want to back out?"

Julia's anger exploded as soon as she heard that. "Lawrence Hale! You actually had someone abduct me? Are you out of your mind?"

Lawrence looked at Julia and put on a mocking smile. "Can't you tell? I don't even know these people. Besides, do you think I'm that kind of person?"

Just then, Patrick appeared at the perfect moment. Julia rushed into his arms, almost on the verge of tears. "I was so scared, Patrick. I never thought Lawrence would be like this!"

"It's okay. It's fine now. You're too much, Lawrence. Are you even a man?"

Although Patrick was scolding him, Lawrence saw a flash of amusement and provocation in Patrick's eyes.

Suddenly, he understood.

These people were hired by Patrick.

"Why are you framing me? Patrick? You hired them, didn't you? I don't know these people!" Lawrence shouted.

"Enough!" Julia snapped. "You're really pathetic, Lawrence!"

"Let's get you out of here, Jules." Patrick took Julia's hand, ready to leave.

Before they walked out, Julia looked back at Lawrence. "You've really disappointed me. Since you hired these people, we shouldn't let them come for nothing. You guys, beat him up. I'll pay you."

With that, she left decisively.

As Lawrence watched her walk away, his heart broke completely.

"Guys, we're in for some fun today! We get to make money from both sides and beat someone up! We should work with Mr. Harrison again," Brandon said excitedly.

Mr. Harrison?

Lawrence almost laughed. He had guessed right. This was all part of Patrick's elaborate scheme. His acting was so poor, yet Julia couldn't see through it.

A few men blocked Lawrence's path and dragged him into a private room.

Lawrence struggled for a moment, but it was futile. He couldn't win against four people. In his struggle, he hopelessly called out to Julia's retreating figure. His last hope shattered as he saw her remain indifferent.

"Turn on the music! Don't let anyone outside hear. Guys, beat him hard!" Brandon ordered.

They charged at Lawrence, throwing punches and kicks.

The lights blurred before his eyes. He glanced around and spotted a beer bottle on the table. A hint of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes.

…

Later, when Julia was asleep, she had nightmares. "No!" she screamed in fear.

Seeing her terrified, Patrick held her tightly. "It's okay, Jules. It's all over now."

"Why did Lawrence do this to me?" Julia's face hardened.

"Yeah, I never expected him to do that. Is he mad that I returned? Is he afraid I'll take you from him, so he staged all this?"

"He has no right to blame you. Don't worry. I'll make him apologize," Julia said.

After calming Patrick down, she angrily headed to Lawrence's apartment. But when she arrived, the place was empty. She called her secretary, Lena Noble.

"Find out where Lawrence is."

As she waited, her anger grew wilder. How dare he stay out all night?

"Ms. Ware, Mr. Hale…" Lena hesitated.

"What? You'd better have him come back right now. I want an explanation for what happened yesterday!"

"We found Mr. Hale's personal belongings at Echo Chamber, but he's missing. There was a violent altercation there last night. The police have sealed off the area. There's blood everywhere. They say... someone died."

"What?" Julia trembled violently. "Say that again?"

"The police said the person who died was likely Mr. Hale."