Chapter 285: Setting a Flag Like This Is a Recipe for Disaster

The next morning, when Jane Lancaster came downstairs, she saw a suitcase in the living room. It seemed someone was about to go on a long trip.

"Jay!" Timothy Lancaster called out from the dining room, waving her over.

Jane walked over, surprised to see Julian was there as well.

He sat ramrod straight in his dining chair, exuding a cold, grim air. With his gaze lowered, he was cutting the steak on his plate.

Jane stopped in her tracks and called out, "Brother."

Julian placed the steak he had just cut at Jane’s seat. "Jay, I’ve cut your steak for you."

The moment he looked up, his eyes were filled with cold disgust.

Jane’s expression faltered. "No, thank you," she refused, polite but distant. "You should have it yourself, Brother."

Timothy glanced at Julian with a hint of suspicion. "It was a nice gesture from your brother," he said. "You should at least have a bite."

Julian blinked, and the expression in his eyes quickly returned to normal, as if what she had just seen was merely a figment of her imagination.

Timothy continued, "Julian, I won’t be home for the next few days. You need to take care of the house and your sister."

"Yes, Father." Julian sat back in his seat, once again appearing to be the respectful and obedient eldest son.

Jane walked over and affectionately took her father’s arm. "Dad, are you going on a business trip? But I thought you weren’t well enough to travel? I’m worried about you."

"I’m not going abroad this time," said Timothy. "No long flight. Ask Butler Forbes if you don’t believe me."

Butler Forbes explained, "There’s a mountain resort project in Solara. The other party has invited Sir to inspect it. He should only be gone for about three days. He’ll be back before you know it."

He could see the turbulent undercurrents between the two siblings, but there was nothing he could do.

His last conversation with Jasper Sterling had filled him with doubt.

As it happened, Timothy insisted he couldn’t do without him and that he must come along. Butler Forbes also wanted to take this opportunity to visit Solara and look into some old affairs.

As for the situation back at the Lancaster household...

In Butler Forbes’s eyes, both Jane and Julian were good children.

He refused to believe the two siblings would harm each other.

Two of the four Lancaster children had already been harmed. If the remaining two were willing to sit down and talk things out frankly, maybe they could resolve their animosity.

The rest of breakfast, however, was a cheerful affair.

Timothy was perfectly content as long as he had his daughter by his side. Jane, saddened by their impending separation, was reluctant to see him go.

While the father and daughter chatted away, Julian kept his head down, eating his breakfast in silence. He was only occasionally ordered by Timothy to do things for his sister, like pouring her water or passing her a napkin.

Even when breakfast was over and it was time to leave, Timothy never once mentioned his other two sons.

Butler Forbes, on the other hand, asked about him with concern. Although the poison had been identified and the hospital had quickly formed a specialist team to administer the antidote, Adrian was still in the ICU.

"Thank heavens he’s okay," Butler Forbes sighed.

Julian’s voice was tense. It seemed only a mention of his youngest brother could make this preternaturally composed young master betray a hint of panic.

"Chase woke up once, but the doctors said he was only conscious for a moment before slipping back into a coma... The poison has been fully counteracted, but he just won’t wake up. The doctors don’t know why either."

Butler Forbes grew nervous. "What? It’s that serious? Is there a problem with his brain? Should we consult a neurological specialist..."

Jane herself had been in a coma for three whole years due to a brain injury.

How could the Lancasters not be terrified of this happening again?

As he said this, Butler Forbes stopped walking.

Timothy, who was walking ahead, frowned, a hint of impatience in his eyes. "What’s the big deal? He’s been out for less than twenty-four hours. Jay received several critical condition notices back in the day..."

"Sir!" Butler Forbes exclaimed.

No matter the circumstances, it was inappropriate for a father to say such a thing. It was far too hurtful to Julian.

Besides, wasn’t this just adding fuel to the fire? It would only make Julian resent Jane even more.

Timothy paused, then offered a placating remark. "Since the poison’s been counteracted, just wait for him to wake up. Trust the doctors. Don’t work yourself up over nothing."

His tone was utterly indifferent. It was less of an attempt to comfort and more of a dismissal.

Julian slowly clenched his fists. "Yes, Father."

Before getting in the car, Timothy glanced at Jane. "Sweetheart, take care of yourself. I’ll take you skiing when I get back."

Jane sighed inwardly.

’Whenever someone sets a flag like that, something bad is bound to happen.’

’Either something happens to me, and Timothy has to bury his own daughter, or something happens to him. Either way, that ski trip is definitely not happening.’

Julian shot her a cold glance. ’Something happens?’

’If he remembered correctly, one of her first inner monologues had revealed the outcome: the Lancaster Family would go bankrupt, and only Timothy and Butler Forbes would escape unscathed.’

’Timothy clearly wasn’t going to be the one in trouble. So, the person something was about to happen to... could only be her.’

The car slowly pulled out of the driveway. Timothy gave his eldest son one last look, then rolled up the window.

Jane looked up at the sky.

A red sky on a winter morning was not a good omen.

Sure enough, the sky soon darkened, hanging heavy and gloomy overhead, casting a cold, oppressive pall over everything.

"Mr. Julian, Miss Jane, the car is ready," the butler came over and said.

Sensing the tension between the brother and sister, he spoke cautiously.

Jane glanced at Julian. Their eyes met—one pair cold, the other indifferent.

Without another word, they got into their separate cars and left—one for work, the other for school.

—

Jane had a feeling that something was going to happen today.

She had just arrived at school when she got a call from Professor Lee, telling her to come to his office.

From his tone, she knew it wasn’t anything good.

Jane knocked on the office door. As she pushed it open, she nearly collided with someone lunging at her.

The sight was so shocking that she almost let out an inappropriate laugh.

"What’s so funny?" Vincent Holt demanded angrily.

Jane decided she should at least pretend to be well-mannered in front of the school administrators. She turned her head to compose herself. "Sorry," she said.

She looked up and, sure enough, saw several other faces swollen like pigs’ heads.

Chloe Dave, Vincent Holt, and Jim Jenson were all there. She didn’t see Sean Grant, but his assistant was present. There was one other person, however, whose presence surprised her.

’Why is Caleb Lowell here?’

Caleb had come, of course, to stop Chloe and Vincent from blowing things out of proportion.

When Luna Morgan learned that the two of them were going to file a complaint with the school, she had frantically called Caleb, asking him to talk his friends out of it.

Caleb had managed to intercept them at the school gate, but he hadn’t expected them to be just two of the people looking to cause trouble for Jane.

Campus security spotted Chloe and Vincent, stopped them, and directed them to the administration office, saying someone was there to see them.

The moment they walked in, they saw another freshly-minted pig’s head.

Jim Jenson hadn’t come alone. With him was Sean Grant’s assistant.

When Caleb heard that Jane had even dared to go after Jim Jenson and Sean Grant, he was stunned into silence.

With things having escalated this far, the situation was now beyond his control.