Chapter 205: Attacked
Hearing Finn’s words, Vivian Lowell was just about to speak when Eleanor Rhodes beside her grew visibly excited, springing to her feet to open the door.
"Julian, you’re here!" Eleanor said, looking at him playfully. "Vivian and I were just about to grab lunch together. You don’t mind that I’m crashing your date today, do you?"
Julian Faulkner fell silent for a moment. Normally, he might have minded the intrusion, but thinking back to what had happened last night...
"It’s fine. Let’s go."
He had no choice but to force himself to be okay with it.
After all, he knew Vivian well. She cherished her friends deeply, so he would naturally extend his affection to the people she cared about.
Inside the café downstairs from the Faulkner Group headquarters, the atmosphere shifted the moment Julian appeared.
Diners turned their heads, and people who had been casually chatting just seconds ago suddenly sat bolt upright, entirely on their best behavior.
Most of the patrons were Faulkner Group employees, so naturally, they recognized their boss.
What was supposed to be a rare moment to slack off and enjoy a relaxing lunch break turned into a tense affair. With the big boss present, no one dared to gossip. They scarfed down their food and scurried away as if fleeing the scene.
Eleanor had never seen such a spectacle. She scratched her cheek in confusion and looked at Vivian. "Vivian, are they all that terrified of Julian?"
Vivian offered a noncommittal smile, placing a small piece of pork chop into Eleanor’s bowl. "Alright, let’s just focus on our own food!"
Figuring she had a point, Eleanor nodded and went back to digging in.
Taking the opportunity, Vivian asked about Julian’s schedule for the afternoon. "Eleanor and I are planning to do some shopping later, but we’re going to catch a movie here first."
The lower floors of the Faulkner Group building housed a massive shopping mall, complete with restaurants, clothing boutiques, and a cinema.
Julian furrowed his brow slightly. "I have clients coming to the company this afternoon, so I need to host them. Once you two are done, let’s have dinner together.
"What would you like to eat, Vivian?"
Hearing his gentle tone as he said her name, Vivian’s heart inevitably skipped a beat. "Hmm, anything is fine. Maybe Western or Japanese cuisine.
"Preferably somewhere nearby. I’d like to finish up early so I can go back and see the kitten."
"Alright." Julian nodded in agreement.
They quickly finished their lunch and headed upstairs to rest. By a little past two in the afternoon, Vivian and Eleanor were back down in the mall.
On a weekday, the mall wasn’t very crowded. Aside from a few people sitting in the milk tea shop on the first floor, sipping their drinks and scrolling through their phones, the other stores were mostly empty.
Eleanor had already bought their movie tickets. They were going to see a foreign sci-fi blockbuster that started at 2:25 PM. Though it was a box-office hit, the weekday showing meant fewer attendees.
"We still have over ten minutes before it starts. Should we grab something to drink first, Vivian? Do you want to get a popcorn combo at the theater, or should we get milk tea?"
Eleanor glanced at the nearby milk tea shop, a yearning look in her eyes.
For most girls, the temptation of milk tea easily trumped plain old soda!
Vivian was initially still debating, but seeing Eleanor’s eager expression, she immediately understood. She linked arms with her friend and declared generously, "Let’s go get some milk tea!
"Order whatever you want, Eleanor! Miss Lowell is paying for this afternoon’s treats!"
Eleanor instantly burst into a bright smile. Arm in arm, the two close friends chatted and laughed as they strolled into the shop.
Inside, the staff were bustling behind the counter. Only one employee was manning the register. Seeing them walk in, she called out, "You can scan the QR code to order on your phones!"
With that, she quickly turned back to help package the outgoing drinks.
Seeing how busy the staff were, Vivian didn’t want to hold up the line at the counter. She pulled out her phone and found a seat with Eleanor so they could figure out what to get.
"I’ll have my usual—a fleshy peach slush! Eleanor, pick whatever you’re craving."
Taking the phone, Eleanor scrolled through the menu. "Then I’ll try this new release, the fleshy peach and plum! It’s got a little more plum than yours, haha!"
"Sounds good!"
Vivian nodded. Just as she was about to place the order, someone walked in behind her. A figure flashed past the corner of her eye—presumably a delivery driver dressed in a bright yellow uniform.
It was a common sight.
After all, this particular milk tea shop always did brisk business, and their delivery orders were highly popular. Delivery riders naturally came and went all the time.
However...
Whether it was because Vivian’s senses were overly sharp or for some other reason, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off about this man. He was shrouded in a dark, sinister aura.
It was cold, making her feel deeply uncomfortable.
Having submitted the order, Vivian subconsciously put her phone down and cast a glance at him.
He walked up to the counter and gave the staff a pickup number. The employee immediately handed him a bag of packaged drinks. After taking it, he turned and started walking straight toward Vivian’s direction.
Vivian and Eleanor were seated right by the door, a high-traffic area where people constantly walked past.
Now...
As the man approached, his gaze felt freezing. Feeling increasingly uneasy, Vivian pulled her stool, trying to shift a little further inward.
As it turned out, Vivian’s intuition was spot on.
Before the delivery rider even fully reached her, he violently swung the bagged drinks in his hand, smashing them directly toward Eleanor’s head.
"Eleanor!"
Because Vivian had already been on high alert, she shot her arm out and knocked the drinks away with a swift punch. She then grabbed Eleanor and yanked her back. Eleanor immediately scrambled to her feet, ducking behind Vivian.
In an instant, a safe distance was drawn between the two sides.
"What do you think you’re doing?" Vivian demanded, trying to intimidate the man into backing down. "There are security cameras everywhere, and the guards will be here any second! Assault is a crime; you’re going to end up in the police station!"
Instead, he let out a cold sneer and pointed an accusatory finger at Eleanor. "The police station? Shouldn’t she be the one going to jail instead of me? She’s a homewrecker! She drove Miss Winslow to the brink of death!
"Tsk, tsk! She looks pretty enough, but I never expected her to be such a piece of trash!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, the man suddenly produced a knife from his sleeve and lunged at Eleanor, weapon raised.
Vivian swiftly delivered a flying kick, landing a solid blow directly to the man’s abdomen. He grunted in pain, his body twisting slightly, instantly losing his window of attack.
"Eleanor, go get security!"
Vivian didn’t dare let Eleanor stay near this dangerous man for another second. Reacting quickly, Eleanor spun around, pushed open the glass doors, and bolted outside, screaming, "Security! Someone has a knife!"
The man flew into a rage.
He pointed at Vivian and began hurling curses at her, screaming that she and Eleanor were birds of a feather, declaring that only cheap sluts would associate with each other.
Vivian remained entirely unfazed. She dropped into a defensive stance, locked in a tense standoff with the assailant.
By this time, the onlookers and the milk tea shop staff had rushed out from all sides. Working together, they managed to subdue the struggling man, pinning him down and wrestling the knife from his grip.
Not long after, the mall security guards arrived and hauled the man away. One of them turned to Vivian and Eleanor, apologizing profusely. "We are so sorry. It’s a failure on our security team’s part for not catching this sooner.
"We’ll be handing him over to the police. If they need statements from you ladies later, they will give you a call. We apologize for the trouble."
"It’s alright," Vivian said, shaking her head as she thanked the guards who had hurried over.
Eleanor immediately rushed forward, her face etched with worry. "Vivian, are you okay?"
"I’m perfectly fine."
Seeing Eleanor’s distress, Vivian patted her friend’s shoulder and joked with a light smile, "I’m a black belt in judo, remember? Have you forgotten my skills?"
Eleanor realized she was right, but her expression quickly fell into despondency. "This is all my fault. This trouble was entirely directed at me... I dragged you down with me."
"It’s fine, really."
Vivian offered her a reassuring smile and waved her phone in front of Eleanor’s face. "Alright, cheer up. Our milk teas are ready. Let’s head back inside and grab them."
"Okay..."
Eleanor nodded. The two of them had just turned around and pulled open the door to the shop when a middle-aged woman suddenly charged at them. Without any warning, the woman raised her hand, aiming a vicious slap straight at Eleanor’s face.
What?!
Noticing the movement just in time, Vivian swiftly intercepted the woman’s arm.
The older woman pointed furiously at Eleanor, screeching, "I was wondering why you looked so familiar! I saw your face on the internet. You’re that girl from the pet hospital, aren’t you?
"Putting on a fake show with your charity work to gain sympathy, while acting like this behind closed doors! Absolutely disgusting! How can there be people in this world like you, who love being homewreckers and destroying other people’s relationships?"
The woman’s face flushed bright red as her rant reached a fever pitch.
Vivian’s expression, however, turned utterly freezing. Glaring at the woman, she demanded, "Who gave you the right to say that? Yes, Wendy Wynn jumped off a building, and yes, she made those accusations.
"She’s playing the victim, but does being the victim automatically make someone right? You’re far too naive. You’ve allowed yourself to be led by the nose and used as a pawn, and now you have the audacity to stop Eleanor in the street and hurl insults at her.
"Let me make this perfectly clear. Based solely on your actions just now, I have every right to instruct a lawyer to sue you for attempted assault and malicious defamation.
"You might not go to prison, but you will absolutely be forced to pay compensation. Ma’am, I strongly suggest you find some common sense and think things through before you act."
The older woman froze.
Truth be told, she didn’t know the first thing about the law. The only reason she had stormed over to berate Eleanor was because she felt she was acting in the name of justice. To make matters worse, her own daughter was currently going through a messy divorce because her son-in-law had cheated on her.
Furious over her daughter’s predicament, she naturally strongly empathized with the drama swirling online regarding Wendy Wynn, Henry Sterling, and Eleanor Rhodes.
Seeing that her words had stunned the woman into silence, Vivian continued coldly, "I’ve said what I needed to say. We have things to do, so we won’t waste any more time talking to you.
"Think long and hard about your actions! Don’t be so naive in the future, letting yourself be manipulated so easily by strangers on the internet. Not everyone will be as reasonable as me and actually bother talking to you."
Vivian considered herself to have a relatively good temper.
She was certain that if this woman had run into a fiery heiress like Sylvia Drake, things would have turned incredibly ugly on the spot!