Chapter 262: Chapter 262: Dream

Lana loved watching the situation unfold.

Meanwhile, Betty could not help but shake her head, her lips curving into a knowing smile as she muttered,

“Now I finally understand why you never even considered interfering or tying up those loose ends.” Her gaze flicked toward Lucian before she continued,

“After this, hardly anyone will dare approach him anymore.”

The moment she said those words, the people gathered around Lucian began to slowly distance themselves.

One by one, they stepped back, their laughter dying in their throats.

They all understood one thing clearly, Lucian would never hesitate to insult them if they crossed a line.

’Better to retreat with dignity than be humiliated in public,’ they thought, and so many of them chose to leave.

A few stubborn ones remained, lingering awkwardly near him.

However, when they saw the expression painted on Lucian’s face, cold, detached, and openly disinterested, as though he would not hesitate to remind them of their place, their voices dropped to nothing.

Lana felt a faint irritation rise within her chest.

Sophia, who had been observing everything from a distance, narrowed her eyes slightly.

’If I approach Lucian directly, I’ll definitely earn his hatred,’ she realized.

Her mind began to race, calculating, until a thought surfaced.

A faint smile curved her lips. She turned toward a nearby waiter and leaned in, whispering something softly.

The waiter glanced in Lana’s direction, hesitated for a brief moment, and then nodded.

As the waiter walked away, Sophia cast a fleeting glance at Lana.

Lana’s entire attention was still fixed on Lucian, her posture relaxed yet confident.

Sophia curled her lips in disdain.

’Nothing more than a fake daughter of an almond family,’ she sneered inwardly. ’And yet she thinks she has the right to stand beside Lucian. How can someone be so clueless?’

So what if Lana was a mistake cultivator?

At the very least, she should have possessed the background necessary to survive as one.

In fact, Sophia had originally planned to target Layla. However, Layla had canceled and never arrived.

Since Sophia had already conducted thorough research on all of Betty’s classmates, it had been easy for her to memorize their names and backgrounds.

When Betty had been handing out invitations, Sophia had clearly seen Lana’s name, along with Fay’s and Layla’s.

Yet, when it came to assigning places and distributing the more exclusive invitations, Betty had hesitated when it came toward Fay, indicating that her relationship with Fay might not have been good.

That hesitation had made Layla Sophia’s primary target.

As for the men, Wade, Quinn, and Richard, Sophia never once considered them. They came from wealthy families she could not afford to offend.

That left only two options: Layla and Lana. Since Lana had arrived first, Sophia chose to act now.

Knowing that Lana was nothing more than a fake daughter only bolstered her confidence.

’Who would have thought that she would end up turning herself into Lucian’s enemy?’ she mused. ’But it’s still early.’

As long as she used Lana as a stepping stone to climb higher, she would eventually make sure that Lana understood the difference between heaven and earth.

Meanwhile, Lana slowly withdrew her gaze from Lucian, a sense of reassurance warming her chest.

’As expected, my white moonlight is so pure,’ she thought, her lips softening with quiet satisfaction.

Mr. Crow could not help but shake his head. Just as Lana and Betty were chatting casually, a small, timid voice called out to them.

The sound was barely audible, almost swallowed by the noise of the hall. When both Lana and Betty turned around, their eyes narrowed simultaneously.

It was Cassandra.

The moment Lana saw her, her mood plummeted sharply.

Without hesitation, she leaned toward Betty and murmured, “I’ll go to the lounge.” She turned to leave at once.

Cassandra instinctively stepped forward to follow her, but Betty calmly raised a hand, blocking her path.

“As far as I remember, I never invited the Steele family,” Betty remarked coolly. “So how did you get inside?”

Cassandra forced a smile, though her fingers trembled slightly. “I… I got an invitation through some connections,” she replied.

“I came here because I wanted to meet Lana.”

Betty smiled, but there was no warmth in it.

“I already know that was your intention,” she said lightly. “But I doubt you’ll succeed, considering what you’ve done.”

Cassandra frowned deeply. “What have I even done?”

“I don’t know,” Betty answered calmly. “But I do know one thing… Lana doesn’t avoid people unless they’ve crossed her bottom line. You should stay away from her. She’s surrounded by better people now, people who truly deserve her.”

Hearing those words, Cassandra clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms.

She glared at Betty and snapped,

“You don’t know a damn thing. Lana and I were best friends. I tried to contact her so many times. I couldn’t find her anywhere. I used every method I could, but she suddenly cut off all contact.”

Betty’s smile remained steady. “Then you must have done something that disappointed her.”

Cassandra fell silent.

What she never told anyone was that she had dreamed the night before.

In that dream, she saw herself accepting the offer of an unknown entity, allowing it to take over her body.

She watched herself spiral into madness, obsessed with designs, until she eventually hurt and made Lana lose her reputation.

Lana had even been falsely accused of being a plagiarist.

Later in the dream, she had helped Lana escape to a safe place in the suburbs of Xila City.

Even then, guilt gnawed at her relentlessly. Yet Lana’s brilliance in weapon design had made Cassandra cling to her again and again.

To ease her conscience, she secretly compensated Lana by allowing her and her teammates to take on more missions and tasks.

Those missions kept Lana alive, and Cassandra convinced herself that she had done enough.

Until the very end.

After taking Lana’s designs, she jumped from one benefactor to another, climbing higher and higher until she reached the peak of her life.

Just when she thought she could finally live freely, she died for reasons unknown.

The dream was unbelievable and illogical, and yet every time she recalled it, cold sweat broke out across her back.

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