Chapter 4 - The Counter-Strike
"Christian?" Vanessa gasped, taking a panicked step back. "How did you get in here?"
"I own the security firm that monitors this entire pier, Vanessa," Christian said, his voice smooth but dangerous. He stood beside me, his presence immediately grounding the chaotic energy of the room. He looked at Vanessa with absolute disdain. "You forgot that before Lucas hired you as an assistant, you tried to apply at my firm. I ran a background check on you back then. I know exactly how you operate."
Christian turned to me, his expression softening into deep respect. "Emma, the police have already raided the shell companies Vanessa is trying to threaten you with. My team tracked the IP addresses from her laptop twenty minutes ago. The offshore investors she’s talking about? They aren't coming for you. They’ve already turned on Lucas to save themselves."
Vanessa’s laptop slipped from her hands, shattering on the concrete floor. She fell to her knees, sobbing hysterically. "Please, Emma... Lucas forced me to do it! He threatened to fire me, to ruin my career! I didn't know he was going to leave you in the snow! I swear!"
"You stood in my house and pretended to celebrate my pregnancy, Vanessa," I said, looking down at her without a single shred of pity. "You wore the bracelet I gifted you while you slept with my husband and plotted to steal my daughter’s birthright. You can tell your tears to the judge."
Two police officers stepped out from the shadows behind Christian, swiftly handcuffing Vanessa and leading her away into the foggy night.
As the sound of the sirens faded, Christian turned to me, wrapping his warm wool coat around my shoulders. "Are you alright, Emma?"
"I am now," I said, breathing a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Christian. If it weren't for you and Arthur, I don't know if I could have protected Lily through all this."
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"Your father saved my life when I was a young man starting out, Emma," Christian said gently, his eyes holding a deep, unwavering sincerity. "When you called me from that hospital bed six weeks ago, shivering and holding your newborn baby, I swore I wouldn't rest until every single person who hurt you paid ten times over. The Harringtons are done. But the real battle starts tomorrow in the courtroom. Lucas’s legal team is trying to launch a counter-defense. They are going to use the media to attack your mental state."
"Let them try," I said, a fierce fire igniting in my chest. "They think I'm the same weak girl they pushed into a blizzard. Tomorrow, they’re going to meet the woman who survived it."
