If they had tails, they’d definitely be wagging.
When Adrian saw me, his face immediately hardened. He snatched a file from the coffee table and tossed it in my face. Rising to his full height, he glared at me like I was some kind of enemy.
“Vanessa! I can deal with your tantrums, but harming Bella? That’s unforgivable!”
“You set up that fake kidnapping just to get my attention? If something had happened to Bella, you’d be rotting in jail!”
I bent down, gathering the papers, my eyes skimming through them as I fought back a laugh. It was just a statement from the kidnapper, nothing more. If Adrian had even a shred of trust in me, he’d trace the money and see that I wasn’t involved. But people only see what they want to see.
Bella, sensing the shift in the room, sprang up from the sofa and gripped Adrian’s sleeve in a panic.
“Adrian, I’m fine, really. Don’t get so worked up… It would be awful if Vanessa ended up in jail…”
Before she could finish her sentence, I slapped her hard across the face.
The crack of it echoed through the room, the sound sharp and final. Bella stood frozen, stunned, her face still tingling from the force of the blow. The room was silent, everyone frozen, unsure of what to do next.
Adrian snapped out of it first. His eyes were filled with rage as he grabbed my throat, his fingers tightening around it.
I gasped for air, twisting beneath his grip, but I didn’t look away. My eyes locked with his, full of contempt.
“You really think a flimsy statement is enough to send me to jail? You’re a fool if you think the police would buy that.”
His hands tightened, and I felt the darkness closing in. But despite the suffocating pressure, a grin slowly spread across my face.
