Madison
“This is ridiculous,” Vanessa scoffed, tossing her head. “You’ve completely lost it.”
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Alexander remained calm, his composure a stark contrast to Vanessa’s agitation. “Have I? Selena Johnson gave us quite a detailed account of your little plan.”
“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. What bullshit is this?”
I watched the exchange with growing tension, my arms crossed tightly over my chest. The concrete walls of the warehouse seemed to close in around us, amplifying every word.
“Really?” Alexander circled her chair slowly like a predator sizing up its prey. “That’s interesting because Selena remembers your instructions quite clearly. The Plaza Hotel, ten thousand dollars, a little vial to slip into my drink.”
“This is insane.” Vanessa jerked against her restraints. “You’re holding me against my will based on the word of someone I barely know?”
Leo stepped forward, his phone in hand. “We have a recording of her confession. Would you like to hear it?”
“I don’t care what you have. This is kidnapping!”
Alexander leaned down, his face inches from hers. “Why did you do it, Vanessa? Was it because I wouldn’t return your calls? Because I wasn’t interested?”
“You’re delusional,” she spat. “I have better things to do than chase after you.‘
“The three desperate voicemails you left a few months ago suggest otherwise,” Alexander replied coolly.
I shifted uncomfortably, feeling like an intruder witnessing something deeply personal. Anthony caught my eye from across the room and gave me a reassuring nod.
“Play the recording,” Alexander instructed Leo.
Leo tapped his phone, and Selena’s voice filled the room: “Vanessa contacted me about two weeks before the Morrison event. She flew me to New York and put me up at the Plaza. She gave me cash, ten thousand dollars, and this little vial of clear liquid. She said all I had to do was find someone to slip it in your drink during the party.
Vanessa’s face paled slightly, but she recovered quickly. “That proves nothing. She’s lying.”
“We have the bartender’s statement, too,” Leo added. “And your text messages with Selena.”
“You hacked my phone?” Vanessa looked genuinely shocked.
“We didn’t need to,” Alexander said. “Selena showed us everything.”
Rain continued to hammer against the metal roof, each drop adding to the relentless symphony of nature’s fury.
“What do you want from me?” Vanessa finally asked, her voice slightly less confident.
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“The truth,” Alexander replied simply. “Why did you drug me?”
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Vanessa’s jaw clenched. “This is absurd. You’re accusing me based on the word of someone who clearly has her own agenda.”
“What was in the vial, Vanessa?” Alexander pressed.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
Alexander sighed and nodded to Leo, who produced a small syringe from his pocket.
“What is that?” Vanessa’s eyes widened. “What are you doing?”
“Truth serum,” Leo said casually. “Nothing dangerous. Just something to lower your inhibitions. Make you more… receptive.”
I gasped. “Alexander-”
He held up a hand to silence me, his eyes never leaving Vanessa’s face. “Sound familiar, Vanessa? Those were your exact words to Selena, weren’t they?”
The blood drained from Vanessa’s face. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Wouldn’t I?” Alexander’s voice was deadly quiet. “You had no problem doing it to me.”
The tension in the warehouse was suffocating. I stood rooted to the spot, watching the exchange unfold like some twisted crime drama. The concrete walls seemed to close in as Vanessa’s composure cracked further under Alexander’s relentless pressure.
“Fine!” Vanessa finally snapped, her designer dress now completely rumpled, mascara smudged beneath her eyes. “Yes, I planned it! Happy now? I had Selena drug you.”
Leo exchanged a look with Alexander, who remained perfectly still, his face an emotionless mask.
“Why?” Alexander asked simply.
Vanessa let out a bitter laugh. “Why do you think? Because you’ve been ignoring me for months! We had something, Alexander. Something real. And then suddenly, you’re too busy to return my calls?”
I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing. The woman was delusional.
“We shared one kiss at a charity event three years ago,” Alexander said flatly. “That’s hardly the foundation for a relationship.”
“It was more than that, and you know it!” Vanessa strained against her restraints. “There was a connection. Everyone saw it!”
“So you decided drugging me was the appropriate response to rejection?” His voice remained eerily calm.
“It wasn’t like that!” She tossed her head, somehow managing to look indignant despite being tied to a chair. ” It was just something to help you relax, lower your inhibitions. Make you see what was right in front of you.”
I thought about that night at his penthouse. I remembered how disoriented he’d been, how his eyes hadn’t quite
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focused, and how he’d called me Katherine. The memory sent ice through my veins.
“You drugged me to get me into bed,” Alexander stated bluntly.
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Vanessa had the audacity to look offended. “I drugged you to make you remember what we had! To break through that wall, you put up! It wasn’t anything dangerous, just something to make you more… receptive.”
Anthony, who’d been silently observing, made a disgusted noise. “That’s called date rape, Ms. Caldwell.”
“Oh please,” she rolled her eyes. “Men can’t be raped. Besides, Alexander and I already had history.”
“In your imagination,” Leo muttered.
Alexander leaned forward, his face inches from hers. “Let me make something perfectly clear. We never had anything. That kiss was a mistake, one I immediately regretted. I’ve been ‘ignoring‘ you because I’m not interested. Not then, not now, not ever.”
“You don’t mean that,” Vanessa insisted, desperation creeping into her voice. “It’s just that ice queen Katherine. She ruined you for other women.”
I flinched at the name. Katherine again. The mysterious ex who still haunted Alexander.
“Leave Katherine out of this,” Alexander snapped, the first crack in his composure. “This is about you drugging me at a public event.”
“It was barely anything! Just a mild relaxant. My friend promised it wasn’t dangerous.”
“And you believed your friend?” Leo asked incredulously.
“She’s a pharmaceutical executive’s daughter! She knows about these things.”
Alexander straightened up, adjusting his cuffs. “So your plan was to drug me, then what? Take me home while I was incapacitated?”
Vanessa’s silence was damning.
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
