CH.13

Serena's wrists, so delicate, felt the harsh bite of the unforgiving metal handcuffs as the police officer gently ushered her into the back of the van.

She glanced over her shoulder at her father, President Bolting, who stood with a calm and composed demeanor at the entrance of the prestigious Royal Hotel. Despite his stoic exterior, his eyes revealed a tumultuous mix of pain and disbelief.

The van doors slammed shut, sealing Serena off from the chaos erupting outside.

She drew a shuddering breath. This had to be some cruel mistake. Her, accused of murder? The absurdity of it all threatened to overwhelm her.

Her trembling hands fumbled for her phone before remembering it had been confiscated as evidence.

A whimper escaped her lips as the van rumbled to life, its tires crunching on the gravel drive.

Outside, President Bolting watched helplessly as the van carrying his daughter disappeared around the bend.

As soon as it was out of sight, he pivoted on his heel and stormed toward his lineup convey of bodyguards, his motions stiff with barely contained fury.

He snatched up his phone from his most trusted bodyguard and stabbed at the screen with more force than necessary.

He scrambled to locate the contact he urgently needed and dialed the number, his fingers trembling with impatience.

The call connected after a single ring.

"Good evening, Sir—" The person's warm greeting was abruptly interrupted by President Bolting's urgent need to cut straight to the chase. He had no interest in exchanging pleasantries.

"Ezra. Serena was arrested on suspicion of murder. I need you at the precinct right now to handle this catastrophe." He clutched the edge of the car, knuckles blanching. "Move heaven and earth if you must, but do not let my daughter see the inside of a prison cell. I won't accept anything less than her being exonerated fully. Is that understood?"

With that, President Bolting ended the call and took a deep to steady his breath, his jaw clenched tight.

How had this travesty been allowed to happen? His daughter, his precious Serena, accused of such a heinous crime. It was ludicrous, outrageous...intolerable!

A Movement in his peripheral vision caught his attention. His head whipped around to find the source and his already unpleasant mood immediately worsened.

Alex Montgomery was standing there with a cool smirk playing about his lips. A dashing young man with pale grey eyes that shimmered like polished silver in the dim light. His features were chiseled and handsome, accentuated by an air of confidence that bordered on arrogance.

Of course he would be here gloating. That wretched snake!

President Bolting advanced on him, eyes blazing with ill-contained rage. "You...this is your doing, isn't it?" he bit out through gritted teeth. "What lies did you concoct to make them arrest my daughter?"

Alex's smile didn't waver. "Now, now, no need to get your knickers in a twist, Bolting. I merely provided the police with some...troubling information that came to light."

President Bolting grabbed Alex by the lapels and pulled him so that their faces were just inches apart. "You'll undo this, you miserable worm, or so help me God -"

Alex tsked softly, feeling entirely unruffled. "Is that any way to speak to the man who knows exactly where your daughter was the night of the murder?"

The president's grip tightened convulsively for a moment before he shoved Alex away, recoiling as if burned. "Do your worst, you sniveling ingrate," he snarled. "I'll see you ruined for this."

Straightening his rumpled jacket, Alex's face hardened into icy disdain. "We'll see about that, Bolting. We'll just see."

The threat hung heavy in the air as the two men glared at each other, an old hatred reignited to new smoldering life.

President Bolting hands clenched into white-knuckled fists at his sides. "This vendetta between our families has gone on long enough. But to stoop so low as to implicate my own daughter in a crime?" His voice shook with barely restrained fury. "That is a line you should never have crossed."

"A crime?" Alex arched one mocking eyebrow. "Why, I'm just an innocent bystander trying to ensure justice is served. If Serena is truly innocent of the murder, she has no reason to be afraid."

"Don't play coy with me, you viper!" President Bolting roared, spittle flying from his lips. "I know your sort - you've been gunning for my family's downfall from the moment you slithered into our lives. Using my daughter's affections to infiltrate our ranks and trying to poison her against her own blood."

Alex's cold expression didn't flicker. "Your daughter is a grown woman capable of making her own choices. Though I can't blame you for being a tad...overprotective." His pale eyes lingered pointedly on the president's clenched fists. "Perhaps projecting your own domineering tendencies onto her…"

The implication hung in the air like a calculated barb struck to draw explosive reaction.

President Bolting looked about to throttle the smugly taunting younger man with his bare hands. A vein pulsed furiously at his temple.

Mastering himself with a visible effort, he ground out, "Mark my words, Montgomery - I will have the full force of my power and influence brought against you for this treachery. When I'm through, you'll be reduced to a sniveling, nameless beggar, lucky to find work shoveling pig filth."

Alex's thin lips curved in an infuriatingly patronizing smile. "We'll see, Bolting. We'll see."

He felt thrilled taking vicious delight in the anguish twisting the man’s features. "You can huff and puff all you like, old man, but the fact remains - Serena is my wife now. By law, I have more claim over her than you."

He tsked mockingly. "Did she not mention that little detail when you were blustering about using your 'power and influence'? Tsk tsk, such a forgetful girl, my sweet Serena."

The president went rigid and his eyes almost bulging out. "W-Wife?" He sputtered, his face turning a deep shade of red. "That's impossible! She would never..."

"Oh, but she did." Alex's tone was sugary sweet poison. "Your precious daughter was an absolutely delicious conquest. Such a delightfully easy pawn to manipulate, once I knew which of her strings to pull."

A muscle ticked in President Bolting's jaw as he visibly fought for control. When he spoke again, his voice was taut with barely restrained fury. "You lying snake! My Serena would never be taken in by the likes of you. This whole farce has your forked tongue's stench all over it."

"Believe what you want." Alex spread his hands in an artful shrug. "But at the end of the day, she's Mrs. Montgomery now. I suggest getting used to the idea, father-in-law. Oh, I mustn't forget to express the sheer delight I experienced while exploring every contour of her body."

The mocking emphasis on the last words was the final goading push. With an inarticulate bellow of rage, President Bolting's restraint finally snapped. His meaty fist lashed out, catching Alex square across the jaw with a sickening crunch of impacting bone and cartilage.