CH.84

Killian gave Serena a knowing grin when he saw Serena’s ear wiggle. "We managed to clear your name completely and prove you had absolutely nothing to do with that trashy video. In fact, we even flipped the whole narrative back to your delightful stepsister and made her the target instead."

That certainly piqued Serena's interest, if the way her gaze snapped back to his was any indication.

One delicately arched brow quirked upwards as she regarded him with a newfound spark of curiosity. "Oh? Do tell..."

Killian leaned back slightly and made himself more comfortable on the edge of the mattress, sensing he finally had her full attention. "Well, it's a bit of a long story, filled with delicious revenge and retribution," he began. "How about you get your cute butt out of this bed, get dressed, and come downstairs with me for a late lunch?

Serena eyed him suspiciously for a moment as if debating whether it was worth the effort to leave her cocoon of misery.

Finally, she gave a small nod. "Fine, you've got a deal. At least it will get me out of this depressing room for a while."

Killian gave a satisfied grin.

He stood up from the bed when Serena began extricating herself from the tangle of sheets.

"Excellent! We can even do dinner too since it's already late afternoon. I'll fill you in over some food and drinks."

“Start talking! Now!” Serena urged, shuffling off towards the bathroom, no doubt to try and make herself look a bit more presentable.

“Yes, boss!” Killian gave an exaggerated salute before launching into his tale. "Okay, so we got our genius to do a full forensic analysis on that video frame-by-frame. We knew the girl in it wasn't you at all - it was actually that famous adult film star, Cinnamon Delite!"

There was a muffled thump and a surprised yelp from the bathroom at his words.

A moment later, Serena stuck her head out from behind the partially open door. "No way! Are you serious?"

"Dead serious," Killian confirmed with a chuckle. "We're talking about the one and only Cinnamon, queen of the MILF genre. So, whoever made that video just did some shoddy Photoshop work to dub your face on her body to make it look like you. Quite the crappy editing job if you ask me."

Serena disappeared back into the bathroom to finish fixing her makeup and hair while Killian continued explaining through the open door.

"Anyway, once we cleared your name, we shifted our focus to finding out who was behind the stupid stunt in the first place. As if it wasn't obvious enough already, we got rock solid proof that it was your wonderful stepsister who uploaded the fake video to try and smear your reputation."

There was a derisive snort from the other room.

Killian grinned wolfishly, sensing she was finally starting to perk up a bit at the prospect of payback against her wicked stepsister. "Oh but it gets better, trust me. See, we also discovered that she and that mistake of a manhood have been cheating on each other like a couple of alley cats in heat this whole time!"

A delighted laugh burst from Serena's lips as she emerged from the bathroom looking much more put-together, though her eyes were still a bit puffy from crying. "No way! Kylie has been stepping out on Alex too? Oh, those two miserable souls deserve each other then."

"Exactly!" Killian crowed triumphantly. "The level of hypocrisy and karma at play here is just chef's kiss. We even managed to get some incriminating footage of Kylie getting hot and heavy with some random guy she picked up at a club."

Serena's groomed eyebrows shot up at that as she closed the distance between them. "You've got to be kidding me! What did you do with the video?"

"Well, we took the little gem and did some editing magic of our own. We spliced it together with the Cinnamon footage to make it look like that bitch was the one in the original sex tape, and bam! Released that version to the public instead of the one with your face on it." Killian said with a conspiratorial wink.

A slow, delighted smile spread across Serena's features as the full realization hit her. "You mean...now everyone thinks Kylie is the whore in that video? Not me?"

"Ding ding ding, we have a winner!" Killian crowed, giving her a gentle nudge towards the door. "Payback's a bitch, ain't it? Maybe next time, your charming stepsis will think twice before trying to smear an innocent person's name and reputation."

Serena allowed him to steer her out of the room and into the hallway. "You know, you're not such a bad brother-in-law after all. I could definitely use some greasy food and strong drinks after being cooped up feeling sorry for myself for so long."

Killian grinned down at her as they headed for the stairs. "That's my girl! Just wait until I tell you about some of the other ways we got our revenge on that little brat. This is just the tip of the iceberg."

Serena raised an eyebrow at him with a sly smile. "Oh? Do tell, I'm all ears. Spill all the deliciously petty details over a few cocktails."

Killian chuckled. "You got it, sis...."

He had initially planned for a casual dinner at home with Serena.

A wicked, mischievous grin spread across his rugged yet breath-taking features as a more indulgent idea took shape behind his sparkling eyes.

"You know what, sis? Forget eating at home tonight - I've got something infinitely better in mind to help take your mind off things," he announced in a conspiratorial tone, giving her dubious wink. "We're going out to paint the town red in true Gaard style!"

Before Serena could even open her mouth to protest or question him further, Killian closed his eyes with his brow furrowing in intense concentration, clearly engaged in a silent communication of some sort.

Serena watched with confusion and curiosity. What was he doing? Cooking up more ideas to get her into trouble?

Killian's eyes snapped open a few drawn-out moments later, the wicked gleam returning full force as his sensual lips curved into an unsettling smile.