Chapter 97 We left her alone
Veronica's POV:
The doors clicked shut behind me, and I heard the unmistakable sound of a lock engaging.
I was trapped.
I spun around, expecting to see Senior Ashford sitting in one of those expensive leather chairs, ready to deliver threats and ultimatums.
But it wasn't Senior Ashford waiting for me.
It was Laura Bellamy.
She stood in the center of the conference room, her perfectly styled hair slightly disheveled, her makeup smudged, and her designer gown wrinkled. She looked like she'd been through hell—which, I suppose, she had been, considering I'd locked her in that parlor room.
How the hell did she get out?
"You!" Laura shrieked, her voice shrill with rage. She took several steps toward me, her hands clenched into fists. "You locked me in that room! Do you have any idea what you've done?!"
I backed up instinctively, my shoulders hitting the locked doors behind me.
"Laura, I..."
"You sabotaged my engagement!" she continued, her voice rising to near-hysteria. "You humiliated me! Again! First you ruin my relationship with Chase, and now you destroy my chance with Max! What is wrong with you?!"
"I didn't ruin your relationship with Chase," I shot back, anger overriding my fear. "He ruined it himself by cheating on you. With multiple women. I was just the one unlucky enough to..."
"Shut up!" Laura screamed. "I'm done listening to your lies! You're a manipulative, selfish—"
"I'm calling my lawyers," she interrupted herself, pulling out her phone while shaking hands. "I'm filing charges. Unlawful imprisonment. Assault. Interference with contractual agreements. You're going to pay for this, Veronica. I'm going to sue you for everything you have."
"Go ahead," I said, trying to sound braver than I felt. "I'll countersue for the scam you were pulling with the Ashfords. Marrying Max just to get revenge on me? Using him as a pawn in your petty vendetta? I'm sure that he'll play great on court."
"Scam?" Laura laughed bitterly. "It was a legitimate arrangement! His father approached my family! Everything was legal, everything was proper! You're the one who broke it up with your dramatic stunt!"
"Max didn't want to marry you," I said firmly. "That makes it coercion, not a legitimate arrangement."
"Max would have come around," Laura insisted. "Once he realized how good we could be together, once he saw the advantages of our families merging..."
"He doesn't love you, Laura."
The words hung in the air, brutal and true.
Laura's face crumpled for just a second before hardening into something cold and vengeful.
"And he loves you?" she spat. "Please. You're just an entertainment to him. A scandal he can't resist because he's bored with his perfect life. But it won't last. None of it will last. And when both those brothers finally see you for what you really are... a manipulative social climber who plays with people's emotions... you'll have nothing."
"I'm not afraid of you," I said, lifting my chin.
"You should be," Laura replied, her smile turning cruel. "Because you're surrounded by my men."
My blood ran cold.
I looked around the room more carefully and noticed what I'd missed in my initial panic. There were four men in dark suits positioned at strategic points around the conference room.
Not Senior Ashford's security. Different people. Probably hired by Laura or her family.
The danger of the situation suddenly became very real. I was locked in a room with a woman who clearly hated me, surrounded by men who worked for her, with no way to call for help.
But I couldn't let her see my fear. Couldn't give her that satisfaction.
"So what's your plan?" I asked, keeping my voice steady. "Have your goons rough me up? That'll look great when it comes to legal proceedings."
She took another step closer, and I fought the urge to back away.
"You've ruined my life twice now," she continued, her voice dropping to something quieter but more intense. "And I'm going to make sure you understand what that feels like. I'm going to destroy you, Veronica Whitmore."
Max's POV:
Meanwhile, Theo and I were in a different conference room on the opposite side of the hotel, facing down our father.
He stood behind the desk, his hands flat on the surface, his expression carved from ice. We'd been arguing for the past ten minutes, getting nowhere.
"You need to understand," Theo was saying, his voice maintaining that careful calm he used in negotiations, "Veronica did this with good intentions. She was trying to help Max, trying to prevent..."
"Good intentions?" Our father's voice cut through Theo's explanation. "Seriously? Do you know that my security team found Laura Bellamy locked in a parlor room? Your little girlfriend sabotaged this event on purpose. She deliberately disrupted a legitimate business arrangement!"
"Legitimate?" I couldn't stay quiet anymore. The rage that had been building finally boiled over. "Then what about you, Father?"
I stepped forward, my hands clenched into fists at my sides, my voice rising.
"You planned all of this behind my back!" I shouted. "Without even consulting me! Without asking if I wanted to marry Laura Bellamy! Without giving a damn about what I thought or felt or wanted in my own life!"
"You're my son..."
"I'm a person!" I roared. "And I trust Veroncia with my life. Just don't harm her with legal actions. She is already going through a lot with her family."
"You are just a fool to trust a Whitmore over a Bellamy," the father said finally.
"Father," Theo interrupted. "Where is Laura now? We can talk with her and come to terms."
I wanted to slam my head at that. Theo and his need for diplomacy! He always keeps thinking that everything can be solved just by talking.
"You said your security found Laura locked up," Theo said, his voice tight with growing alarm. "Where is she now?"
"They released her about fifteen minutes ago," our father admitted. "She was furious. Talking about lawsuits and revenge and... she is probably hunting Veronica out there... and I didn't even stop her from it. After all, Veronica deserves it..."
He didn't even get to finish.
Theo and I were already running for the door.
If Laura had been released, if she had her own security team, if she was as vengeful as she seemed, then Veronica could be in serious danger.
And we'd left her alone.