Chapter 212 An Explanation
Arabella had thought Flora was targeting Tiffany because of some personal grudge between them. She hadn't realized Flora was actually protecting her.
She remembered how Tiffany had been trying to get her alone for days, and how today she'd kept angling for private moments together. But Arabella hadn't done anything to Tiffany. Why would she want to hurt her?
Unless... did Tiffany have feelings for Alexander?
The thought startled Arabella.
Alexander was clearly seething, fury barely contained beneath the surface. He closed his eyes briefly. "Call Frank. Tell him to bring Tiffany to see me. I'll drop Arabella off first."
Flora's eyes flickered. "You're not bringing Arabella?"
Alexander shook his head. "No."
He wasn't as gentle and kind as he appeared on the surface. Arabella had never seen that side of him—he didn't want to scare her.
But Arabella spoke up. "I want to go."
She didn't know what she'd done to offend Tiffany, but she wanted answers. Being targeted for no reason felt terrible.
Alexander was silent for a few seconds before finally agreeing. "Alright."
Flora smiled at Arabella. "Who knows—Frank and Tiffany might both end up grateful you're there today."
She went off to call Frank.
Alexander led Arabella to his car. "Where are we going?" she asked.
"Somewhere safe," Alexander replied as he drove.
Arabella learned that Alexander and his friends had a regular meeting spot—an unmarked establishment in the city center. They took the elevator to the third floor, which opened into a lavishly decorated lounge. Alexander led her to the right into a large private room.
The space was like a karaoke lounge but more elaborate, with areas for singing, pool tables, a conference room, and even a café section.
Alexander brought her to the café area and asked a server for an iPad. He connected it to Wi‑Fi and handed it to her. "Stay here and watch something. Don't come out."
He brought over snacks, fruit, and milk. Worried she might be cold, he requested a blanket from the server and draped it over her shoulders.
Arabella was confused. "Why can't I watch? I want to know why she did this to me."
"I'll find out for you," Alexander said with a slight smile, smoothing her hair. "It's not going to be pleasant. You'd feel uncomfortable. Maybe even scared."
Arabella nodded thoughtfully.
Alexander left the café and settled onto a black leather sofa in the karaoke area. A server brought over drinks and fruit as usual.
After a while, Blake and Flora arrived. A few minutes later, Frank showed up with Tiffany.
Blake still didn't know what was going on. He laughed. "No wonder Alex said no to karaoke—this place is way nicer. Sneaky of you, man. You didn't mention it earlier, just had Flora tell us to come."
Flora glanced at him helplessly. That was Blake for you—completely oblivious.
Frank didn't sense anything wrong either. He walked in, opened several beers, and handed them around—one to Blake, one to Alexander, and one to Flora. He raised his own bottle. "It's been way too long since we all hung out here together. Good to finally have the chance."
Alexander clinked bottles with him from across the table and took a sip before setting it down. "Yeah. We've been friends for over a decade. Things shouldn't have gotten to this point."
Both Frank and Blake's expressions froze.
What did Alex mean by that?
Frank looked confused. "Alex, I thought we were good. Why are you suddenly saying this?"
Blake felt inexplicably uneasy. "Alex, did something happen?"
Alexander pointed at Tiffany. "Frank, out of respect for you, I'm giving her one chance. Let her explain herself."
Tiffany's face went white. She instinctively stepped backward.
Frank panicked. "Alex, what did Tiffany do? She's really timid—she wouldn't do anything extreme. There must be some misunderstanding."
Alexander looked at him coolly. "Ask her."
Frank's heart clenched. He grabbed Tiffany's arm. "Tiffany, what did you do?"
Tiffany shook her head frantically. "I didn't do anything! I really didn't! Frank, you know me, right? Alex, you must be mistaken."
Frank turned to Alexander. "Alex, you've got to be wrong about this. Tiffany's a good person."
"If she's such a good person, why'd she drug my wife?" Alexander's laugh was cold as he slammed a lab report onto the marble table, his expression dark. "Frank, take a look."
Though his face showed little emotion, everyone in the room—including Blake and Frank—instinctively shrank back. They'd been friends with Alexander for over a decade. They knew what he looked like when truly angry. More importantly, they knew the consequences.
Frank picked up the test results. They indicated the presence of a chemical compound in the juice that could cause a miscarriage.
He didn't understand. "Alex, what is this?"
Alexander's face was expressionless. "That juice your girlfriend poured for my wife. Flora knocked it over. This is what was found in the residue on the glass."
Even slow as he was, Frank finally caught on. Combined with Alex mentioning drugging, his face went pale. "Alex, are you saying Tiffany drugged Arabella? That's impossible."
Tiffany stumbled backward several steps, shaking her head. "I didn't! Alex, I really like Arabella. I wanted to be friends with her. Why would I hurt her?"
Frank nodded quickly. "Exactly, Alex. Tiffany's not like that. You must be mistaken. She's the kindest person. Besides, she has no reason—she has no grudge against Arabella. Why would she drug her?"
Alexander's lips twisted into something resembling a smile, his voice glacial. "Good question. I'd like to know too. Why did she drug Arabella and try to kill my unborn children?"
His gaze pierced through Tiffany like a blade. "Talk."
Tiffany shook her head desperately. "I didn't! I really didn't! Alex, you're wrong..."
She clutched Frank's arm tightly. "Frank, say something for me!"
Frank was at a loss. He had been defending her—didn't she notice? But if Alex was this certain, there had to be a reason. He asked Tiffany, "Are you hiding something from me?"
"I'm really not," Tiffany said, nearly in tears, desperately trying to explain. "It wasn't me."
She looked so innocent that even Blake was starting to think she'd been wrongly accused.
Flora crossed her arms, speaking coolly. "During that hour and a half dinner, you tried to drug Arabella once, tried to get her alone twice, and attempted to cozy up to her six times. If you claim you had no agenda, only an idiot would believe you."
She strode over on her stilettos and snatched Tiffany's purse right out of her hands. Tiffany's expression changed instantly. She lunged for it. "Give me back my bag!"
"So defensive? Must be something valuable inside." Flora's reflexes were sharp—she easily dodged Tiffany's grab. She rummaged through the bag and pulled out a spray bottle and a sealed snack package.
The spray was ordinary moisturizing mist. The snacks were sealed.
Flora held them up. "What's the trick here?"
Tiffany shook her head, her voice breaking. "You all suspect me already. Nothing I say will make a difference. Even if you'd pulled out a pack of tissues from my bag, you'd think there was something fishy about it. What can I possibly do?"
Flora smirked. "Won't talk? Fine. I can send these for testing. If they're clean, I'll apologize."
Tiffany's face changed, but before she could speak, Flora had already called over a server and sent both items to the lab.
Tiffany looked utterly defeated. She could only place her hopes in this moment. She said earnestly, "I really didn't poison Arabella. What would I gain from it? Frank and Alex are friends—if I did this, how could Frank face you all? Why would I be stupid enough to do something like that?"
"I'd also like to know—when you did this, did you think about Frank at all?" Alexander tossed his phone onto the table. "Got the footage. Frank, see for yourself."
Frank picked up the phone. On the surveillance video, Tiffany arrived at the private room early and wiped something onto the glass next to her seat, placing it where Arabella would sit.
He suddenly remembered—when Alex and Arabella arrived, Tiffany had indeed actively called Arabella over to sit beside her.
He'd believed in Tiffany, had even felt angry at Alexander and Flora for being so aggressive, thinking they were ganging up on her. Not until he saw the video—the evidence right in front of him—did he look at Tiffany in disbelief. "Why? Why would you hurt Arabella? Tiffany, why would you do this?"
Tiffany's eyes fell on the video in his hands. She knew that at this point, there was no room left for excuses.
She'd thought today would be a guaranteed success. She'd rehearsed it in her mind countless times. It should have been a flawless plan.
But it had been exposed so easily.
She didn't even know how they'd figured it out. Flora had grabbed that glass from the start, before Tiffany had even done anything!
She would never know just how observant Flora could be—from the moment Tiffany had shown unusual enthusiasm toward Arabella, she'd been watched.
Seeing her silence, Frank grew more anxious. "Tiffany, is there some misunderstanding? Explain it to Alex! Say something! Do you have some reason you can't talk about? Just tell me—I'll explain it to Alex for you!"
Tiffany stood there with her head down, tears streaming down her face. Frank's heart ached seeing her like this. He couldn't help pleading with Alexander. "Alex, please forgive her this once. She couldn't have meant it."
Alexander looked up at him, his blue eyes filled with cold indifference. "Frank, if she'd succeeded, I would have lost both my children."
It sounded like a reminder, but everyone present heard it for what it was—a warning.