Chapter 170

Chapter 170

Trent looked at the caller ID, let it ring three times, then picked up without any rush: "Something else?"

"Mr. Smith, there's really no need to pull the security footage." Serenity's voice finally lost its playful tone. "That drink might have just... happened to be a little off."

"If you think the drink itself was the problem, that's exactly why we need to get to the bottom of it." Trent's voice was flat. "One champagne tower goes wrong — what about next time? This should really be handled by the police."

"No!"

The word slipped out before Serenity could stop herself. She caught her reaction and softened her tone. "Mr. Smith, it's such a small thing. Why blow it up like this? It was probably just an accident."

"One accident is an accident. What about two? Who's to say there won't be a third." Trent paused. "But — why are you in such a rush? It's got nothing to do with you anyway."

A long silence on the other end of the line.

When she spoke again, Serenity's voice was tight. "Mr. Smith, can we handle this privately?"

Trent said nothing. He hung up and blocked her number.

The next time she called, all she got was an automated voice: "The number you have dialed is currently unavailable."

Serenity sat on the edge of her bed, phone in hand, her nails digging into her palm.

She had planned everything so carefully.

All Trent had to do was drink that glass, and she would have her photos — leverage to hold over him.

But it was Abigail who drank it. Every move Serenity had made fell apart.

Now Trent was clearly not going to let this go, and she couldn't afford to sit still.

She stared at the call that had been cut off again, took a deep breath, and decided to stop calling altogether.

She didn't believe Trent actually had any evidence.

If he did, he wouldn't be warning her — he'd be acting.

The more she thought about it, the calmer she felt.

On the other end, Trent stared at the phone that had gone quiet and felt a flicker of something cross his mind.

He had underestimated Serenity.

She had panicked at first — enough for him to pull a few things out of her — but she never actually admitted anything.

No matter what he said after that, she held her ground and never once connected herself to what happened.

He was going to need a different approach.

Trent sat with his thoughts, his brow creasing now and then.

Meanwhile, when Trent stopped calling, Serenity let out a quiet breath of relief.

The last thing she wanted was for him to keep pushing.

Because if this dragged on, there was no telling who would come out worse.

She couldn't afford to lose everything.

She felt a sting of frustration thinking about how much she had prepared, only to end up doing someone else a favor.

But she also knew — the way things stood right now was already a decent outcome.

Still, this whole thing had taught her something.

If she wanted to drive a wedge between Trent and Abigail, going after Trent wasn't the way.

His feelings for Abigail were clearly something else entirely.

She thought about the way his eyes had lit up the moment Abigail walked in yesterday — bright and eager, like a dog waiting for its owner to come home. Something about it sat wrong with her.

And with that, a competitive edge began to rise within her.

She wasn't any less than Abigail. So why should Trent be off limits?

They just met earlier, that's all.

Serenity told herself that and started thinking about how to go after Abigail's reputation instead.

Going through Trent wasn't smart. So she'd go straight for Abigail.

If Abigail could be pushed to back off, Serenity would have plenty of room to step into her place.

She remembered what Bianca had mentioned — that Trent and Abigail were in the middle of a divorce. That gave her something to work with.

On the other side of town, Trent had worked through his thoughts and headed back to the bedroom, where he found Abigail sitting up against the headboard. "Where did you go?" she asked.

"Just had something work-related to deal with. I went to the study for a bit."

He smiled as he answered, but before he could get close, Abigail gave him a light push.

"Just work?"

Meeting her steady gaze, Trent found he couldn't lie to her.

"No."

He took a breath and looked at her. "Abigail, I was dealing with what happened last night. Someone clearly put something in a drink, and the target was me."

Saying it out loud made him feel genuinely embarrassed.

"I was the one who almost walked into the trap, but you were the one who ended up drugged. I'm sorry, Abigail."

Looking at the guilt written all over his face, Abigail didn't say anything. She quietly placed her hand over his.

"We've made up, so we're in this together. Coming after you is coming after me too. There's no real difference."

Trent looked at her sharply when he heard that.

"Abigail..."

A wave of emotion rose slowly in his chest. He reached out and pulled her into his arms.

"You're too good to me."

"It's fine. By the way — you said you went to handle it. How did it go?"

Meeting her questioning look, Trent thought for a moment.

"It was most likely Serenity. I called her and tried to get something out of her, but no matter what I said, she wouldn't admit it had anything to do with her."

"And there's more..."

Trent held nothing back. He laid out every instance of Serenity's harassment — all of it, without leaving anything out.

"How can someone be so shameless?"

By the time he finished, Abigail's brow was tightly furrowed.

She had sensed from the start that Serenity was up to no good, but the lengths she was willing to go to were still shocking.

Engineering all those "chance encounters" with Trent — fine, Abigail could brush that off.

But drugging someone? That was something else.

Seeing Abigail's expression darken, Trent quickly made his position clear.

"Abigail, I want you to know — I've had no private contact with her. I have zero interest in her. There's nothing between us."

Abigail turned to look at him and caught the anxious look on his face.

She couldn't help but laugh.

"You think I'd believe you?"

She put on a serious expression, and it scared him more than a little.

"Abigail, please — I have recordings of every call. You can listen."

Trent pulled out his phone and played one at random.

"See? The whole time, I'm telling her to back off. That I'm married, that I have a family."

In that moment, Trent was like an eager dog wagging an invisible tail as fast as it could go, practically begging for her approval.

Abigail smiled and nodded, her expression gradually softening.

"Of course I believe you. It's just — having her constantly hovering around you is really annoying."

Serenity was like a fly.

She couldn't actually bite, but being surrounded by that constant buzzing was enough to drive anyone crazy.

Trent nodded too, but a moment later a small smile crossed his face and he pulled Abigail close.

"Don't worry. I already have a plan."

"What kind of plan?"

Abigail asked, curious.

But when she pressed him, Trent just shook his head with a mysterious look.

"I have something in mind, but I can't tell you yet."

Seeing him being deliberately vague, Abigail rolled her eyes.

"Just say it. What if there are gaps in it?"

For a split second, Trent was tempted by her offer.

But this whole messy situation was something he had brought on himself. How could he drag Abigail into it?

With that thought, he shook his head firmly and turned her down.