Chapter 91 Keira Is Captured
Sloane's POV
He came back from the balcony quickly. The night breeze seemed to have blown away the last trace of gloom between his brows, replaced by a relaxed air of someone who had everything under control.
He walked over to me and naturally rested his hand on the back of my chair. In those deep black eyes, there was even a hint of barely noticeable amusement.
The old lady was sharp as ever. She saw at a glance that he was in an excellent mood. She put down her teacup, lifted her eyelids, and asked with full vigor, "What's got you so happy? Share it with Grandma so I can enjoy it too. Don't just stand there grinning to yourself."
But Jared kept us in suspense, his thin lips curving into a meaningful smile. "Grandma, the best part is yet to come. You'll soon see just how efficient the Montclair family is at cleaning house."
He paused, looked down at me, the smile in his eyes deepening. "I should say, there's also a surprise."
The old lady hated being kept in suspense. She tapped her cane on the floor twice. "You brat, speak up!"
Only then did Jared stop holding back. His voice was steady as he spoke, yet it was like dropping thunderbolts one after another into a calm lake: "After I had the butler send that driver away, I had someone secretly follow him. Sure enough, the car hadn't gone far before Keira stopped him with her people."
My heart instantly jumped to my throat.
"She probably wanted to silence him permanently, to eliminate all future trouble." Jared's tone was casual, but I still caught a flash of darkness in his eyes. "However, before her people could act, they were subdued on the spot by my men, and the police were called."
Both the old lady and Hannah's eyes widened, their faces full of shock and lingering fear.
"So..." I looked at him, my voice trembling with uncertainty.
Jared took my hand, wrapping his warm palm around my cool fingertips, giving me a confirming look. His voice was steady and strong: "So, Miss Keira should be at the police station having a chat right now. Attempted murder, with solid evidence. I just spoke with the chief personally and told him to enforce the law fairly. No one's pleading will help."
The huge weight that had been hanging over my heart finally crashed down.
A mix of immense joy and lingering fear surged up, making my eyes feel hot.
This woman had finally paid the price for her viciousness.
"But," I pushed down my excitement, raised my eyes, and looked at him with complete seriousness, warning him, "from now on, stay away from her. I don't want to see you two have any connection whatsoever."
As soon as I finished speaking, I saw those deep black eyes instantly ripple with thick amusement, like a stone thrown into a lake, creating circles of waves in my heart.
"What," he leaned down, his high-bridged nose almost touching mine, lowering his voice and asking in a bewitching tone near my ear, "are you jealous?"
His warm breath sprayed on my ear, bringing a fine tremor. My cheeks began heating up uncontrollably, and my heartbeat lost its rhythm.
But this time, I didn't deny it against my true feelings like before.
I met his teasing gaze and nodded frankly. My voice was soft but crystal clear: "Yes, I'm jealous."
He seemed not to have expected me to admit it so straightforwardly. He paused slightly, then the smile in his eyes completely melted, like it was filled with crushed starlight, dazzlingly bright.
He reached out, his calloused fingertip gently pinching my burning cheek, his tone full of affection and pleasure. "Little jealous one."
His intimate manner, acting as if no one else was around, made me both shy and embarrassed.
From the corner of my eye, I caught the old lady squinting, watching us with great interest. The mischief in her eyes made me want to find a hole to crawl into.
I quickly pushed away his body that was too close and glared at him reproachfully.
"Ahem," seeing this, the old lady immediately cleared her throat deliberately, closed her eyes, looking drowsy, but muttered, "Oh my, when you're old, you get sleepy easily... You young people carry on, carry on, don't mind this old woman."
Her obvious act made both Jared and me unable to hold back. We looked at each other, both seeing helpless yet sweet smiles in each other's eyes, and finally burst out laughing together.
By the time we returned from the old mansion to our own estate, the night had grown deep.
The warm lights drove away the night's chill and completely calmed my heart that had been stirred by Keira's arrest.
But this peace was destined to be short-lived.
I had just changed into my home clothes when a sharp, piercing phone ringtone suddenly shattered the tranquility.
Seeing the name flashing on the screen, my brows that had just been smoothed furrowed tightly again.
As soon as I answered, Isabelle's sharp, bitter voice full of rage exploded from the receiver, almost piercing my eardrum.
"Sloane! You vicious bitch! What did you do to Keira!"
I held the phone away from my ear and listened to her roaring expressionlessly.
"It's you! It must be you, you homewrecker, scheming behind the scenes! You're jealous of Keira, so you set a trap to frame her, driving a wedge between her and Jared!" Isabelle's voice became distorted with extreme anger. "I'm ordering you to find a way to get Keira out of the police station immediately! Otherwise, I will never let you go!"
I was amused by her anger and was about to retort when my phone was yanked away with force.
Jared had appeared beside me at some point. He expressionlessly held the phone to his ear, but the pressure around him had dropped to freezing point.
"Isabelle," he didn't even bother calling her "Auntie," his voice cold as a poisoned ice blade, "my wife is not yours to lecture."
The other end of the line seemed shocked into silence by his tough attitude.
"As for Keira," Jared's lips curved into a mocking arc, his tone full of chilling coldness, "she attempted murder and got what she deserved. If you have the energy to yell and scream here, you'd better find a good lawyer and figure out how to get her to spend fewer years in prison."
With that, he gave her no chance to rant further and hung up decisively, casually tossing the phone back onto the sofa.
The whole world went quiet.
He turned around and pulled me into his arms without question, his burning chest pressed against my back, his arms tightening forcefully as if trying to merge me into his bones and blood.
"From now on, don't bother with these messy people in the family," he buried his face in the crook of my neck, his voice muffled, carrying a trace of barely noticeable exhaustion and lingering fear. "I'm here, and I won't let anyone bully you again."