Chapter 98 She Was Almost Raped
Sloane's POV
His gaze was like two sharp swords, stabbing straight at me, his tone carrying an almost cruel mockery: "Really, Sloane? Is there something else you'd rather tell a stranger than tell me?"
Looking at his terrifyingly dark face, I couldn't say another word.
My throat felt like it was being squeezed by an invisible hand. All my hurt and anger turned into bitterness at that moment, churning in my chest as my eyes instantly welled up with tears.
I didn't know how to explain. I just didn't want him to worry, didn't want him dragged into this mess.
But he had taken the sharpest knife and stabbed it right into my heart.
"Jared!" Seeing me on the verge of collapse, Harrison couldn't hold back anymore. He spun around and grabbed Jared's arm, his voice filled with unprecedented anger. "You bastard! Do you have any idea what she just went through?!" He paused, his deep eyes now full of sympathy and outrage. "She just got back from the police station! She was almost raped, do you know that?!"
Harrison's words hit like a thunderclap exploding in my ears.
I saw Jared's body go rigid, his deep eyes contracting violently as the anger and mockery were instantly replaced by disbelief, shock, and regret.
"The police station?" Jared's voice trembled slightly. He shook off Harrison's hand and grabbed my shoulders, his grip so tight it felt like he might crush me. "Why didn't you tell me?! Why did you lie to me on the phone?!"
His bloodshot eyes were full of pain and self-blame, like a crazed lion ready to devour me whole.
"I... I didn't want you to worry." Looking at the hurt in his eyes, my heart twisted in pain.
I reached out, wanting to touch him, to comfort him, but he violently shook me off.
"Didn't want me to worry?" He laughed coldly, his voice filled with indescribable sorrow. "You'd rather face it alone, rather be protected by him, than tell me? Sloane, what am I to you?!"
He shook off my hand again, the force so strong that I stumbled backward, my body falling out of control.
The expected pain never came. A large hand wrapped tightly around my waist.
At the critical moment, Jared pulled me back into his arms. His body was still rigid, but his eyes were filled with deep worry and fear.
"Mr. Montclair, now is not the time for arguing." Harrison's voice carried a trace of exhaustion but remained cold. "That man's name is Mike. He's tight-lipped, but my gut tells me someone's behind him. If you really care about Sloane, go find out who's pulling his strings."
Jared's face darkened like a storm cloud.
He glanced at Harrison, then at me. Finally, he just held me tightly and squeezed two words through his teeth: "Find out!"
The next second, several bodyguards hidden in the shadows appeared, responded respectfully, and immediately disappeared into the night.
Jared didn't look at Harrison again. He just held me tightly, as if trying to merge me into his bones and blood.
His chin rested on top of my head, his warm breath falling on my face with a barely noticeable tremor.
"Mr. Montclair, you owe Sloane an apology." Harrison's voice was cold, carrying an authority that brooked no argument. He stood in front of me, his tall figure like a wall, blocking out Jared's tangible fury.
Jared's face instantly darkened, two terrifying flames of anger burning in his bottomless eyes, shooting straight at Harrison.
He took a sharp step forward, brushing past Harrison, the oppressive aura around him making the air feel thin.
"My wife—I'll apologize to her myself," his voice was low, each word squeezed through his teeth, carrying an icy chill. "Mr. Rex, mind your own business and stop meddling."
Harrison's eyes flickered behind his glasses, but he said nothing more.
He just looked at me deeply, and finally, with a soft sigh, he turned and left the estate with steady steps.
His figure looked somewhat lonely in the night, yet also resolute.
"Get inside!" Jared didn't look at him, just spun around and pushed me hard. The force was so strong I nearly fell.
His voice carried suppressed anger and a barely noticeable tremor.
He pushed me into the house. Before I could steady myself, I heard the bodyguards' pleas for mercy rising one after another behind me.
"Mr. Montclair! We were wrong! We really know we were wrong!"
"Please give us another chance! We didn't mean it!"
My heart tightened. Through the large floor-to-ceiling window, I saw Jared's tall figure looking especially violent in the night. In his suit, he looked like an enraged lion, radiating a chilling murderous aura.
He somehow had a gun in his hand now, the dark barrel pointed at the bodyguards kneeling on the ground.
He said nothing, but his dark face and tense jawline showed that his anger had reached its peak.
"Bang!"
A sharp gunshot suddenly tore through the night sky, making my heart jump.
My body instantly stiffened, all the blood in my body seeming to freeze at that moment.
I instinctively touched my belly. I couldn't let Jared do anything rash, and I couldn't let my child carry any shadow in the future.
"Jared!" I rushed out the door almost instinctively, my voice trembling with urgency.
After the gunshot, the night returned to silence, with only the bodyguards' heavy breathing and the fury rising and falling violently in Jared's chest.
I rushed to his side and saw the mark where the bullet had grazed the ground and the bodyguards' pale faces. I breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, no one was hurt.
Ignoring the gun still smoking in his hand, I grabbed his arm, looked up at his bloodshot eyes, my voice urgent but firm: "They didn't do it on purpose! They were set up too!"
Jared's body went rigid. In his deep eyes, anger and rage intertwined as he looked down at me, his gaze full of complex emotions.
"Don't you know they were drugged, that's why they all got sick!" I didn't care about his expression and explained urgently. "They're victims too! You can't blame them for everything!"