Chapter 103 Brother's Love
Max’s POV:
“This is ridiculous,” I snapped, my palm slamming flat against the desk. “I saw the footage with my own eyes. My brother accessed it. There were guards. There were weapons. She was being held there against her will...”
“Mr. Ashford,” the officer interrupted, “You need to lower your voice.”
I let out a humorless laugh.
“Lower my voice?” I leaned forward, bracing my hands on the table. “A woman was held hostage, and you’re telling me to lower my voice?”
The officer didn’t even flinch. That annoyed me even more.
“We’re not denying that an incident occurred,” he said. “ We’ve already detained Ms. Bellamy and her security personnel. We are questioning her. But the specific footage you’re referring to... it's not in the system. ”
“Is it really gone?” I was clenching my teeth harder. "Or are you hiding it from us?"
He hesitated to answer.
That was all the confirmation I needed.
“Unbelievable,” I muttered, dragging a hand through my hair. “Let me guess. Technical issue? System glitch? Convenient timing?”
“The hotel’s surveillance system is complex,” another officer added from the side. “Certain feeds are encrypted. Access is restricted. If something was improperly accessed or removed...”
“Improperly accessed?” I turned on him sharply. “You mean, like when someone kidnaps a woman and wipes the evidence? That is called improper access. We were using the footage to only rescue the victim.”
They went silent. Good. At least that hit them.
I straightened slowly, forcing myself to breathe. Losing control wouldn’t help. Not here. The situation was already bad for Veronica. I shouldn't make it worse for her.
But, it was hard.
Because every second I stood here arguing, Veronica’s face kept flashing in my mind.
The way she'd been pale and exhausted before she'd left with Theo. She was relying on this footage to get her image completely clean on social media. Yes, her earring evidence would help, but this was a much-needed one. I can't give up on her.
“What exactly are you doing about it?” I asked, quieter now, but sharper. “Because from where I’m standing, it looks like you’re letting the rich Bellamy family to bury evidence.”
“That’s a serious accusation,” the first officer said.
“So is kidnapping.” I countered.
Finally, the officer sighed, leaning back slightly. “We’ve requested full access to the hotel’s security logs,” he said. “ Including backup servers. If the footage existed, we’ll inform you all."
Then he studied me for a moment, like he was deciding how much to say. “There’s something else.”
“What.”
“The deletion wasn’t random,” he said. “It was a targeted one. Whoever did it knew exactly what they were removing.”
“Meaning?”
"This wasn’t just panic cleanup. This was planned.”
Damn! Laura's allies had been faster than us.
“Can you recover it?”
“We’re trying. But if the overwrite was done properly… it may be gone forever.”
Gone. Just like that, the truth was buried. And all we had left was Veronica’s audio notes… Will it be enough to defend her?
I let out a slow breath, forcing my anger down.
As I turned to leave, my phone buzzed in my pocket.
I glanced at the screen. A notification.
"Trending Video – 2.3M views"
I tapped it open and froze.
It wasn’t just Veronica’s actual fake confession anymore. It was edited even more.
And the caption read: “The Whitmore Heiress Exposed: Playing Both Ashford Brothers?”
Laura was already playing her moves faster than us.... even under investigation... while we were out here, free but falling behind.
Veronica's POV:
"What do you mean, your brother needs me more?" I asked, the shock was making me sound sharper than I intended.
Theo ran his hand through his blonde hair, that gesture he made when he was stressed and trying to find the right words.
"Max has finally given up his self-destructive ways," he said slowly. " The drinking, the fighting. He's turning good, Veronica. Becoming the person he was always capable of being. And I'm one hundred percent sure that if you end up with me instead of him, he'll slip right back into all of it. "
I stared at him, trying to process what he was saying.
"You think..." I struggled to form the words. "You think Max will destroy himself if I choose you?"
"I know he will," Theo said quietly. "I've watched him my entire life, Veronica. I know his patterns. And right now, you're the only thing keeping him stable. The only thing giving him a reason to be better."
"So what?" I demanded, anger rising. "I'm just supposed to sacrifice what I want... what we want... That's not fair, Theo. That's not..."
"I know it's not fair," Theo interrupted, his voice pained. " But it's just that. And I can't... I won't... watch my brother destroy himself.
Not again. Not after everything. "
I looked at him and suddenly everything became crystal clear.
"Well, it is clear then," I said, my voice hollow. "You love your brother more than you love me."
Theo flinched like I'd slapped him. "That's not..."
"It is," I said flatly. " You're choosing him over me. Over us. You're willing to give up our happiness to ensure his. That's love, Theo.
Maybe not the romantic kind. But it's love. "
He opened his mouth to argue, but no words came out because we both knew I was right.
I felt stunned, paralyzed, unable to move or think or do anything except stand there feeling the weight of this impossible situation crushing me.
I was loved by Theo... genuinely, deeply loved. I could see it in his eyes, feel it in the way he looked at me. But I was helpless to do anything about it.
Because his love for his brother was stronger, and more important to him. It was his second priority in comparison.
And I couldn't even be angry about it because I understood why he was doing this.
Before I could say anything else, Theo's phone buzzed loudly, breaking the tension that was between us.
He glanced at the screen and his expression immediately shifted like he was alarmed.
"What the..." he breathed, his green eyes widening as he read.
"What?" I asked. "What is it?"
He turned his phone so I could see the screen, and my blood ran cold.