Chapter 150 THIRD PERSON'S POV
Chapter 150 THIRD PERSON'S POV
Third Person's POV
The next morning dawned bright and early at the Catskills. Adeline was already at the dining table when Alex and Zara eventually came downstairs.
Her guess was that they had kept a late night trying to perfect their duet. Judging by the easiness that was now between them, they must have addressed all the tension between them.
Just to be on a safer side, she still asked. "Are we all clear on what we're doing tonight?"
"Yes, I also went over the cover Silas sent for me."
"Luckily for him, he had me to work him through the finance jargon of his persona." Zara giggled, and he shot her a playful glare.
"I'm a soldier, baby, not a bloody accountant." Adeline raised a brow at how easily the endearment fell from his lips, but she said nothing or else they could go back to pretending there was nothing between them.
She couldn't have that, not if she wanted tonight to be a success.
Later that night, their car pulled up in front of the venue for the night's party. The Van Alen Estate was an imposing fortress of old money and tonight, it was a shark tank where all the elites gathered to judge and size each other up.
Outside, the rain had turned the cobblestone driveway into a dark mirror, reflecting the flickering flashbulbs of the paparazzi who were gathered like vultures, ready to capture the first sign of weakness from any elite.
Inside the armoured SUV, the air was thick with the scent of Zara’s perfume and Alex's expensive cologne.
Zara had truly outdone herself in the outfit she had ordered for both of them. Alex adjusted the cuffs of his midnight-blue tuxedo. He felt like a weapon shoved into silk.
The black mask besides him was cold, and the blue tie he had worn earlier was tucked safely into his pocket as a hidden reminder of the woman he was here to protect.
He looked at Zara, and for a second, his brain stalled. Zara was a sight to behold in a gown of liquid platinum mesh that looked like it had been poured onto her frame.
Her face was a mask of icy composure, but her fingers were white where they gripped her clutch.
To the world, she was the heiress that knowingly chose to help a fraud. To the investors who had abandoned her this morning, she was a liability.
"Breathe, Zara. Don't go panicking on me right now." Adeline’s voice hummed in their earpieces.
Two blocks away, in a darkened command van, Adeline sat surrounded by monitors. She looked at the feed of her sister’s face, a hollow ache in her chest.
"This is my fault," she thought, her thumb tracing the hidden wedding ring beneath her glove. "If I hadn't insisted on digging for the truth, we would have simply remained friends and she wouldn't have been dragged into my mess."
"Alex, you should relax, okay? To the world, you're the reason she can raise her head high tonight because you have covered her losses."
"I am?"
"That is the story. If they believe you’re her bank, they will stop believing she’s a fraud."
"Copy that," Alex rasped. He turned to Zara, his voice softening just a fraction. "Stay behind my shoulder if you need to but don't look down. Never look down because you're bigger than them all."
The valet opened the door, and several flashbulbs erupted. Alex stepped out first, offering a hand to Zara. Like Adeline told him, he moved with the languid confidence of a man who could buy the street and everyone on it.
They entered the grand ballroom, and the atmospheric shift was immediate. The hum of conversation didn't stop, but there was a notable shift in it.
Some of the whispers were loud enough for Zara to hear.
"Look at her. The audacity to show up after all that?"
"How could she not explain the situation to her investors?"
"She must be counting on her family name to bail her out?"
"Is that the man who’s funding the lie? He doesn't look like a Whitmore."
"Target acquired," Silas’s voice crackled from the van. "North Bar. Chloe St. James. She’s the one who handled Zara’s autumn launch PR. She’s currently talking to three board members from Zara’s investment group."
As they approached the bar, the circle of socialites parted like the sea. Chloe St. James stood at the centre, a flute of champagne in one hand and a look of practised pity on her face.
"Zara, darling," Chloe said, her voice carrying just enough to reach the surrounding tables.
"We were all so worried. After the headlines... and then the reports about your Soho lease being in arrears... we thought you’d be in hiding."
Zara met her fake pity with indifference. "Hiding is for people with something to lose, Chloe. I’m just here to see who has the best taste in art and who has enough time to listen to rumors. Clearly, I'm in the right circle."
"Rumors?" Chloe laughed. "The bank ledgers were quite specific, Zara. Someone is very clearly playing with money that isn't theirs."
"The ledgers you’re referring to are outdated," Alex intervened without even giving her his attention. Instead, he ordered the most expensive bottle of wine from the bar.
"And how would you know that?"
He finally turned his hard gaze to Chloe. "I am Zara’s lead investor. If you’re interested in her finances, you should talk to me, but something tells me you’re more interested in how much you would make from leaking those specific ledgers to the tabloids."
Chloe’s face went ashen. Her hand trembled a bit, but Alex caught it. "I... I don't know what you're talking about."
"She’s panicking," Adeline whispered into the comms. "Silas, try and hack into her phone. Now."
Two minutes later, Silas was in her phone. "She’s sending a message to an encrypted number."
"Can you see the message?"
"The plan is failing. Someone is backing her. He knows about the leak. What do I do?"
"Trace it," Adeline commanded, her heart hammering. "Alex, stay on her. Zara, make her feel like you’ve already won because you have."
It wasn't easy for Zara to do because all she felt was rage towards this woman she had trusted with her brand's most intimate secrets.
"You always were a better gossip than a publicist, Chloe, but you should have checked my new partner's background before you tried to sabotage my business. He doesn't like people who touch what belongs to him."
Alex squeezed her waist in a way that made it clear to them that they were more than business partners. "You better not forget that, Miss St. James," Alex said. "I suggest you stay away from the bidding. You’re going to need your remaining assets for a very expensive defence lawyer."
Zara sighed in relief as they moved away from the group. Not only had they managed to locate the source of the leak, they had also changed the narrative with the presence of her mysterious backer.
"We have the signal," Silas reported. "The message went to a burner phone inside this building. Adeline, the person who sponsored the leak is in the room."
Adeline leant back. "Then let's stop playing with the puppets. It's time to find the puppeteer."