Chapter 169
"I'm making this up?" Charlotte watched her—clearly panicking, yet still refusing to admit anything—and let out a cold laugh. She turned to Alexander beside her and gave him a pointed look.
Alexander caught on immediately and raised his chin slightly.
Rhett, who had been standing behind him like a statue this whole time, understood at once. He turned and walked toward the door, signaling to someone outside.
Within moments, two bodyguards in black escorted a young man in a server's uniform into the room. His face was deathly pale.
The moment they crossed the threshold, one of the bodyguards shoved him forward without ceremony. The man dropped to his knees on the living room carpet.
The instant Chloe got a clear look at the server's face, her pupils constricted sharply. Whatever shred of hope she'd been clinging to vanished completely. The color drained from her face.
How? How had Alexander tracked him down so quickly?!
"I... I don't know this person. I've never seen him before."
Watching Chloe continue to lie through her teeth, Charlotte's eyes flashed with contempt.
"Don't know him? That's fine. Let me refresh your memory."
"Three days ago, at your wedding, this man told me you wanted to see me. Then he led me straight into your little trap."
"Ring any bells now?"
At her words, Chloe's body trembled. Her eyes flickered.
Charlotte observed her reaction, then turned her head slightly to stare at the trembling man on the floor.
"What about you? Remember now?"
"I... I..." The man's body shook. He didn't dare look at Charlotte, much less at Alexander with his overwhelming presence. He could only bury his head deeper. "I remember."
Satisfied with his cooperation, Charlotte's expression remained composed, though her gaze sharpened further. "Then tell me—who told you to do it?"
Every pair of eyes in the room locked onto the server.
Benjamin watched this circus unfold, his brow furrowing tighter and tighter until deep lines creased his forehead.
Under everyone's stares, sweat beaded more and more heavily on the server's forehead.
Finally, as if gathering every ounce of courage, he opened his mouth.
"It was—"
"You'd better think very carefully before you answer!"
Chloe suddenly cut him off.
She pushed herself up from the sofa, her eyes vicious.
"If you stand here spewing lies and slandering me, there will be consequences neither you nor your family can afford!"
The phrasing was clever—an implicit threat using his family as leverage.
Sure enough, after hearing those words, fear flashed across the server's eyes. Whatever courage he'd mustered to tell the truth evaporated instantly.
He shook his head frantically, his voice breaking into a sob.
"No one... no one told me to do anything..."
"It was me! It was my own mistake. I mixed up the room numbers, so I led Ms. Charlotte Johnson to the wrong place."
"This was entirely my fault. It has nothing to do with anyone else."
Watching her witness flip, Charlotte narrowed her eyes slightly, though her expression remained calm.
Chloe immediately seized the opportunity. She turned to Charlotte, a trace of triumph in her eyes.
"Charlotte, you heard him. This was just a misunderstanding."
"But the way you've been accusing me... I really..."
As she spoke, Chloe's eyes reddened. Her voice caught with emotion.
"Charlotte, I know you've never liked me, but you can't just... you can't fabricate lies to frame me like this!"
She then turned to Benjamin beside her, tugging pitifully at his sleeve.
"Benjamin, you have to believe me. I would never do something like this..."
Susan immediately stepped forward to defend her younger daughter.
"Charlotte! You've gone too far!"
"Chloe is your sister. How can you slander her like this?"
"I think you're just jealous that Chloe married well, so you came back here to cause trouble, didn't you?"
At those words, Henry snapped to attention as well.
He furrowed his brow and put on his stern patriarch face. "Charlotte, this is ridiculous!"
"Apologize to Chloe right now!"
Watching the three of them form a united front against her, Alexander's patience finally ran out.
He let out a cold laugh.
It wasn't loud, but it silenced everyone in the room. All heads turned toward him.
Alexander strode over to the server, towering above him with eyes as cold as frost.
"I'm giving you one last chance."
"If you still won't tell the truth, I don't mind sending your whole family to the freezer at the docks."
"Let's see how long you can keep your mouth shut then."
Hearing Alexander's naked threat, the server's face went chalk-white. He collapsed completely onto the floor, a suspicious wet stain spreading across his pants.
"No!" Chloe shrieked. Terrified the truth would actually come out, she rushed to Alexander's side, adopting a pose of righteous fragility. "Uncle Alexander, I know you're worried about Charlotte, but how can you do this?"
"Even if you have power and influence, you can't use force to intimidate people."
"We need to base our actions on evidence, not threats and violence."
"I believe the law is just and will give us a fair answer. Don't you agree?"
Chloe's speech was full of righteous fervor, as if she were the very embodiment of justice.
Benjamin's expression darkened. He was wary of Alexander, true.
But having his wife's family humiliated in front of him like this made him look bad too.
So he steeled himself and spoke up.
"Uncle, perhaps there really is some misunderstanding here. I think we should investigate this matter thoroughly first."
"Otherwise, if word gets out that the Harris family uses its power to bully people, it won't reflect well on us."
Hearing them criticize him, Alexander's expression grew even darker.
He was about to say something when Charlotte caught his arm and shook her head at him.
Seeing her gesture, Alexander suddenly recalled what Charlotte had said to him earlier. His eyes dimmed, but he closed his mouth and said nothing more.
Charlotte stepped forward, a faint smile playing on her lips, seemingly unaffected by any of this.
She didn't look at the server on the floor. Instead, she waved at the bodyguards.
"Take him out. Don't dirty the Johnson Mansion's floors."
In the next moment, Rhett dragged the man away.
Everyone watching wore different expressions.
Chloe stared intently at Charlotte, uncertain what she was really up to.
Then she watched as Charlotte unhurriedly pulled out her phone, tapped the screen a few times, and turned it toward everyone.
"A witness under threat might lie, but data doesn't."
"This is what I found on the kidnappers' phones. Just one message."
She turned the screen toward Chloe, a playful smile on her face.
"Chloe, who do you think sent this message?"
"How... how should I know?" Chloe's heart pounded wildly, but she clung to her last shred of denial. "Maybe it was spam or something?"
"Charlotte, using this as evidence is pretty laughable, don't you think?"