Chapter 88
"On my way. Just got discharged." Charlotte's voice was completely flat, not a hint of emotion in it.
That indifference seemed to push Henry over the edge. He started yelling into the phone.
"Since you're out of the hospital, get out there and clear this up right now!"
"Have you seen what they're saying online? Do you have any idea what Chloe is going through?! You're her older sister — don't you feel anything?"
"And on top of that, the company's stock has been tanking since the market opened this morning. It's already hit the floor. And this is all because of you!"
Listening to his completely unreasonable attack, Charlotte's expression darkened, her lips pressing into a hard line.
"Because of me? Mr. Johnson, that's quite the joke."
"Wasn't it Chloe who brought reporters to my hospital room? Wasn't she the one trying to destroy my reputation?"
"So how does any of this end up being my fault? Doesn't that sound ridiculous to you?"
"Save it. I don't want to hear any of that."
Henry's tone was brutal. "Chloe is young, she doesn't always think things through. And she only brought those reporters because she was worried about you — she just wanted someone to check on you. How was she supposed to know that reporter would twist everything around?"
"Besides, you're her sister! Are you really going to sit there and let people tear her apart online? Can you even live with yourself?!"
Charlotte found that almost funny. She smiled with cold amusement. "So what exactly do you want from me?"
"Get on your social media right now and post a statement. Say the plagiarism situation was just a misunderstanding — that it was nothing more than the two of you bouncing ideas off each other in private."
Henry scoffed, completely self-righteous. "And what happened this morning was a misunderstanding too. Chloe was just going to the hospital to bring you home. People got the wrong idea."
"You also need to say that you and your sister are close, and that none of what people are saying is true."
As she listened, the cold smile on Charlotte's lips deepened. Her eyes went sharp and still, like the eye of a storm.
"Henry, are you out of your mind? Why on earth would I do any of that?"
"Chloe hired people to humiliate me — to film it and ruin my life. And instead of asking whether your daughter who almost got hurt is okay, you want me to go clean up the mess for the person who did it?"
"Keep dreaming. There is no way I'm posting any statement."
"Charlotte!"
That was it for Henry. He lost it completely. "Don't you forget — you're still a Johnson!"
"You got yourself some Queen title and now you think you're untouchable?"
"Without this family behind you, you are nothing!"
"If you don't clear this up, I'm pulling every bit of support I've given you. Let's see just how far those wings of yours can carry you!"
"Fine."
Charlotte's voice stayed calm. Her eyes were ice cold.
"Oh, right. Almost forgot to mention."
"The two people Chloe hired? They've already told the police everything."
"If you want to watch Chloe go to prison, by all means, keep pushing. I have no problem handing all of this over to the police and the press."
"You — are you threatening me?"
That stopped Henry cold.
He hadn't seen this coming at all. He had no idea Charlotte had something like this in her hands.
"Threatening you?"
Charlotte gave a sharp, humorless laugh. "Consider it a friendly warning."
"Henry, as of today, I'm done with the Johnson family. Don't call me again."
"Because I can't promise that the next thing showing up at Johnson Mansion won't be an arrest warrant with Chloe's name on it."
She didn't hesitate for a second. She hung up and blocked the number.
Once that was done, she finally let out a long, slow breath.
Alexander had been quiet the whole time. When she cut ties with the Johnsons without flinching, the corner of his mouth tugged upward.
"You don't mess around."
"I just did what needed to be done."
Charlotte dropped her gaze, staring blankly at the crowd moving past the windshield.
Watching her profile, so calm and unreadable, Alexander felt something tighten in his chest without warning.
He didn't know the details of what her life had been like before. But just from that phone call, he could piece it together.
Her past hadn't been kind to her.
The thought of her suffering somewhere he couldn't see, in ways he didn't know about — that ache spread through him, deep and insistent, like it was trying to pull him under.
The silence stretched between them, and something in the air slowly shifted.
Alexander reached over and gently covered her hand where it rested on her knee. He held it, just a little.
The warmth from his palm seeped into her skin, steady and quiet.
"No one will ever treat you like that again."
Charlotte went still. She turned to look at him without thinking.
She met his eyes — dark and steady, full of a gentleness and certainty that felt like it could swallow her whole.
Then he leaned in slowly, the clean cedar scent of him wrapping around her.
He pressed a kiss to her forehead.
It was barely there — soft and brief, nothing wanting or lingering about it. Just a touch, and then gone.
A quiet warmth settled through the car, the kind that's hard to pull yourself out of.
Something moved inside Charlotte's chest.
But she caught herself fast. A small smile crossed her lips. She reached out and grabbed his tie, pulling him back toward her.
Their breath mingled in the space between them.
There was something almost predatory in her eyes now — her upturned gaze giving her the look of a young leopard baring its claws, bold and unapologetic.
She raised an eyebrow, holding his gaze with a burning stare, then tapped him lightly on the shoulder.
"Good to know, Mr. Harris. Now mind your own business."
Then she leaned back in her seat.
A beat passed. Alexander blinked, a quiet amusement surfacing in his eyes. He started the car again.
Meanwhile, Chloe was getting the news from an entertainment reporter — Charlotte had already checked out of the hospital. The color drained from her face instantly.
"What did you just say?! She's out?! Already?!"
Chloe gripped her phone, her voice so sharp it could cut glass.
Even she couldn't miss what this meant.
Charlotte had never been poisoned at all. From the very beginning, Chloe had walked straight into a trap.
The whole thing — the critical condition, the poisoning — all of it was fake. Every last bit of it.
It had been a setup, laid out just for her.
She had been so pleased with herself, so sure she had done enough to destroy Charlotte completely.
But she was never the hunter. She was the prey, and she had run straight into the snare.
"Charlotte! Charlotte——!"
Chloe screamed, completely unraveling. She swept everything off her vanity in one furious motion — bottles and jars crashed to the floor, glass shattered, liquids splattered everywhere, a sharp mix of scents flooding the air.
But the rage wouldn't leave her. She grabbed the stool beside her and started smashing it against whatever she could reach.
She couldn't stand it. She couldn't stand it.
The more she thought about everything that had happened to her, the more something dark and ugly twisted inside her chest, her eyes blazing red.