Billionaire Lawyer's Secretary - Chapter 92: Chapter 92

"It was Sadie," Elara said.
The sharpness in her eyes from earlier was gone. Now, she looked as soft as a purring kitten.
Seeing her like that, Adrian couldn't help but soften his voice. "What did she do?"
Elara said, "She said I was using fake rumors about you online to stir up drama between the Hartley family and the Heaton family.
"And she said your fear of touch was all her fault. That she hoped you'd never have kids, so you wouldn't fight him for the inheritance.
"Sadie's really vicious. You need to be careful around her."
Elara looked a mess. Her long hair was half-wet from champagne, one side of her face was swollen, and her eyes were red. Her voice was small and shaky, but her expression was full of anger.
She looked like a wet rabbit just pulled out of water—drenched and trembling, flashing her little teeth at the wolf in front of her, warning him about another wolf.
Adrian couldn't help but feel a little sorry for how naive she was. Truth was, neither he nor Sadie were good people.
He brushed the wet hair off her forehead and smiled. "Are you mad for yourself or for me?"
Elara froze. "Is there a difference? Aren't we supposed to stand together against our enemies?"
Adrian laughed. "Didn't think you'd use a phrase like that."
"Why not? Did I say it wrong?" Elara looked even more confused. In her mind, Sadie really was their common enemy.
"How do you know I'm the one who needs to be careful?" Adrian said. "Truth is, Sadie's the one who's losing sleep at night."
Elara's eyes went wide. "What do you mean? Did you do something to her too?"
"Of course," Adrian said. "You think I'm that easy to mess with?"
Elara thought about Adrian's personality for a moment. Someone like him couldn't be bullied—unless he allowed it.
"Do you still want to get back at her?" Adrian asked.
"I do," Elara said. "But she's your sister. Is that really okay?"
"Why wouldn't it be?" Adrian said. "She made you suffer. That's not okay."
Hearing that, Elara's heart skipped a beat. She blinked and looked at Adrian.
Her heart fluttered a little.
She wasn't clueless about feelings. She knew it right away—she'd just caught feelings for Adrian. It was quick and subtle, but very real.
It didn't feel like the warmth and comfort she got from Alex. Just for those few seconds, her heart felt like it was about to leap out of her chest, and her breath went unsteady.
Adrian noticed the dazed look on her face and gave her forehead a gentle poke. "Stunned? You're only falling for me now? Too late."
Elara looked down. "Sadie didn't really do anything. She just said a few mean things. Maybe we should just let it go."
She couldn't afford to mess with someone like Sadie. Sadie had power. If she came after Elara later, Elara wouldn't stand a chance.
Adrian caught her hesitation. "That's what I thought too. But that doesn't mean we won't get her back."
Elara nodded. "Oh—Jenna was her idea too. She wanted to test if your touch phobia was really gone."
"Figured," Adrian said.
Elara was surprised he already knew. Looked like she'd been overthinking it.
Just then, Monica came over with a thick stack of cash in one hand and a gift box in the other.
She forced a kind smile. "You must be Elara, right? Here, take this. Joseph and I prepared some pocket money for you since it's our first time meeting.
"We also got you this emerald bracelet. You won't find this kind of quality on the market anymore."
The cash wasn't much, but the emerald bracelet was a rare gem—priceless.
Elara had planned to turn them down, but figured she might as well play along with the act. She could always return it to Adrian later.
"Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Hartley," she said.
After taking the money and the gift, Elara turned to Adrian. "Can my friend and I leave now? I'm soaked. It's getting uncomfortable."
Mostly because she was freezing.
Adrian nodded.
Elara turned and was about to walk over to Ruby, but the next second, her feet left the ground.
Adrian scooped her up into his arms. "Victor, make sure everyone else gets home safe."
Victor stayed quiet, feeling like he'd just been turned into a tool.
Adrian had barely taken a few steps when the front doors of the hall burst open. A group of about seven or eight stormed in, looking tough and serious.
"We're the police. Which one of you is Dylan Keating?" the lead officer asked sternly.
Some of them were wearing uniforms. Alex instantly knew something was wrong. But Dylan didn't look the least bit surprised.
He turned to Alex and gave him a small smile. "Son, looks like we lost. Listen, from now on, just live a good life with Nancy. Don't worry about me. You won't be able to get me out of prison.
"I'm already happy I got to see your engagement today."
Alex froze. "Dad, what are you talking about?"
Dylan didn't answer. He calmly watched as the police walked toward him.
The lead officer said, "Dylan Keating, you're under arrest for extortion."
Cold handcuffs locked around Dylan's aging wrists. Alex began to lose control.
He stepped in front of Dylan and asked the officer, "There has to be a mistake. We already signed a settlement with the Heaton family. My dad was cleared of all charges today."
The officer replied, "The murder case was settled, yes. But now someone's accusing Dylan of using false evidence to blackmail the Heaton family for personal gain."
Alex stood frozen. He hadn't expected the Heatons to turn around and send Dylan to jail anyway.
He turned to Sadie. "Sadie, what's going on? Did the Heaton family set us up?"
Sadie stepped forward and patted Alex on the shoulder. "Alex, did you really think your dad threatened us and the Heaton family just to save himself?
"He was protecting you. When you tried to get help from Adrian's law firm, did you think the Heatons would just let that slide?
"Now that you're married to Nancy, the Heaton family can't touch you. And we won't treat you badly, either."
The last bit of light in Alex's eyes vanished in a second. He stood there, shoulders slumped, fists clenched with no way to let out his anger.
He turned to Nancy. "So this is what Adrian meant earlier? You and Neil planned this—sending my dad back to prison?"
Nancy started explaining like crazy. "Alex, I did it for you! No matter what, your dad was going back in. He crossed the Heaton family—Matthew was never going to let him off. But now that we're married, Matthew won't—"
"So you knew the whole time, didn't you?" Alex's eyes were bloodshot.
Nancy had never seen him like this before. She was so scared she started crying.
Adrian didn't mind throwing in more fuel.
He said, "Eric begged you to fight this case, but you insisted on a settlement. Elara begged me to help, but you didn't care. You were in such a rush to marry into the Hartley family.
"Was it that you didn't trust me—or didn't trust Elara?"
Elara hadn't expected any of this either. From what Adrian just said, he must've known the Heaton family would go after Dylan.
She thought of the tiny USB drive Dylan had handed her earlier and wondered if it held something against the Heatons.
She kept her face calm, lying in Adrian's arms, turned away from Alex. "Adrian," she said, "let's go."