Chapter 5
Adrian froze for two seconds.
Then he laughed coldly.
“Boyfriend?”
He turned to me.
“Claire, you would go this far just to make me jealous?”
Vivian leaned against him and spoke in a weak voice.
“If you already have a boyfriend, why did you still try to ruin our engagement party?”
“How could you do this to Julian?”
Julian ignored them.
He looked down at me.
“Are you hurt?”
I shook my head.
My parents heard the commotion and hurried over from the crowd.
When my mother saw Vivian’s torn and wrinkled dress, she rushed to support her.
“What happened?”
Vivian shook her head through her tears.
“I am fine.”
“Claire probably acted without thinking. Please do not blame her.”
My mother stared at me in disbelief.
“Did the police really find the pills in your bag?”
“Yes, but they are not mine.”
My father frowned.
“What about the threatening messages?”
“I did not send them.”
Adrian spoke in a cold voice.
“The evidence is right in front of us. Who else could have done it?”
I looked at my parents.
“You do not believe me either?”
My mother avoided my eyes.
My father stayed silent for a moment.
“Claire, you need to explain what happened.”
My heart slowly sank.
Julian took my hand.
“She already explained. She did not do this.”
Adrian let out a bitter laugh.
“Julian Sterling, how long have you known her?”
“What makes you trust her this much?”
The ballroom fell silent.
Someone whispered from the crowd.
“Julian Sterling? The heir to Sterling Group?”
Adrian’s expression changed.
Julian turned to the hotel manager.
“Bring me the records from the concierge desk.”
The manager left immediately.
Adrian stared at me with open contempt.
“You left Cole Group and found your way into the Sterling family this quickly.”
“I underestimated you, Claire.”
Julian looked at him calmly.
“Claire does not need to use anyone for status.”
“She is C. Vale.”
The room erupted in shocked whispers.
Adrian stared at him.
“What?”
Julian remained calm.
“Sterling Group spent three years trying to work with C. Vale. She finally agreed to return.”
“I am the fortunate one in this relationship.”
Adrian looked at me.
For the first time, I saw real shock in his eyes.
He knew I had once enjoyed photography.
He had never taken the time to study my work.
He also had no idea that I was the famous photographer who had disappeared five years earlier.
The hotel manager returned with a set of records.
“Mr. Sterling, we found them.”
The records showed that I had checked my camera bag with the concierge as soon as I arrived.
It had remained there until after Vivian disappeared, when an employee returned it to the ballroom.
I had not touched the bag for almost two hours.
Adrian glanced at the report.
“This only proves she did not place the pills in the bag herself.”
“She could have paid a hotel employee to do it.”
“Then we will keep looking,” Julian said.
“The hotel records every employee who enters the concierge storage area. We also have a record of every key card used to open that guest room.”
Vivian’s face lost some of its color.
She gripped Adrian’s sleeve.
“I do not feel well. Can we please leave?”
Before Adrian could answer, the manager handed Julian another report.
Julian read it and looked up.
“Vivian said someone dragged her into the room after she lost consciousness. Is that correct?”
Vivian’s lips trembled.
“Yes.”
Julian turned to the next page.
“The person who opened the guest room used a hotel master key card.”
“The key card log shows that your personal assistant signed it out before the engagement party began.”
Vivian’s entire body went stiff.
Julian held her gaze.
“If someone dragged you into that room without your knowledge, why did your assistant unlock it in advance?”