Chapter 100

"How did she get the surveillance footage?" Isabella Winslow's face turned deathly pale, her fingers twisting the hem of her blouse. "How could she possibly uncover this?"

Last night's carefully orchestrated meeting had lasted barely five minutes.

She had worn a nearly transparent lace nightgown, drenched in suffocating perfume.

Alexander Kingsley hadn't even glanced at her.

"Isabella, don't ever try this again."

He walked out without another word, leaving her seething.

But her goal hadn't been seduction.

She had lured Alexander there for one purpose—to tamper with the security footage.

With Patriarch Kingsley's birthday banquet approaching, she planned to use the doctored video to blackmail Eleanor Kingsley. She would claim she and Alexander had been intimate—and threaten to play the footage publicly if the Kingsleys refused to acknowledge her.

To cover her tracks, she had the original recording erased overnight, altering Alexander's departure time from five minutes to five hours.

Yet Evelyn Sinclair had somehow obtained the unedited footage.

Not only obtained it—but dared to expose it in front of everyone!

"Find the previous surveillance records!" Isabella paced frantically, nails digging into her palms. "Evelyn came to threaten me last night—track that footage down! And get someone to take the blame—say Evelyn altered the tapes!"

——

The moment Evelyn released the footage, the internet exploded.

Then she dropped another bombshell—a police report receipt.

She wasn't afraid of an investigation.

But by the time authorities concluded their inquiries, public interest would have faded. So what if she was falsely accused and cyberbullied? Who would care?

This was a blitzkrieg.

Melissa Lee gave her no breathing room. Isabella pressed her at every turn.

Now it was their turn to feel cornered.

[Holy shit, this drama is wild!]

[I knew my king was framed!]

[Five hours? My OTP is real!]

[Bullshit! Our queen doesn't need a nepo baby!]

[LMAO, Alexander Kingsley needs to chase anyone? Check Kingsley Group's market cap first!]

The hate vanished instantly.

Replaced by awe for Evelyn.

[Duan Sheli is legendary! That was masterful!]

[An absolute pro—what a flawless counterattack!]

[Where are the trolls now?]

[Twenty truckloads of roses—I'm dead!]

[We need pics of this queen!]

[Forget it, not even a silhouette surfaced during the Ryan Holt scandal.]

——

"Chief Editor, you have fans!" Iris Cooper waved her phone excitedly. "They made a fanpage!"

Evelyn glanced at it.

A dozen active followers. Touching.

"If they saw your face," Iris gushed, "they'd petition for you to debut overnight!"

Evelyn: "..."

She preferred letting her work speak for itself.

Her looks only brought trouble—like making Alexander despise her yet refuse to let go.

A sharp knock interrupted them.

Iris bounded to the door—then froze.

Alexander stood there, his gaze glacial.

"You altered the footage?"

Iris stammered, "N-no! When we retrieved it, it was already—"

He ignored her.

His eyes locked onto Evelyn, sharp as blades.

"What if I did?" She met his stare unflinchingly. "What then?"

He seized her wrist.

Iris choked back a gasp.

"What then?" Fury darkened his voice. "With Grandfather's banquet days away? For your pathetic job, you'd stoop this low?"

She'd threatened him with the banquet that morning.

Now she released a fake video of him and Isabella?

After he'd told Nathan to assure her she needn't worry about work—that any position at Kingsley Group was hers for the asking!

"Evelyn," each word dripped venom, "how can you be this vile?"

Patriarch Kingsley treated her like family.

How could she sabotage his celebration?

"So," Evelyn's voice was eerily calm, unmoved by his rage, "your demand for evidence was just a joke."

Alexander stiffened.

"In your eyes, I'll always be guilty."

She was forever the villain—Isabella, forever the saint.

He hadn't even considered who truly benefited. His first instinct was to blame her.

When it came to Isabella, Alexander's famed intellect short-circuited.

—That was love.

Blind, irrational love.

Just like his hatred for her—where her very breath was a crime.

Alexander faltered.

Something in Evelyn's eyes pierced him.

In the silence, Nathan rushed in.

"Lord Alex, we've traced the footage tampering to—"