Free Web NovelChapter 319: Chapter 319 Amateur Hour
Christina’s POV
"What the hell is going on?"
Confused whispers rippled through the crowd who had barged into our suite uninvited. The shocked faces staring at Hudson and me standing together in the bathroom doorway were almost comical.
"How... what... no, that’s... that’s not possible." Serenna blinked rapidly, like she was trying to clear a hallucination. "He... you... you and Niall... you two came here together. You texted him. You wanted..."
"How do you know I texted him?" I asked, seizing on her slip-up. "Even I didn’t know that. Did Niall tell you?"
"I didn’t!" Niall denied instantly, looking panicked.
"Then how did you know?" I kept my eyes fixed on Serenna, watching her squirm.
Over her shoulder, I caught sight of someone hovering in the doorway. Genevieve stood there with her phone raised, clearly about to capture what she thought would be a scandalous moment. She froze mid-action when she saw Hudson.
Her eyes swept over the scene, her brain visibly short-circuiting when she realized her little scheme had gone sideways.
The moment she spotted Hudson, she snapped back to reality and quickly shoved her phone into her purse.
"I... I just saw it," Serenna muttered, clinging desperately to her story.
"Saw it from where?" I demanded.
"Someone sent it to me. A screenshot. I..." She fumbled with her phone. "I didn’t make it up. You sent that message!"
She thrust her phone at the onlookers like it was evidence in a courtroom. "See? I didn’t make it up."
"Who sent it to you?" I pressed, moving closer.
Serenna backed into a chair and nearly tripped. Her eyes darted frantically around the room before she jabbed a finger accusingly. "It was Niall! He said he’d never betray me, so he sent me your text to prove it."
"Niall? Really?" I gave a cold laugh and turned to him.
He shook his head furiously, looking completely lost. "I didn’t."
"Show me." I held out my hand for her phone.
Serenna hesitated, suddenly less confident.
"What? If it’s real, why are you afraid to show me?" I taunted.
She shoved the phone at me, trying to sound fierce but clearly rattled. "Why should I be afraid? You’re the one trying to steal my boyfriend."
I looked at the image. It wasn’t a screenshot. It was a photo of my screen, taken with another phone.
"Amateur hour," Akira snorted in my head. "Even human teenagers pull off better schemes."
I found myself agreeing with my wolf for once.
"You’re sure Niall sent this to you?" I asked again, backing Serenna further into a corner.
"Yes." She had no choice but to stick to her flimsy excuse.
I checked the sender. It was an unknown number.
I handed the phone to Hudson, whose face had settled into the cold, calculating expression that made business rivals wet themselves.
"Look at the top corner," I pointed out. "That’s a woman’s hand."
"Red nail polish," he said coldly.
I lifted both of my hands for everyone to see. "Clear polish."
Hudson tossed the phone back. Serenna scrambled to catch it.
"Genevieve, your nails are red," Hudson said pointedly, his gaze locked on his childhood friend—soon to be ex-friend, if my vote counted for anything.
Genevieve quickly hid her hands behind her back, which was basically a neon confession sign.
"I... it wasn’t me," she stammered unconvincingly.
"So what if she took the photo?" Serenna jumped in, desperate to keep slinging mud. "Doesn’t change the fact you sent the text. You tried to seduce my boyfriend."
"You lie so easily, it’s hard to tell which part of your story is bullshit and which isn’t," Hudson’s voice cut through the room like a winter wind.
"What proof do you have that I sent the text?" I shot back at Serenna.
"It was your phone!" she insisted.
"Anyone with my passcode or fingerprint can unlock it. And if I remember correctly—" I fixed Genevieve with a hard stare "—you were right there when the waiter bumped into me. You took my glass from my hand. I thought you were being helpful. But now..." I scoffed. "You really think a clumsy little text is enough to prove I’d cheat on Hudson? Look at Niall, then look at my husband. I’m not blind. Why would I trade down?"
I rounded on Serenna. "And don’t start with that garbage about me still having feelings for Niall. I was stupid when I dated him, but I’m not stupid enough to repeat the mistake."
I advanced on her step by step, and the more I closed the distance, the more she faltered. Her eyes widened, panic flickering across her face as she stumbled back.
"I told you before, keep your man in check and stop him from pestering me." I shoved Serenna hard enough that she had to catch herself on a nearby chair.
"Check the security cameras," Hudson said suddenly.
I blinked in surprise. Cameras? After all this back-and-forth, we could have just pulled the footage from the start?
"But I thought the hotel switched them off for tonight’s party," I said.
"That’s only the banquet hall and the first two floors," Hudson replied. freēwebnovel.com
We were on the third.
"Well, look at that." I allowed myself a smug glance at Serenna and Genevieve. "Let’s see you deny it with video evidence."
"Genevieve," Hudson said, his eyes hard as steel, his Alpha authority filling the room even though he wasn’t officially commanding her, "admit what you did and apologize sincerely. If not, I’ll make sure the Crawford family disappears from Highrise City."
