Chapter 153
The cocktail of drugs in her system made her knees buckle and her vision swim.
Trapped between the car door and his imposing frame, Vivian's heartbeat thundered in her ears at the prospect of being isolated with him.
Gritting her teeth against the dizziness, she forced steadiness into her voice. "I appreciate your assistance. I just got lost looking for a late-night snack. May I use your phone to contact my production team?"
Maxwell gave a slow shake of his head. "Unnecessary. The authorities are already en route. They'll require your statement before you leave."
Right on schedule, police sirens pierced the night's silence, their strobing lights painting the wet pavement in alternating crimson and cobalt.
He retreated a step, motioning for Vivian to exit the vehicle. Behind him stood an immobile row of security personnel holding umbrellas that did little against the downpour.
Nearby, two men lay groaning in the mud, thoroughly restrained and drenched, their expressions a mixture of intoxication and dawning horror.
Vivian blinked rapidly, stunned that Maxwell had actually summoned law enforcement.
Some tension left her shoulders, yet threads of doubt still wove through her thoughts. Was this truly coincidence, or some elaborate scheme of his?
Studying Maxwell's composed features, her long-held resentment faltered. Though they moved in the same elite circles, they'd remained strangers until this moment.
Her animosity had always stemmed from Richard's relentless push for a business marriage and the unsavory whispers surrounding the Sterling heir.
But in this rain-slicked moment of clarity, she recognized Maxwell had never personally wronged her. The arranged engagement had been Natasha and Richard's political maneuver, not his design.
Perhaps they were both pawns in others' games.
"Back at it again, boys?" An officer sighed as he cuffed the prone men. "Attempted assault? That's not something we can overlook this time."
"You're facing real consequences now."
During her statement, Vivian learned the full picture.
The officers explained the assailants were jobless locals who'd blown their拆迁 compensation on liquor and gambling, becoming regulars at the precinct for minor offenses.
Tonight marked just another disastrous choice in their downward spiral.
"That was some potent sedative they slipped you," a kind-faced officer noted. "You'll feel groggy for hours, but no permanent damage. We'll get you to the hospital for fluids—you should recover by morning."
"Shall we notify your family?"
With the immediate threat neutralized and police presence providing security, Vivian's earlier panic subsided.
The fleeting wish for Adrian's appearance dissolved—when had that man ever been her knight in shining armor?