2

VALERIE POV

My trembling hands failed three times before I managed to unlock the door. It was violently shoved inward, forcing me backward onto my hands and knees. Two uniformed police officers stepped into my small apartment, followed by an official in a charcoal suit holding a silver briefcase and a badge stamped with the seal of the Department of Public Health.

“Valerie Montgomery?” the lead officer barked, looking down at me on the floor.

“I didn't do it,” I rasped, my voice barely a whisper through my raw throat. “I didn't poison anyone. Julian... Julian framed me—”

“Save it for the station, Miss Montgomery,” the officer interrupted coldly, pulling a pair of handcuffs from his belt. “You’re under arrest for reckless endangerment, criminal negligence, and suspected intentional food tampering. You have the right to remain silent...”

Within seconds, my wrists were cuffed. The health inspector didn't even look me in the eye as he slapped a bright yellow legal document onto my counter.

“Effective immediately, your professional culinary license has been placed under emergency suspension,” the inspector announced mechanically. “All access to L’Étoile’s premises, records, and proprietary assets is restricted per a court order filed on behalf of L’Étoile management.”

Julian had frozen my license and locked me out of my own restaurant.

I was too shocked to even cry. The betrayal was so unbelievable it made me go completely cold inside. They marched me out of my apartment building in broad daylight. A local news van was already waiting by the curb, with cameras zooming right in on my cuffed hands and messy hair.

Julian had leaked my address to the press.

Eight hours.

Eight hours in an interrogation room, repeating the exact same story until my voice went completely dry. I told them about the ticket logs, about how I left before ten, about my missing recipe notebook, about Delilah Sterling.

The detective across from me just tapped his pen against his yellow notepad with a tired, sympathetic sigh.

“Miss Montgomery, the digital prep log at L’Étoile shows your badge scanned the walk-in cooler at 10:15 PM,” he said, sliding a printed log sheet toward me. “And the spoiled shellfish batch that put Mr. Zach Raphael into an anaphylactic coma was traced directly to your prep station.”

“My badge?” I stared at the paper. “My badge was left on my apron in the back office! Julian had access to it!”

“That’s your word,” the detective said flatly. “Without a lawyer, Miss Montgomery, you’re going to be charged with a felony by morning.”

My stomach sank. All my savings were tied up in L’Étoile, and Julian had blocked my access to our joint accounts. I was completely trapped.

Just as I felt my life collapsing, the door clicked open.

A woman in a tailored navy suit walked into the room, holding a sleek leather briefcase. Two junior assistants followed right behind her, placing thick folders onto the table.

“Stop the questioning, Detective,” the woman said calmly.

The detective frowned, sitting up straight. “Victoria?”

“Yes. I am Victoria Cross,” she said, placing a gold-embossed business card on the table. “I am Valerie Montgomery’s lead defense counsel. You will stop questioning my client immediately.”

I stared at her in total shock. Victoria Cross was one of the most popular high-profile, expensive attorneys in the city. I couldn't afford five minutes of her time, let alone an entire legal team.

“Wait,” I stammered, looking at her. “I didn't call you. I can't afford this. There must be a mistake.”

Victoria turned to me and smiled gently. “There’s no mistake, Valerie.”

“Then who hired you?” I asked. “Who is paying for all this?”

Victoria leaned down, keeping her voice low. “My client wishes to remain anonymous for now. But he asked me to deliver a message: he is your number one fan.”

He?

A fan?

A fan of my cooking or what?

Before I could process it, Victoria snapped her fingers, and her assistant slid a tablet toward the detective.

“At 10:12 PM—three minutes before that cooler scan—Miss Montgomery’s face was captured by a city traffic camera four miles away inside a rideshare vehicle,” Victoria said, her voice like polished steel. “She couldn't have been in that kitchen. Furthermore, I’ve already secured an emergency bail order signed by the judge. Uncuff my client now. My team will handle the rest of this outside this room.”

The detective scowled at the judge’s signature, completely outmatched. He waved his hand at the officer by the door. “Uncuff her. Bail is granted.”

A few minutes later, Victoria and I walked out the side exit of the police station into the cold night air.

“Your bail is paid,” Victoria said, handing me a small black envelope. “You don’t need to worry about anything. I will take it from here.”

I took the envelope with shaking hands, my heart beating fast. “Why would someone do all this for me? Who is this person? Can I meet him? Please, I really want to thank him—”

Before Victoria could answer, headlights flashed near the curb, and a black sports car pulled up with a loud screech.

The driver's door opened, and Julian stepped out.

He was impeccably dressed, though his tie was loosened just enough to show he had rushed over the second his legal team alerted him of my release.

“Valerie,” Julian said smoothly as he approached. His tone wasn't raised; it was that quiet, condescending voice he always used whenever I didn't fall in line. He stopped a few feet away, casting a dismissive glance at Victoria before looking down at me with genuine pity. “I heard you managed to post bail. Well, good for you. But you know the best thing to do is to lay low. Don't cause drama or try to come between Delilah and me.”

He took a slow step closer, lowering his voice until it sounded almost intimate. “You know how important my dream is, Valerie. I will do whatever it takes to reach the top. Don't pull anything to make the Sterlings doubt me. Just accept it and move on.”

My chest burned, hot and suffocating. Tears stung the back of my eyes, but I swallowed them down. He wasn't even remorseful; he genuinely believed he had the right to dictate my downfall.

Without saying a word, I stepped right into his personal space.

SLAP!

The sharp crack echoed across the empty street. The force of my palm turned Julian’s head completely to the side.

His eyes went wide in pure shock, his composure shattering as his hand flew to his burning cheek.

Before he could process it, I stepped in and struck him again.

SLAP!

Julian stumbled back, gasping for air, staring at me as if a ghost had just struck him.

My hand throbbed with pain, but my voice remained dead steady.

“That was for — ever thinking you were human,” I said quietly, leaning closer to his ear. “And the next time you speak to me, make sure it’s through my lawyer. Because I’m taking back everything you stole.”

Julian opened his mouth to speak, but he was completely speechless.

Beside me, Victoria adjusted her suit jacket, a faint, satisfied smile touching her lips as she stepped forward.

“Right now, Mr. Julian Vance, you should be worried about hiding,” Victoria said, her tone dripping with razor-sharp ice. “Because Miss Montgomery will expose the real culprit.”

She pulled a business card from her suit pocket and pressed it against his chest.

“I am Victoria Cross, lead defense counsel. If you step within ten feet of my client again, I will personally file a restraining order and press harassment charges before sunrise.”

Julian stared at the card in utter terror.

I didn't give him another second of my time. I turned on my heel and walked straight toward Victoria’s waiting car, keeping my head held high.

The moment I settled into the leather passenger seat and closed the door, the artificial strength drained right out of me. A single hot tear escaped my eye and rolled silently down my cheek. I turned toward the dark window, still unable to believe how someone I had loved for five years could turn so bitter and cruel.

“Valerie?” Victoria called softly from the driver's seat.

I quickly wiped my cheek with the back of my sleeve and forced a tiny, calm smile onto my face.

“Can I please meet him?” I asked, looking directly at Victoria. “My number one fan... when can I meet the man who saved me?”

Victoria looked at me through the rearview mirror, her lips curved in a tight, secret smile, leaving the car in complete silence as we drove off into the night.