Chapter 495

Hans hurried to bring over a chair, wiping it down before stepping back. “Anthony, please sit,” he said, voice full of respect.
Anthony sat, legs crossed with careless ease. Every inch of him radiated a cold, untouchable energy. He glanced down at the man on the floor, his stare sharp enough to cut.
“Cigarette.”
Hans passed one over and lit it without delay.
Anthony took a long drag. The anger burning in his chest made his breathing rough, chest rising and falling as he tried to keep it together. The smoke helped, but only a little. If not for that, he might have killed this bastard as soon as he walked in.
He finished the first cigarette in silence, then lit another, holding it between his fingers. His dark eyes drifted over to Jesse.
“Do you know why you’re here?”
Jesse was shaking, his face ghostly pale. He shook his head, lips pressed tight together.
Anthony let out a cold laugh. He stood up and walked over, nudging Jesse’s chin up with the tip of his shoe. His eyes narrowed, voice low. “Charlotte is my wife.”
Jesse’s mind spun. Charlotte, his wife? That couldn’t be true. He hadn’t heard a word about this before heading to Veridia. Did that mean Anthony had dragged him here to get revenge for Charlotte?
The thought made Jesse’s blood run cold. Panic pressed down on his chest, making it hard to breathe.
“Five years ago. Did she come on to you, or did you set her up?”
Anthony’s voice was calm, almost emotionless. That icy tone was somehow worse than if he’d shouted.
Jesse’s thoughts raced. Maybe news about what happened five years ago had finally gotten out. Maybe Anthony wanted to check the facts before deciding what to do with Charlotte.
Jesse bit down on his lip, voice trembling as he tried to play innocent. “Anthony, she came on to me. Charlotte seduced me.”
Before he could finish, Anthony’s foot slammed down on his leg. The crack of breaking bone echoed in the room.
“Say it again. Who seduced who?” Anthony growled, cigarette clenched between his teeth. He twisted his heel into Jesse’s ankle, ignoring the man’s screams. In his mind, he saw Lottie, head shaved by force forced to swallow psychiatric meds. Her cries back then had beerso much worse than these.
“It was
“Think before you answer.” Anthony took a final drag, tossed the cigarette to the floor, and crouched down, getting right in Jesse’s face. His voice was low and dangerous. “Did Lottle seduce you? What did you do to her?”
The pain cut through Jesse’s fear, jolting his mind into gear.
Anthony was digging for the truth.
“She did come to my room, but Jesse’s voice was barely above a whisper. “I
didn’t do anything. Anthony, I swear, I didn’t touch her.”
Back then, that girl was so tiny, so skinny, but when she fought back, he couldn’t pin her down. She’d grabbed a fruit knife and stabbed him. He’d had this twisted habit of recording things, so he’d setup a hidden camera. Later with some
clever editing if look like
he
Charlotte had thrown herself at him, then gone crazy when he rejected her.

So he never got what he wanted?
Hearing all this, Anthony’s fists clenched tight, knuckles white. His eyes burned with barely controlled rage. Even if something had happened, it wouldn’t have been her fault. She was the victim. She never did anything wrong.