?Chapter 225:


    Katie folded her arms across her chest. With a steady gaze, she fired back, “I only posted the truth online. You seriously believe Christina doesn’t have some rich guy footing her bills?”


    That usation hung in the air, and Brendon mped his mouth shut. The scowl deepened, shadows gathering on his face. Any other day, pulling strings would have gotten Ynda out before lunch. But today was different. The police refused to cooperate, making it impossible to smooth things over. Doubt crept in. Was Christina’s backer the one making trouble for him from behind the scenes? He couldn’t imagine what kind of big shot would be obsessed with a woman who’d gone through a divorce.


    Elliott’s name popped into Brendon’s mind, bringing back shes of the way Elliott had looked at Christina. Could Elliott be the one backing Christina?


    Brendon drew his brows together until they almost met. After a brief pause, he brushed the idea aside. It seemed unlikely. Someone as young and confident as Elliott would never be interested in a divorcee. The Hubbard family would lose their minds if that were the case.


    When Katie noticed his hesitation, she leaned in, her eagerness sparking as she urged him on. “Brendon, you can’t just let Christina get away with this! If you don’t step in, she’ll walk all over you.”


    “This is my problem, not yours. I’ll deal with Christina the way I see fit.” Brendon fixed her with a hard re. Without another word, he turned away and walked straight into his room.


    Once in his room, he fished out his phone and called Christina. Each ring felt like an eternity. The silence nearly convinced him to give up, but at thest second, the line clicked.


    “What’s up?” Christina’s tone was cool, almost mocking, every word dripping with detached amusement.


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    Brendon didn’t bother with pleasantries. “Why’d you have to go public with Ynda’s mess?”


    A dryugh echoed from Christina. “She wanted to y dirty and drag my name through the mud. If anything, I went easy—she’s lucky all I did was tell the truth and not haul her into court.”


    “You know damn well she wasn’t the one who started the rumors,” Brendon shot back, suspicions flickering in his eyes. There was no way Christina was clueless about Katie being the real instigator. After all, Katie had been the first person the police singled out when things went sideways.


    A dry smile yed on Christina’s lips. “Oh, I’m well aware. But Ynda was so eager to swoop in and take the me for Katie. Since she wants the spotlight, she can have it.” Her tone dropped, sharp as broken ss. “If you care so much about justice, why don’t you go beg Katie to confess and swap ces with Ynda? I’m the one who got dragged through the mud here. What exactly do you want from me?” A mocking tilt colored her words. “Come on, Brendon. If your family really wanted to protect Ynda, they’d have made Katie confess from the start. Don’t act like your hands are clean in all of this.”


    It was clear to Christina that Ynda taking the me had suited the Dawson family just fine. Any real concern for Ynda would havended Katie behind bars instead.


    “None of this gives your mysterious backer the right to keep blocking Ynda’s bail!” Brendon’s anger snapped through, his frustration finally spilling over. “This was supposed to be a minor issue.” Nothing made his blood boil more than picturing another man getting close to Christina, holding her close. He just couldn’t understand how she could sink to this level.


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