Private Marriage, Secret Love-Chapter 112: Became His Pawn

’But what would be the point of staying? To argue? Or for our mutual dislike to intensify?’

’Ethan was only saying that now because he saw her standing with Miles Hawthorne.’

Raina Reddington didn’t answer. Annabelle Spencer squeezed her hand, and only then did Raina realize her own hand was ice-cold.

Ethan Lancaster watched her leave the private room without a backward glance. Cameron Fairchild’s gaze swept over to the camera, the corner of his mouth hooking into a faint smile. "A twisted fate."

"What would you know?"

"You’re right, I don’t. Fourth Master, we should be going too."

Cameron Fairchild’s men packed everything up. The camera remained where it was, untouched by anyone.

Miles Hawthorne led Annabelle Spencer out of the room and straight to his private lounge. When he opened the door, Annabelle resisted, grabbing the doorframe. "I’m not going in!"

"If you walk out looking like this, aren’t you afraid people will gossip?"

Hearing this, Raina Reddington glanced at Annabelle Spencer. There were marks on her neck and face from her struggle, and the sweater she wore underneath was torn. With her disheveled hair and completely smudged makeup, she was a mess, too pitiful to look at.

"Annabelle, don’t be so nervous. It’s over now. I’ll take you home in a little while."

Annabelle Spencer let go of the doorframe. Raina led her inside, and Miles Hawthorne had them sit on the sofa.

"Raina," Annabelle buried her face in Raina’s shoulder. "How could they do this to me? If you hadn’t come, would I have been..."

"No," Raina soothed, gently patting Annabelle’s back. "At most, they just wanted to scare you."

"No—" Any shred of wishful thinking in Annabelle’s heart had long been shattered. "They would have really done it. They weren’t just trying to scare me."

"If you knew that, why did you provoke them?" Miles Hawthorne stared coldly at Annabelle Spencer. "Did you think that because of Raina’s relationship with Ethan Lancaster, he would spare you when it came down to it? The bond between a husband and wife is the most fragile. Without the tie of a marriage certificate, they’re nothing more than strangers."

The color drained from Raina’s face, but she had to admit that Miles was right.

She straightened Annabelle’s hair and pulled her coat tighter around her. Miles Hawthorne got a cup of water and handed it to Raina.

Raina pressed the cup into Annabelle’s hands. "This can’t happen again, understand?"

Annabelle clutched the cup and nodded.

Raina didn’t dare stay long. After all, she and Miles Hawthorne needed to avoid any compromising situations. Seeing that Annabelle had finished her water, she placed the cup on the coffee table. "Let’s go."

Suddenly, a series of urgent knocks came from the door. Miles Hawthorne called out, "Come in," and the door was quickly pushed open. "Mr. Hawthorne, this is bad."

"What’s wrong?"

"Someone’s here for a surprise inspection. It looks like they found something."

Miles Hawthorne stood up from the sofa. As he walked out the door, he glanced at Raina. "You two should head home first."

"Okay."

When Miles reached the doorway, the man lowered his voice, his expression tense. "It looks like serious trouble. I don’t know what they found, but they said they need to see the person in charge..."

Raina had a bad feeling. A place like Aristor Hall feared nothing more than getting involved in shady business. However, since Miles Hawthorne dared to open it, he surely had the connections to handle such things.

Annabelle had calmed down by now. She clutched the collar of her coat with both hands. "Raina, he’s not going to be in trouble, is he?"

"It shouldn’t come to that."

"They’ve been cracking down lately. What if..."

Raina had already found today’s events strange. Knowing Cameron Fairchild’s temperament, it wasn’t out of character for him to stick up for a friend, but why choose Aristor Hall of all places? And if he wanted the camera, he could have just followed Annabelle home to get it. Why go through all this trouble?

"Annabelle, wait here for a bit. Lock the door from the inside."

"Okay."

Raina walked out. The corridors of Aristor Hall were filled with people, mostly staff. The area outside the private room they had been in was especially crowded.

A manager came over, dispersing the clusters of people one by one. She glanced at Raina. "Excuse me, which room are you from?"

"Is Miles Hawthorne in there?"

With a CLICK, the door to the room was pulled open. Raina saw two men escorting Miles Hawthorne out. His hands were held in front of him, a piece of clothing draped over his wrists. If Raina wasn’t mistaken, his hands were likely cuffed underneath.

And the man following behind them was holding Annabelle’s camera.

Raina’s lips and throat felt dry. "What’s wrong with that camera?"

The man shot her a questioning look. "You’ve seen this camera before?"

"Impossible," Miles Hawthorne cut Raina off. "She’s just a regular guest, and she wouldn’t be able to book this room anyway."

Raina immediately sensed something was wrong. Miles shot her a look, then started walking forward. Raina stood frozen at the door of the room until the manager from before pulled a waiter over.

"What on earth happened?"

"I don’t know either. They started searching the moment they came in..."

The manager glanced into the private room. The waiter beside her offered a suggestion, "The boss never lets us touch that kind of stuff. Aristor Hall has always been a legitimate business, but you can’t guarantee some guests won’t bring their own... Oh, right! Can’t we just check the surveillance footage?"

"It’s not that simple." The manager’s expression was grim as she closed the door to the room and locked it.

"If the item was found in this room, then they can surely find out who brought it in."

The manager found it strange too, but she had to carry out the orders Miles Hawthorne had given her.

She had received special training before starting this job. She knew exactly what the hand signal Miles had given her before entering the room meant.

He was telling her to destroy the surveillance footage.

’But why? Isn’t that the only way to prove his innocence?’

Standing nearby, Raina’s hands and feet grew cold. She stumbled back to the door of the lounge.

Annabelle was waiting for her. Seeing how pale Raina was, she quickly asked, "What happened?"

"Let’s go home first."

As the two of them walked out of Aristor Hall, Raina saw Ethan Lancaster’s car parked not far away, looking as if it was waiting for her.

Raina had too many questions that she needed to ask him face-to-face.

"Annabelle, can you get back on your own?"

"Yes." Annabelle walked down the steps, then turned back to look at Raina. "You be careful, too."

"You too. Call me when you get home."

"Okay."

Raina strode toward Ethan Lancaster’s car, each step feeling like she was walking on the edge of a knife. When she reached the car, she found she couldn’t open the door.

Raina raised her hand and banged on the window twice. Ethan Lancaster lowered it to look at her.

"I need to talk to you."

"Go ahead. I’m listening."

Raina didn’t dare raise her voice. "Was there something hidden in the camera you had me bring into the room?"

Ethan Lancaster shrugged. "Isn’t that your friend’s camera? You should ask her."

’Hearing this, Raina’s heart sank even further. Miles Hawthorne and Annabelle Spencer were both implicated, as was she. Yet he and his friends had managed to keep their hands completely clean.’