Chapter 286: You Are the Prey
"You think I scare that easily?"
In Lydia Wynn’s eyes, Alaric Blackwood was just trying to stall for time.
But while he could stall, the drug wouldn’t give him that chance.
She placed her hand on the man’s belt and, with a *CLICK*, undid the buckle.
"Lydia Wynn!"
"Stop!"
Alaric Blackwood’s brow furrowed tightly. He struggled with all his might to grab the woman’s hand. "I’m serious. You’re surrounded by the police."
"Stop bluffing. I don’t believe there are police outside. If there were, why haven’t they rushed in?"
She shook off Alaric Blackwood’s hand and undid his belt. Just as she was about to pull down his pants, he seized her hand again.
She could clearly feel Alaric Blackwood’s hand trembling. "Don’t touch me."
"You’re scared, ’big brother’? So you get scared too? Aren’t you usually so arrogant?"
Alaric Blackwood was, indeed, afraid.
He was afraid of why Nathan Jensen was so slow, and why Officer Young was so slow, too.
He wasn’t really trying to poach Nathan Jensen. They had been on good terms for years, and he saw Nathan Jensen as an uncle figure. He had asked Nathan Jensen for a favor.
Their frequent meetings were a deliberate show for Lydia Wynn.
He had long since discovered that Lydia Wynn had people secretly monitoring his every move.
"Our meeting... no one saw us, right?"
"Of course not. I’m always careful."
This two-line exchange was a secret code between him and Nathan Jensen.
"No one saw us" meant that Lydia Wynn hadn’t discovered this was all a trap set for her.
He trusted Nathan Jensen and Officer Young. So, even knowing that Lydia Wynn would have Nathan Jensen drug the wine, he still drank it.
That included the incense stand in the room, and the smoke it was emitting...
Under the effects of the double dose of drugs, Alaric Blackwood didn’t know how much longer he could hold on.
He was terrified of losing control and being overcome by the drugs.
With no sign of Nathan Jensen or the police, he could only bite the bullet and try to talk his way out of it with Lydia Wynn.
"I have the right to be arrogant,"
he replied to Lydia Wynn.
The woman sneered. As she laughed, she took off her clothes, leaving only a thin undershirt on.
She undid the buttons at her collar and leaned over him, her fingers sliding across his chest muscles. Her eyes were seductive. "’Big brother,’ stop bluffing. You’re just a fish on the chopping block now."
"What if I told you this was all a trap for you? The hook was cast, and you’re the one who took the bait."
Alaric Blackwood could only keep using his words to distract Lydia Wynn. "You think you’ve trapped me, but you’re the actual prey."
Seeing the dead-serious expression on his face, Lydia Wynn faltered for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure.
’He’s just trying to scare me. If what he’s saying is true, how could the police have made no move by now?’
"Alright, stop trying every trick in the book to stall. No one is coming to save you."
She cupped Alaric Blackwood’s face in her hands, about to kiss him on the lips.
But just then, a cell phone rang.
The caller ID showed Sophie Shaw’s number.
This made Lydia Wynn incredibly excited. She picked up the phone, answered the call, and even put it on speaker so Alaric Blackwood could hear Sophie Shaw’s voice.
However, she didn’t let Alaric Blackwood speak, clamping her other hand tightly over his mouth.
"Who is this? Where’s my husband?"
Sophie Shaw’s anxious voice came through the phone.
Alaric Blackwood’s eyes turned bloodshot.
A smile played on Lydia Wynn’s red lips as she answered Sophie Shaw, "Don’t worry about who I am. Your husband is in my bed right now."
"Lydia Wynn?"
Sophie Shaw recognized her voice immediately.
Lydia Wynn chuckled. "Your husband was the one who initiated it."
"You’re full of shit!"
Lydia Wynn decisively hung up. Hearing Sophie Shaw’s furious voice was enough for her.
She tossed the phone onto the sofa. Just as she was about to kiss Alaric Blackwood, there was a knock on the door.
"Room service."
A gentle female voice came through the door.
Lydia Wynn frowned and didn’t answer.
’I didn’t order any room service, and Nathan Jensen didn’t mention ordering any. Could it really be like Alaric Blackwood said? Are the police here?’
As she grew suspicious, the knocking came again, louder this time.
"Room service."
"Please open the door."
After the call, she vaguely saw shadows moving under the door. It seemed there was more than one person outside.
Her heart suddenly sank.
Then the knocking grew more and more intense, going from knocking to pounding, and finally escalating to what sounded like someone trying to break the door down.
She looked down at Alaric Blackwood. The man’s bloodshot eyes curved slightly as he smiled at her.
"You—"
A bad feeling washed over her. She instinctively got off Alaric Blackwood and quickly tore at her own clothes. She messed up her hair, viciously scratched a mark on Alaric Blackwood’s chest with her own nails, and then slapped herself hard across the face twice.
Watching her busily prepare her ’act’, Alaric Blackwood used what little sense he had left to rebuckle his undone belt with a *CLICK*.
Seeing his action, Lydia Wynn didn’t hesitate. She grabbed the bottle of red wine from the coffee table, first letting out a miserable cry, then smashing the bottle hard against the corner of the table.
With a *SMASH*, the wine bottle shattered.
The broken half of the bottle Lydia Wynn clutched had a jagged, sharp glass bottom.
She gritted her teeth and forcefully stabbed the broken bottle toward Alaric Blackwood’s abdomen.
He was quick to react and tried to grab her arm, but the drug was taking full effect. He was dizzy, his vision was blurring, and while his outstretched hand didn’t miss completely, it grabbed the bottle itself.
The sharp glass pierced his palm. Blood gushed out, dripping down from his fingers.
*BEEP BEEP—*
The sound of a keycard unlocking the door followed.
Lydia Wynn’s heart leaped. She immediately dropped the broken bottle, collapsed onto the floor, and put on the act of a victim.
The hotel room door swung open.
Police officers in uniform rushed in.
Lydia Wynn, the drama queen, turned it on. Tears fell in an instant. Trembling, she yelled at the police, "Help! He tried to rape me! He drugged me..."
She cried and shouted, her trembling hand pointing at Alaric Blackwood on the floor.
Her clothes were torn to shreds, her hair was a mess, and her face bore the red, swollen marks of slaps. She truly looked like she had been assaulted, especially with her pitiful, tear-streaked appearance.
Officer Young picked up her jacket from the floor and tossed it to her. "Miss Wynn, put your clothes on."
She took the jacket, trembling as she put it on. "Hurry up and arrest that man on the floor."
Officer Young glanced at Alaric Blackwood, who was lying on the floor with a bleeding hand. He picked up the clothes from the floor and covered Alaric Blackwood with them first.
"Mr. Blackwood, are you all right?"
"Not really."
As Alaric Blackwood spoke, his Adam’s apple bobbed, and an unnatural flush spread across his cheeks. Without a second thought, Officer Young immediately called for an ambulance.
Nathan Jensen, who had entered behind the police, saw that Alaric Blackwood’s right hand was bleeding. He quickly walked into the bathroom, grabbed a clean towel, and wrapped it around the man’s hand.