Begging for a Second Chance (Sienna Sloan and Jarred Sterling) novel Chapter 39

The crowd turned toward the voice, only to see Jarred striding furiously down the hall.

His black tuxedo accentuated his commanding frame, but those dark, typically disinterested eyes were now blazing with absolute ice.

He walked straight over to Celeste and planted himself firmly in front of her, shielding her completely.

His predatory gaze swept over the room, looking ready to burn the entire place to the ground.

Intimidated by his power and status, no one dared to take another step forward.

"Jarred, step aside!" Mrs. Zeller yelled, torn between fury and desperation. "This woman poisoned my grandson and framed Dr. Sloan! I won't let her get away with this! I watched you grow up—how can you protect a venomous snake like her?"

Celeste clung to Jarred's arm like a lifeline. "Jarred, I didn't do it! You have to believe me!"

Her frantic gaze darted around the crowd until she locked onto Sienna, screaming, "Sienna and I were the only ones in this room!

Everyone in the industry knows she's an expert in hypnotherapy! She can make anyone say anything while they're unconscious!"

Every single eye in the room snapped toward Sienna.

Jarred slowly raised his gaze, looking at Sienna with calculating scrutiny. "Sienna, explain yourself."

His tone held zero partiality; in fact, it was loaded with blatant accusation.

Staring at his icy expression, Sienna felt as if a jagged shard of ice had been driven straight through her chest.

The freezing chill seeped into her very bones, completely eclipsed by the overwhelming agony.

"What exactly do you want me to explain, Mr. Sterling?" Sienna offered a flawless smile, utterly unbothered.

"It's common knowledge that my hypnotherapy sessions always require a pocket watch as a medium. Look at this dress—where exactly do you think I could hide a pocket watch?"

She did a slow turn. The dress was practically a second skin; there was absolutely nowhere to hide anything.

Jarred's eyes darkened.

But Celeste refused to back down. "You must have used another method! Search her!"

Sienna sharply swatted Celeste's hand away. "We'll search me after you watch the rest of the evidence."

"She even tried to steal classified documents? That's insane!"

Seeing the public opinion turn against her, sheer panic flashed through Celeste's eyes.

She blurted out, "I'm not a thief! Stop framing me, Sienna! There was no Crystal Ashtray on the desk!

And the drawers were locked, I—"

Halfway through her sentence, Celeste realized she had completely incriminated herself.

The crowd erupted into an uproar, glaring at Celeste with raw disgust.

"So she really did steal the evaluation form!"

"Poor Dr. Sloan. Framed by such a vile sociopath!"

Realizing her mistake, Celeste instantly snapped back into her 'mind-controlled' act, staring blankly at Jarred. "...Jarred, did I say something bad again? Oh God, my head is killing me... it feels like it's going to split open..."