The Coldest Man in the Room Melted Only for Me novel Chapter 440

"Winona was drugged," Sebastian said, his piercing gaze locking onto Montgomery. "Montgomery, you hosted tonight's banquet. Don't you think I deserve an explanation?"

Franklin was speechless. He had been racking his brain for an excuse, but his boss simply threw the problem at Montgomery and demanded answers. It was a ruthless move. Montgomery was the host; if there was a security breach, of course he was liable.

Hearing this, the crowd murmured in shock.

Montgomery paled in terror. The Spencers were notoriously protective of their daughter. If anything happened to Winona at his event, he would never hear the end of it. "How is she?"

"Still unconscious," Zach replied.

Montgomery pressed, "Just drugged? Nothing else?"

"She's perfectly fine otherwise," Zach confirmed.

Montgomery let out a massive sigh of relief before turning back to Sebastian. "Who did it? Did you catch them?"

"No. I'll have to trouble you to handle that."

"Of course." Montgomery scrambled for his phone.

Sebastian added, "For the sake of Winona's reputation, it's best to handle this quietly."

Montgomery instantly understood. No police, and the news had to be suppressed. Otherwise, people would inevitably jump to the worst conclusions about a drugged heiress.

He quickly made a call to pull the second-floor security footage and ordered the rest area to be moved to the third floor, sealing off the second under a false pretext. Fortunately, the banquet had only just begun, so no one else had come up to rest yet. It would have been a nightmare to manage a crowd.

Franklin felt a spike of anxiety at the mention of the cameras. Sebastian had kicked down Riley's door and stayed in her room the entire time; he hadn't even set foot in Winona's room.

If they checked the footage, wouldn't the whole lie fall apart?

But seeing Sebastian's stony composure, Franklin forced his worries down.

Barnaby remained silent. He felt tonight's events were far from simple. If Winona was the one drugged, why had Franklin guarded this door to stop Victoria from entering?

Franklin stood guard at the door.

A moment later, a staff member delivered the first-aid kit.

Franklin carried it inside.

Zach, having caught up on the basics of the situation, spoke as he cleaned Sebastian's hand. "I never expected Pierce to be this calculating. He figured out about you and Riley, kept his mouth shut, and orchestrated this whole scheme. Even after you saw right through him, he's still playing dumb. That kind of restraint requires the patience of a saint."

Sebastian hit the nail on the head. "He wanted to take a shot at me, but he wasn't willing to gamble Landon Enterprises on it."

Zach nodded. "Fair point. Without your backing over the past two years, his company wouldn't have grown this fast. He wouldn't dare fight you openly, but cheap shots like tonight are hard to predict."

Sebastian's dark eyes gleamed with calculation. After a brief silence, he said, "I'll have a chat with him later."

Zach paused his cleaning and looked up. "You're going to put your cards on the table?"