The Coldest Man in the Room Melted Only for Me novel Chapter 451

The Club, Private Suite.

Barnaby and Victoria hadn't left the club since the night before. They had been waiting for the investigation results. Seeing Montgomery push the door open, Victoria eagerly asked, "What did you find?"

Montgomery sat down, pouring himself a cup of tea. "That server who brought Winona upstairs vanished into thin air. I've had people searching for a day and a night, and there's no trace of her. She's likely already skipped town."

Barnaby frowned. "The server goes missing, the security cameras are tampered with. This was clearly premeditated. But what was the point of drugging Winona?"

"I'm more interested in why Sebastian had Franklin guarding the door and wouldn't let me in," Victoria mused. "I have a strong feeling he's hiding something massive. In all our power struggles, he's never dragged Mother into it, but this time, he specifically used her to get me downstairs. There's definitely more to this than meets the eye."

Montgomery took a sip of his tea. "Victoria, Barnaby, I think you're both overthinking this. There were barely any people on the second floor. What massive secret could there be?"

Barnaby shot a cold glare at Montgomery. The sight of this spineless opportunist, who had immediately sided with Sebastian upon his return, disgusted him. "The Spencers are waiting for answers, and you have time to sit here sipping tea?"

Montgomery's expression stiffened. He set the cup down. "I'll leave you two to it, then. I have work to do." With that, he got up and left.

Victoria didn't trust Montgomery anyway, which was why she and Barnaby had stayed to oversee things themselves. However, Montgomery's comment did spark a thought. There really had only been a handful of people on the second floor last night.

It suddenly reminded her of someone. She looked at Barnaby. "I was keeping an eye on the second floor last night. Before Franklin went up, someone else went up to the second floor."

"Who?"

"Pierce Landon." Victoria began to analyze. "Franklin is fiercely loyal to Sebastian, and Mother has always favored him; neither of them will tell us anything. Winona and Riley were drugged, so they don't know anything either. But Pierce... he could be our breakthrough."

Barnaby wasn't convinced. "The Landon family's success is entirely dependent on Sebastian's backing. Pierce is practically kissing his feet. Why would he ever betray him?"

"In business, there are no permanent enemies, only permanent interests. Plenty of people play both sides if the price is right."

"You mean we offer him something in exchange for information?"

Victoria nodded.

Barnaby remained cautious. "I just worry this might backfire."

"I know you're worried Pierce will turn around and tell Sebastian we tried to bribe him, but I don't care. Even if he doesn't say anything, Sebastian isn't going to lower his guard around us anyway. If it comes to it, we just deny everything.

But if Pierce is willing to play ball, this might be our chance to finally get some dirt on Sebastian. It'll make destroying him much easier."

Victoria's eyes gleamed with calculation and naked ambition.