Page 110 of Crimson Love

Any stranger looking in would say this idiot is digging his own grave, but Patrick and Harlow and I know better. In fact, he’s got a few more minutes of freedom, if I’ve estimated the time correctly.

We sit back and watch the drama unfold between the other six members that are back in New York at Stonebridge headquarters. What I wouldn’t do to be there right now.

Harlow leans over to me and mutters, “If only The Daily Market Report could stream this live.”

“Especially with what’s coming.” I agree but am interrupted by a knock at the boardroom door.

The next thing we see is Chrissie standing in the open doorway. “Excuse me —”

“We’re not fucking done!” Lex bellows.

Chrissie isn’t taken aback by his behavior. She tips her head to the side and smiles. “I’m afraid you are. The police are here.”

Lex freezes and schools his features. “Who?”

“The po-lice,” she sounds out the word slowly for him. “They need to speak with you, Mr. Warner.”

But he doesn’t have time to say anything else—argue, agree, or scream from the rooftops. Two men in suits walk through the door. Four more in uniform follow.

“You can’t come in here. What’s the meaning of this?” Lex demands.

One of the men in a suit holds up a badge and credentials. “I’m a detective from the New York Police Department. Lex Warner, you’re under arrest for attempted murder and aggravated assault. You have the right to remain silent —”

One of the uniformed officers moves in with handcuffs.

Warner backs away from them in an angry panic. “This is fucking insane. You can’t arrest me. I haven’t done anything wrong!”

“Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law.”

The officer grabs his arm, but Warner pulls away. The remaining board members get up to make room when a chair is knocked over sideways. A second officer steps in to assist.

“You have the right to talk to a lawyer —”

Warner jerks and fights, but the officers have him face down on the conference table in no time. His cheek lands on the wood with a thud as one of the officers holds him down and the other cuffs him.

Snap.

Snap.

I smile as the sound resonates through the live stream. The detective continues to read him his rights as Warner continues to declare that he has no fucking idea how this happened.

The IP address used to place the order for the gift basket says otherwise. So do his cell phone records contacting someone in Seattle to inject the food with the plant derivative Virexin that is toxic to humans. The car used to deliver it is registered to a man who is related to the asshole in Seattle.

A chain of contacts so long, someone will spill to save themselves. If not, there’s enough evidence with every step to put them all away.

Patrick leans forward to rest his hands on the conference table. “You will not fuck with my family again, Lex.”

The officers pull him upright to take him away. Warner’s hair is askew, and his face is beet red. “I’ll get you for this, Madison. I’ll come after you and your fucking kids. This isn’t the end of it. I’m not going down for this, dammit!”

“You are,” Patrick says. “And it’s only a matter of time until you’re off the board. Not that you have any power from jail.”

They drag Warner out of the room in dramatic fashion. Even through the live feed, we hear him yelling and screaming until Chrissie closes the door to the conference room.

The remaining board members on the east coast look around at one another, not knowing what to do now.

Patrick takes charge of the meeting once more. “No one crosses me or my family and gets away with it. It’s happened twice now, and both times their heinous acts have come to light. Feel free to spread this warning far and wide: do not fuck with my family, and do not fuck with my company.”

The board members glance around at each other. A few of them mutter under their breaths before focusing back on us.