The people filming instinctively lowered their phones.
Alexander was the Sterling family’s principal heir. More importantly, he was the man who actually ran Sterling Group.
Dylan only ran one of the group’s subsidiaries.
Even Dylan’s expression changed.
“Alex? What are you doing here?”
Alex surveyed the mess without answering.
“What happened?”
Mrs. Quinn jumped in.
“What else? This woman has been harassing my son-in-law. She stole from him, and she nearly hurt my pregnant daughter!”
“She’s even lying about being married. Don’t let her fool—”
“Mom,” Jade cut in, her face going pale.
But it was too late.
Dylan came forward, frowning.
“Alex, stay out of this. Elise went too far today. The videos are already online, and our partners are asking questions.”
He hesitated before continuing.
“She also stole an heirloom brooch from my safe.”
Alex slowly looked up.
“A brooch?”
Jade was still holding the velvet box.
Alex extended a hand to her.
“Give it to me.”
He said nothing more. Jade hesitated, then handed him the box.
He opened the box. His expression went cold.
“Who told you this belonged to you?”
Dylan blinked.
“The Sterling family has two of those. This looks just like the one I kept in my safe—”
“I gave it to her.”
Silence fell across the room.
Dylan’s voice caught in his throat.
Jade’s smile froze.
“Since when do I need your permission to give away something that belongs to me?”
Dylan’s face grew paler.
“But those brooches are only given to the women we marry.”
Alex held his gaze without answering.
My fingers curled at my sides.
Mrs. Quinn finally seemed to understand that something was wrong.
“What does that mean?”
“She said she was married. You don’t mean she actually…”
Alex didn’t so much as glance at her.
He rested a hand on my shoulder. His gaze settled on the red marks around my wrist.
His fingers stilled.
“Who did that?”
He didn’t raise his voice, but everyone fell silent.
Before I could answer, Dylan cut in.
“Alex, she slapped me first. She scared Jade so badly we thought something might happen to the baby. The police are already here. You can’t just take her word for it.”
Alex kept his hand on my shoulder. When Dylan finished, he turned toward him.
“So you called the police?”
Dylan hesitated.
“Yes.”
A humorless smile touched Alex’s lips.
“Did you bother to check whose brooch it was before making that call?”
“And as for your claim that she attacked someone…”
His gaze shifted past Dylan to Jade, who stood there without a mark on her.
Mrs. Quinn bristled.
“Mr. Sterling, this is a private family matter. There’s no reason for you to interfere on behalf of an outsider—”
Alex finally looked straight at her.
“An outsider?”
He scanned the silent crowd.
“Who let an outsider like you into this company?”
Then he drew me firmly to his side, shielding me from the phones that were still pointed our way.
“And who gave you the right to lay a hand on someone I care about?”
Mrs. Quinn stared at him.
Dylan’s eyes fixed on Alex’s hand resting on my shoulder.
“Alex. What exactly are you saying?”
Alex said nothing at first.
He pulled the coat a little closer around me, making sure the cameras could no longer see my face.
Then he lifted his head.
“Didn’t someone just ask where her husband was?”
His hand remained on my shoulder.
“I’m her husband.”