The Villainess Strikes Back

Sebastian's first love, Stella, lay crumpled at the bottom of the staircase as I stopped on the landing with the velvet ring box in my hand. She wore a pristine white dress.

Her eyes were red rimmed as she stared up at me. "Miss Sinclair, I know you hate me." Her voice trembled. "But why did you push me?" I let out a short, hollow laugh.

I pulled out my phone. "I pushed you? Nobody leaves until the cops get here." Chapter 1 Sebastian practically tore through the side doors of the banquet hall.

He was followed by Connor, his assistant, and a few guests who ran out after hearing the commotion.

He took in Stella's crumpled form at the bottom of the steps, then his eyes snapped up to find me on the landing.

His face darkened like a storm front. "Madeline." He took the stairs two at a time and clamped his hand around my wrist. "Apologize." I looked down at his knuckles turning white against my skin.

Then I looked up into his eyes. "Apologize for what?" Sebastian's glare turned glacial. "You pushed her down the stairs and you have the nerve to ask me that?" The whispers started instantly.

They rippled through the gathered crowd. "The bride pushed her?" "On her own wedding day?" "That is brutal.

She couldn't even stomach the exgirlfriend showing up to give a blessing?" "No wonder his family never liked her." Stella let out a choked sob and leaned weakly against the wall. "Seb, please don't blame Miss Sinclair.

It is my fault. I never should have come back." Mrs. Kensington stepped out of the banquet hall. A few business partners flanked her.

Their eyes went straight to the disaster at the stairs. Her expression instantly hardened. "Madeline.

Do you have any idea what kind of occasion today is?" I met her stare. "So you think I pushed her too?" Mrs. Kensington frowned. "Look at the state Stella is in.

The only thing you should be doing right now is apologizing." The emcee was standing nearby, his microphone still hot.

The messy drama at the stairs broadcasted over the speakers in scattered bursts. More guests swarmed into the foyer.

I stood there under the weight of a hundred stares, my wrist still trapped in Sebastian's grip.

Five minutes ago, Connor had rushed over to say the ring box was left in the secondfloor lounge. The ceremony was about to start.

I didn't think twice before lifting my heavy skirts and heading up to get it.

Sebastian's fingers dug deeper into my pulse point. "Madeline, Stella just came to give us her blessing.

Are you really that insecure?" Stella peeked up, a single tear clinging perfectly to her lashes. I looked right at them. "I can apologize.

But first, let her explain exactly how I pushed her." Stella's fingers twitched against the marble floor.

Sebastian's brow furrowed. "What kind of game are you playing now?" "No game." I shook my trapped arm. "Let go." He didn't move.

I held his gaze, my voice perfectly steady. "You are grabbing someone who just got accused of shoving a person down a flight of stairs.

Aren't you afraid I'll push you too?" Someone in the crowd sucked in a sharp, audible breath. Chapter 2 Sebastian stared at me.

The raw anger in his eyes simmered down, and his fingers unspooled from my wrist.

I rubbed the throbbing skin where he had grabbed me and turned my attention to the girl on the floor. "Stella. You claim I pushed you.

Then be a dear and fall again." Stella's head snapped up. That single, perfect tear seemed to freeze on her lashes, forgetting to drop. Mrs.

Kensington's brow furrowed. "Madeline, what is the meaning of this?" I gestured toward the sweeping staircase. "You don't have to physically throw yourself down again. Just point.

Show me which step you were on, and which one I was on. Show me exactly where I made contact, and the trajectory of your tumble to the foyer.

If you can't recreate the scene, don't demand an apology." The foyer went dead silent. The faint string quartet from the ballroom was the only sound left.

Stella didn't move a muscle. "Nothing?" Sebastian stepped in front of her, physically shielding her from me. "She just took a massive fall and went into shock.

Why are you interrogating her?" I met his stare. "She just took a massive fall and went into shock. Yet her brain functioned perfectly enough to instantly accuse me.

But somehow shortcircuits when asked for the basic physics of the push?" Sebastian's eyes darkened.

I didn't let him interrupt. "Sebastian, she isn't claiming I gave her a dirty look or called her a name. She is claiming I shoved her down a flight of marble stairs.

Best case scenario, that is assault and battery. Worst case, it is attempted murder.

If we are throwing around felony charges, I think I deserve to hear the logistics." That heavy silence dropped over the crowd again.

Stella's fingers twitched, digging into the tulle of her skirt. She ducked her head, her voice a fragile tremor. "I was just so terrified.

Everything went blank." I nodded slowly. "You blanked on the mechanics of the push. But magically retained the identity of the pusher.

That is some impressively selective trauma." A muffled snort escaped someone in the crowd. They choked it back instantly. Sebastian suddenly turned his head to look at the crowd.

The amusement vanished. When he turned back to me, the anger in his eyes was completely unmasked. I shifted my focus back to the girl on the floor.

Her pristine white dress was barely wrinkled. There was a faint red mark on her wrist. A smudge of dust on her calf. Not a single drop of blood in sight.

I looked at Sebastian. "She took such a brutal tumble. Have you dialed 911 for an ambulance?" He stiffened. I kept going. "She accused me of assault. Have you called the cops?

Has anyone secured the crime scene? Did someone go pull the security footage? No.

The very first thing you did was grab my arm and demand an apology." I held his gaze. "Are you actually worried about her medical state, or were you just eager to instantly convict me?" Sebastian stared at me for two agonizing seconds.

He didn't have an answer. Stella immediately tugged at the hem of his suit jacket. "Seb, please don't fight with her over me. It is your wedding day.

I couldn't bear to ruin it." She tilted her head up at me, letting fresh tears spill down her cheeks. "Miss Sinclair, I just never realized you despised me this much." Chapter 3 I walked down the remaining steps and crouched, maintaining a strict threestep distance from her. "Me despising you is an emotional issue.

You accusing me of shoving you is a legal issue. Don't blur the lines." Stella's face drained of the rest of its color.

I stood back up and shifted my gaze to the hotel manager, who was already sweating right through his suit. "What are you standing around for?

Someone is injured on your property and actively claiming I pushed her down your stairs.

If you don't call an ambulance, secure the scene, and pull the security footage, who takes the liability when this goes entirely sideways?" The manager went pale and instantly dispatched his staff.

Within seconds, security guards formed a barricade at the bottom of the stairs, and another employee sprinted toward the surveillance room.

I threw in one last directive. "Save the feeds from outside the secondfloor lounge, the ballroom side doors, and the emergency stairwell exits. No deleting.

No overwriting." I pulled out my phone.

Sebastian's gaze darkened. "What are you doing now?" "Calling 911." Stella snapped her head up. "Don't!" The word tore out of her far too panicked.

It was so sharp that every single pair of eyes in the foyer locked onto her.

She realized her slipup immediately, biting her bottom lip as she looked up at Sebastian with tearbrimmed eyes. "Seb, I don't want to make a scene. It is your wedding day.

I couldn't bear being the reason you two…" "Stop." I stared her down. "Stella, you didn't seem to care about making a scene when you announced to a crowd that I shoved you down a staircase.

But the second I dial 911, suddenly you want to keep the peace. Do you actually care about not causing a scene?

Or do you just not want the cops looking into this?" Stella looked frantically at Sebastian, practically begging him to intervene.

Sebastian's voice was pure ice. "Madeline, is it really necessary to assume the absolute worst of her?" "Yes," I said. "Because she assumed I committed attempted murder." The foyer flatlined into dead silence again.

I hit the call button. Once dispatch picked up, I put it on speaker. "Hi, I need to report an incident.

I am at the Apex Hotel, at a wedding reception, and someone is accusing me of shoving them down a flight of stairs.

The accuser is currently lying on the floor by the emergency stairwell, the hotel has dispatched an ambulance, and we are actively securing the scene.

I am requesting an officer to come out and formally investigate the claim." The dispatcher asked for the exact address and a few more details.

I answered every question methodically. Sebastian's gaze flicked over my shoulder, landing on the group of business partners lingering by the ballroom doors.

His expression morphed from raw anger into something far more dark and calculated. I ended the call and slipped my phone away.

Right on cue, Stella let out a sharp, ragged gasp, acting as if the pain was suddenly unbearable. Sebastian immediately leaned down, wrapping his arms around her to lift her up.

I spoke up. "Don't move her." Sebastian froze, hovering halfway off the ground with her in his arms.

I kept my eyes locked on his. "She claims she tumbled down an entire flight of stairs. We have no idea if she sustained any spinal or neck injuries.

If you scoop her up right now and cause secondary trauma, does that liability fall on you or me?" Somewhere in the crowd, a hushed voice whispered: Would the crowd turn on me, or was Sebastian's trap finally failing?

Chapter 4 "She actually has a point.

You can't just move someone after a bad fall." "Yeah, it is better to wait for the paramedics." "Just leave her there." Stella clearly didn't anticipate me weaponizing basic first aid to box her in.

She softened her voice to a fragile hum. "Seb, I am really fine. Please don't worry about me." I looked down at her. "You are fine?" She froze.

I kept going. "You just accused me of shoving you down a flight of stairs.

And now you are perfectly fine?" "Miss Sinclair, I just don't want Seb to be anxious." I met her teary gaze. "Then cooperate with the doctor.

Don't just make him worry while refusing to leave evidence." Stella's lips parted, but no words came out. Sebastian finally cut in, his voice frigid. "Enough.

Madeline, she only came here today to give us her blessing." I nodded. "Sure. Let's talk about this blessing." My gaze swept over Stella's pristine white gown. "Tell me, Stella.

Does giving a wedding blessing usually require wearing a white dress that perfectly mimics my bridal gown?" She ducked her head. "I didn't wear this on purpose.

I just got off my flight and the airline lost my luggage.

I had to borrow whatever a friend brought me." "Just got off your flight?" I asked. "What time did you land?" She hesitated. "This morning." "Which airline?

What is the flight number?" Her eyes darted around the foyer. "I… I don't remember the flight number." I nodded slowly. "Forgetting a flight number is fine.

Where is the lost luggage claim receipt?" The color completely drained from her face.

Sebastian furrowed his brow. "Madeline, do you actually find interrogating her amusing?" "Yes," I said. "I am just trying to establish exactly how impromptu this little visit really was." I looked back at Stella. "Do you have an invitation?" Stella didn't answer.

I pivoted to the hotel manager. "Pull the guest list and the front door entry logs.

Let's see if she came to give a blessing, or if someone specifically smuggled her in." Sebastian opened his mouth to object, but the words died in his throat the second I mentioned the guest list.

Blair pushed her way through the crowd, still clutching a makeup puff. "Maddie, what is going on?

Are you okay?" "I am fine." I looked at my bridesmaid. "Connor just told me the ring box was left in the secondfloor lounge and told me to go get it." Blair's forehead creased instantly. "Connor?

That makes no sense. Right before the makeup artist pulled me in for touchups, we ran through the entire schedule.

Nobody mentioned a missing ring." I scanned the sea of faces. "Where is Sebastian's groomsman, Connor?" He was hovering at the back of the pack, looking entirely panicked.

I locked eyes with him. "Who told you to send me upstairs for the rings?" Connor swallowed hard. His Adam's apple bobbed nervously. "I… I heard it from Mr.

Kensington's assistant." I shifted my stare to the assistant. "You told him?" The assistant's grip on his iPad faltered. "The timeline was just so chaotic today.

I must have remembered it wrong." Chapter 5 I shifted my focus to the hotel manager. "Then investigate them all. Let the logs speak for themselves." Sebastian didn't say a word.

It was his first time staying entirely silent. The ambulance arrived within minutes.

I immediately stepped back as the paramedics rushed in. "The patient is right here, claiming to have tumbled down the stairs.

Please check her head, neck, and limbs, and thoroughly document every single injury." The paramedics nodded and started their assessment.

Sebastian tried to step forward, but an EMT blocked his path. "Back up, please.

Give her some space." I offered a deadpan reminder. "He isn't family." Sebastian's head snapped toward me.

I stared right back. "Let the professionals work." Fury smoldered in his eyes. But with the medics and half the guest list watching, he swallowed it down. Stella's exam dragged on.

She kept complaining of dizzy spells. A medic asked if she hit her head. She hesitated for a fraction of a second. "I think so." I didn't interrupt.

I just signaled Blair to pull out her phone and hit record. Stella caught sight of the camera lens, and genuine panic flickered across her face.

I watched her squirm. "What are you so afraid of? You are the victim here.

Having video evidence works in your favor." She bit her lip. "I just find this extremely humiliating." "You aren't afraid of being shoved down a flight of stairs.

But you are afraid of a camera?" She went dead silent.

After the initial assessment, the paramedic confirmed she had no visible bleeding and remained fully conscious. "However, she is reporting dizziness and pain in her wrists, ankles, and lower back.

We highly recommend transporting her to the ER for further scans." But Stella clutched Sebastian's cuff, her voice dropping to a whisper. "I want to wait until the police question me." The EMT frowned, but eventually agreed to let her sit and be monitored.

That was when the cops finally showed up. The entire foyer collectively held its breath.

The lead officer scanned the barricaded scene. "Who called it in?" I stepped forward. "I did. Madeline Sinclair.

Someone accused me of pushing her down these stairs, and I am requesting a formal incident reconstruction." The officer turned to Stella. "Are you the one claiming she pushed you?" Stella instinctively looked at Sebastian.

I cut in. "Don't look at him. Look at the officer.

You were incredibly articulate a few minutes ago, so go ahead and repeat it for the police." Sebastian opened his mouth. "Madeline—" The officer leveled a glare at him. "Sir, please do not interrupt the questioning." Sebastian went rigid.

Stella's eyes reddened further, her voice so fragile it sounded like glass cracking. "I was just so terrified." The officer pulled out a notepad. "Where exactly were you standing?" She pursed her lips. "On the stairs." "Which specific step?" She looked over at the staircase.

Her gaze shifted evasively. "I don't remember." The officer pressed on. "From which direction did she push you?

Front, side, or back?" Stella's eyes darted frantically between the marble steps and Sebastian.

Chapter 6 "I… I only remember her coming at me out of nowhere." I stood off to the side and did not interrupt.

Stella stared at the marble steps, her voice dropping to a pitiful whisper. "She must have come from above." "Must have?" The officer frowned. "Are you certain she pushed you?" Stella ducked her head, entirely avoiding the cop's gaze. "I was just so terrified, I don't know…" I finally broke my silence. "Officer, a few minutes ago she was absolutely positive that I shoved her." The officer leveled a stern look at Stella. "Your statement is changing.

I need you to clarify right now: did she push you, or was that just an assumption you made in a state of panic?" Stella opened her mouth, but not a single sound came out.

Sebastian started to step forward to intervene. I shot him a freezing glare. "Mr.

Kensington, please do not answer for the witness." Sebastian's jaw clenched, his lips pressing into a thin, hard line.

Stella finally cracked, letting out a fragile sob. "Miss Sinclair, why are you forcing me to recount every agonizing detail?" I met her teary eyes. "Because your memory was crystal clear when you were busy accusing me.

But the second the cops show up, suddenly everything is a blur." Stella clutched her chest, her voice shivering in the quiet foyer.

The officer pivoted to the hotel manager. "Where is the surveillance footage?" The manager scrambled to answer. "There are no cameras directly inside the emergency stairwell.

But we have feeds covering the secondfloor hallway, the elevators, the bridal lounge, and the exterior of the stairwell doors." "Pull them up." The officer ordered the rubbernecking guests to stay put and escorted only the relevant parties into the security room.

Blair trailed right behind me, her phone still raised and recording every single second. Stella didn't join us in the security room.

The EMTs had her seated in a chair right outside the door, firmly instructing her not to move. The hotel manager pulled up the video feeds.

On the screen, I walked out of the bridal lounge and slipped into the emergency stairwell.

Less than ten seconds later, the camera caught the guests outside the ballroom reacting to the noise and sprinting toward the stairs. The officer jotted down the exact timestamps.

I stared blankly at the monitors. "So, according to Stella's timeline, I had less than ten seconds to hike down a flight of stairs in a massive wedding gown, holding a ring box, approach her, physically push her, and watch her tumble to the bottom.

If I managed all that ninja acrobatics, the victim should really be able to describe the mechanics." The officer poked his head out the door to look at Stella. "Can you fill in any of those missing details?" Stella's lips trembled violently. "I… I was just in a state of pure panic." I didn't say a word.

Sebastian's gaze was glued to the glowing timestamps on the monitor. He didn't look away. The officer kept scrubbing through the footage.

Before I entered the stairwell, the camera showed zero sign of Stella in the secondfloor hallway. Which meant she didn't follow me in. The manager hit rewind.

Twentysix minutes before the ceremony was scheduled to begin, Sebastian's assistant escorted Stella through a side entrance of the hotel.

She was wearing a surgical mask to hide her face. The assistant led her straight to the private elevators and took her directly to the second floor.

The video paused right on that damning frame.

I turned my head slowly, locking eyes with Sebastian's personal assistant. "You were the one who brought Stella up to the second floor." Chapter 7 "And you were the one who passed the message to Connor that the ring was on the second floor." The assistant's knuckles turned white around his iPad.

I turned to Sebastian. "She bypassed the front door guest list because your assistant snuck her in. She went straight up to the second floor, right when I went to the second floor.

Are you still going to claim she just came to give a blessing?" Sebastian didn't look at me. His gaze snapped to his assistant.

A bead of sweat rolled down the assistant's temple. "Mr.

Kensington, Stella said she just wanted to watch from a distance…" I let out a dry laugh. "Watch from a distance, all the way inside the emergency stairwell right next to the bridal lounge?" "Shut up." Sebastian's voice dropped to a lethal octave.

I couldn't tell if the command was meant for his assistant or me. Not that he could dictate my actions anyway.

The police officer turned his attention to the assistant. "Why did you bring her inside?" The assistant swallowed hard. "I assumed she was Mr.

Kensington's friend." "Did you sign her in at the front desk?" "No." "Why did you skip the registration?" The assistant had no answer.

Stella finally couldn't sit still in her chair. "I begged him to bring me inside. I just wanted to see Seb get married with my own eyes.

I didn't mean any harm." I shifted my focus to Stella. "You claim you just wanted to watch Sebastian get married. The ballroom is on the ground floor.

The altar is on the ground floor. What exactly were you doing up on the second floor?" Her fingers dug into the back of her chair. "I…" I didn't push her.

The police officer simply waited for her answer. Finally, she dropped her voice to a fragile whisper. "Seeing you in that wedding dress just shattered my heart.

I lost my footing and slipped." I stared at her. "So now I didn't push you. You just lost your footing?" Stella's head snapped up. Sebastian looked at her too.

She scrambled to fix her mistake. "Everything was just so chaotic. I don't know if you bumped into me." I turned back to the officer. "Please make a note of that.

The accuser just changed her story again." I pivoted to the hotel manager. "One more thing.

Stella claimed she just got off a flight, the airline lost her luggage, and she had to throw on whatever a friend brought her.

But that dress clearly doesn't look like a lastminute loaner. Your hotel offers a highend concierge service for storing and receiving designer gowns.

Please check the logs for any deliveries under her name.

That should prove if she really came here on a whim, or if she planned this grand entrance all along." Stella jerked her head up. Sebastian narrowed his eyes at me.

The manager glanced at the officer for clearance. The officer gave a curt nod. "Go ahead and pull those records." Stella's hands instantly clenched into tight fists.

The manager left to check the logs. A few minutes later, he returned with a printout in hand. He shot a quick glance at Stella before speaking. "We found a match.

Last night at 8:40 PM, our concierge desk signed for a couture dress box.

The recipient on the label was Stella." I asked the final question. "Who was the billing contact?" The manager hesitated. Chapter 8 "Mr.

Kensington's assistant." I shifted my gaze to Sebastian. "She claimed the airline lost her luggage this morning. Yet the dress was delivered to the hotel last night.

And your guy was the billing contact.

Tell me, Sebastian, was this also an impromptu blessing?" Sebastian finally spoke, his voice dropping to a dangerous low. "Madeline, enough." I held his stare. "Not even close." Right at that moment, another one of Sebastian's legal assistants walked into the security room carrying a laptop.

He froze the second he saw the police, his dress shoes pivoting to leave. Sebastian spotted him and instinctively took a step forward to run interference.

I noticed the black folder clutched in the assistant's hand. "Sebastian, what did your guy bring this time?" The assistant went completely rigid.

Sebastian glared at me, his eyes turning glacial. "This is Kensington family business." "No," I said. "From the exact second you painted me as a criminal suspect, this stopped being Kensington family business." I held out my hand. "Hand it over." The assistant didn't move a muscle.

Sebastian reached out and slammed his palm over the folder. "Madeline, these are private family documents." I looked right at him. "You didn't mention private family business when you were forcing me to apologize in front of a hundred guests." His eyes darkened.

I pointed at the trapped folder. "Stella just accused me of assault. And your guy immediately walks in with legal paperwork.

If what is in there has absolutely nothing to do with me, why are you guarding it with your life?" The assistant's knuckles turned white.

I pivoted to the police officer. "Officer, I have reason to believe that folder is directly tied to the accusation against me.

At the very least, it will establish if the Kensington family was actively preparing to pin the blame on me before the facts were even straight." I turned back to Sebastian. "Open it." The assistant panicked.

He tried to yank the folder behind his back. He moved too fast. A single sheet of paper slipped halfway out of the binding. Blair was standing right next to him.

She saw the header first, her voice spiking an octave in pure shock. "Major fault of the bride?" The assistant frantically shoved the paper back inside