Page 130 of Harrison's Wedding

The police chief smiles kindly at Ariana, “Yes, hiding in plain sight is, unfortunately, a common tactic for criminals. He was very helpful to us at the beginning of our investigation, as well. Once we started asking more questions about the missing security footage, he skipped town.

“We put a warrant out for his arrest, and a bounty hunter tracked him down in Nebraska. As soon as we could, we arrested and charged him, which is where we stand at the moment. Now, as I said, I’m sure you have questions?”

Sebastian is the first to ask a question, “How did they manage to drug the wine if no one at the catering company was involved?”

“The catering company supplied the food and beverages, but it was all served by hotel staff. This was by design; it allowed them to ensure that it was only your table who received the drugged wine.”

“What are they being charged with?” Cooper wants to know.

“They’re being charged with ten counts of felony Willfully Poisoning someone; each count carries a maximum of five years in prison. We will also seek the extra three years of jail time for the count of your poisoning as you ended up in the Intensive Care Unit, which we believe falls under ‘great bodily injury.’”

“Did they say why they waited to drug us until the main course?” Samuel asks.

The conversation is happening around me, but the hotel manager’s face is burned into my brain. I feel strange. Conflicted. Unsure. Nauseated. I have the urge to run out of this meeting, but I know that I can’t. I need to know more.

“They wanted to make sure that you’d all had enough alcohol to not notice or be suspicious about the taste of the GHB. I’m sure the doctors told you that it’s very dangerous to take GHB with alcohol, so this is part of what makes this crime more atrocious. They also had no control over how much of the dosed alcohol you would drink, as evidenced by Mr. Powell drinking the remainder of his wife’s glass.”

“How have the media not caught wind of this?” Hayden has a frown on his face as he asks this.

“We’ve had a tight lid on it. We didn’t want any interference in the investigation. There will be a press conference tomorrow that Cooper will be attending with me. We do not expect any of the rest of you to attend that,” he tells us.

“I suggest you all lie low after the announcement tomorrow. I expect that it will get hectic,” Cooper says.

There’s silence for a few moments, and I have time to wonder how the media is going to react to this news before Heather’s speaks from across the table.

“What I don’t understand,” she begins as everyone else in the room turns to look at her. She fixes Aaron Hamilton with a level gaze and states firmly, “is how they knew that Harrison would cheat on me with Maddy.”

I can’t stop myself from emitting a quiet groan at these words. Hearing her say it takes me back to that night, and to the month we spent with her making similar comments to try to hurt me. I know she’s not doing that now, but the pain is so raw that I can barely stand it.

“They didn’t,” the police chief responds.

Heather frowns at him, “What? You said they did it for the money. Well, they’re pretty fucking lucky that Harrison couldn’t keep it in his pants, aren’t they?” She raises an eyebrow at him.

The pain intensifies at her crude phrasing. Oh, how I wish that I could’ve ‘kept it in my pants’ that night. Brendan and I are working on my feelings about this in our sessions, and how I feel about having that choice taken away from me.

What hurts more, though, is realizing that Heather is right. If what Aaron Hamilton has been telling us is true, then how could they have known that I would do what I did?

The police chief shifts awkwardly but doesn’t answer her question, and Heather asks again, “So, Mr. Hamilton, how did they know?”

The room is silent as we all wait for the answer. I have a terrible chill of foreboding right now. Whatever his answer is, I’m sure that I’m not going to like it.

He sighs, and finally tells her, “As I said, they didn’t. From what we know, they took key cards and searched all the rooms as soon as it was confirmed that you were all in attendance at the function. They were looking for anything that might be scandalous and worth money. The drug they chose to use wasn’t a coincidence. Once they saw Mr. Fletcher leaving with Miss Turner, they waited until they could capture a series of photos to sell. The ones from earlier in the night were all sold by the same source.”

Heather purses her lips and says, “This sounds…intentional. Very well planned out. Basically, what you’re saying is that it could’ve been any one of the band members for any number of reasons, but it just happened to be Harrison?”

My heart races, and I break into a cold sweat. There is an intense pressure in my chest, as though something is squeezing me tightly, and I can’t seem to get a full breath of air into my lungs.

If this is true, then my entire fucking life was blown to smithereens simply because somebody wanted money. I would’ve paid millions to them, personally, to avoid what happened that night. Apparently, that’s what my life was worth to them.

This is confirmed when Aaron Hamilton replies, “From what we know, they began planning this from very early on once Cruise Control was confirmed to be attending the event.”

Knowing that we were specifically targeted is so truly awful that I can barely comprehend it. The nausea that comes over me so frequently, which I’ve started to be able to cope with, hits me with a vengeance, and I know that I won’t be able to stop it this time.

I push my seat back as quickly as I can and rush over to a trash can in the corner of the room. I drop to my knees and empty the contents of my stomach into it. I can’t stop retching and my body is out of my control as I vomit repeatedly into the trash can.

Ariana appears at my side, and she drops to her knees next to me, softly rubbing my back as she says quietly, “It’s going to be okay, Harrison.”

“Thanks, Aria—” I can’t finish her name before my body takes over and I vomit again.

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