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They Tied the FBI Chief to the Christmas Tree
Novelix
Completed
It was my first Christmas at my boyfriend's family home. At the long table in the Sinclair estate, the turkey had just been carved, and red wine gleamed in the crystal glasses. Then Chloe—Ethan's childhood friend and next-door neighbor—dropped her silver fork with a sharp clatter. "Ethan, how could you bring an *escort* home for Christmas dinner?" The air froze. At first, everyone assumed she'd simply had one too many glasses of champagne and was running her mouth. But she pressed on, unwavering. "My cousin Brandon is a detective with the NYPD Vice Unit. You think he wouldn't recognize someone he personally arrested?" With that, she slapped down a police citation. My name was printed across the top in bold, unmistakable letters. I went still. Last month, the local PD had run a large-scale vice sting as part of a joint federal-local task force. Dozens of arrests had been made. But the officer who'd signed the operational authorization… Was me. The newly appointed Federal Special Agent in Charge.
Chapters (3)
第1章
It was my first Christmas at my boyfriend's family home.
At the long table in the Sinclair estate, the turkey had just been carved, and red wine gleamed in the crystal glasses.
Then Chloe—Ethan's childhood friend and next-door neighbor—dropped her silver fork with a sharp clatter.
"Ethan, how could you bring an *escort* home for Christmas dinner?"
The air froze.
At first, everyone assumed she'd simply had one too many glasses of champagne and was running her mouth.
But she pressed on, unwavering.
"My cousin Brandon is a detective with the NYPD Vice Unit. You think he wouldn't recognize someone he personally arrested?"
With that, she slapped down a police citation.
My name was printed across the top in bold, unmistakable letters.
I went still.
Last month, the local PD had run a large-scale vice sting as part of a joint federal-local task force. Dozens of arrests had been made.
But the officer who'd signed the operational authorization…
Was me. The newly appointed Federal Special Agent in Charge.
---
Seeing that I didn't respond, Chloe pressed harder.
"Ethan, girls like this—social climbers who can't even keep their story straight—the sooner you see through her, the better."
"Drop her now, before she drags you down with her."
I glanced at the citation, my tone light, almost bored.
"Vivian Hart isn't exactly a rare name. Plenty of people share it. What makes you so sure it's me?"
Chloe's face tightened. She bared her teeth.
"Vivian—sure, the name could be coincidence. But you're telling me the woman Brandon booked just *happened* to have your face too?"
I let out a cold breath.
"Fine. If you insist Brandon can identify me, FaceTime him right now. Let's settle this face-to-face."
My steady confidence rattled her.
Flustered, she quickly shifted tactics, turning to the head of the table with a wounded expression—to Robert and Margaret, Ethan's parents. His father was CEO of the Sinclair family enterprise; his mother, a prominent name on the local charity circuit.
"Mr. Sinclair, Mrs. Sinclair, a girl like her—God knows how many men she's slept with. I just don't want Ethan catching HIV from her!"
"I know I'm blunt, but I'm only saying this because I care about him!"
Now Ethan was looking at me too, a shadow of doubt creeping into his eyes.
My heart sank. I grabbed his hand.
"Ethan, we've been together this long. You know what kind of person I am, don't you?"
His eyes flickered. He seemed to waver.
He glanced at Chloe and lowered his voice.
"Chloe, this isn't something to joke about. If you're wrong about Vivian, you're going to owe her a very sincere apology."
He paused, then continued.
"I want to believe you, Viv… but Chloe isn't the type to make something like this up out of malice."
"If you did it, just admit it. Own up now, and I'll let it go."
My whole body stiffened. For a moment I thought I'd misheard him.
The words had barely left his mouth before Robert and Margaret's expressions darkened.
"Ethan, what nonsense are you spouting? If she really is what Chloe says, we absolutely will not allow you to be with a woman like that."
"The evidence is right in front of us. She's just being stubborn. What are the odds of a coincidence like this?"
From the very start, Robert and Margaret had never warmed to me.
They'd made pointed little jabs about my farm-town roots.
We weren't of the same class. What had she done to bewitch Ethan into keeping her around?
Clinging to him, refusing to let go.
And now, this Christmas—without asking their permission—he'd brought me home.
It was true. My parents had spent their whole lives farming in Nebraska.
But that had never held me back.
I'd graduated from Georgetown Law and moved forward without missing a step.
After completing training at Quantico, I'd started as a field agent and worked my way up—one steady step at a time—to where I stood today.
To spare Ethan any pressure over my position, I'd told him I was just a nobody working some minor government job.
I'd planned to come clean tonight.
And, at the same time, accept the ring he'd given me weeks ago.
I hadn't expected any of *this*.
My jaw tightened. My lips trembled.
"Mr. Sinclair, Mrs. Sinclair, my family may not have much, but what does income have to do with character?"
"You're welcome to look down on me. But don't slander my family."
That shut them up.
Just as I was about to sit back down—
Chloe hurled an entire glass of Bordeaux straight at me.
"Vivian, Ethan already gave you a chance. You're just too proud to admit it."
"Fine! Let me lay out the hard proof, and then let's see what your mouth has to say!"
The next second, she pulled a stack of photos from her handbag.
And in front of everyone, slammed them down on the table.
"A family that raises a shameless creature like you—what quality could they possibly have?"
---
第2章
The moment I saw those photos, the blood in my veins ran cold.
The first few showed me crouched, naked, in the hallway of some seedy motel.
Beside me, several other women and men—clearly the aftermath of a vice raid, all rounded up in humiliating disarray.
Chloe smiled wider, triumphant.
"Brandon said when they collared Vivian, she was so terrified she forgot to even put on her underwear."
"On her knees, groveling, begging the officers not to notify her emergency contact."
She turned to me, eyes glittering with contempt.
"Weren't you saying the truth would speak for itself, Vivian? Go on—keep denying it."
Fury boiled up in me.
She'd fabricated all of it from the very beginning.
She'd come here tonight with one purpose: to destroy me in front of everyone I loved.
I looked up—straight into Ethan's blazing eyes.
Before I could open my mouth, his hand cracked across my face.
"Vivian, and to think I actually thought this might be a misunderstanding… The evidence is right here. You're still going to lie?"
Robert and Margaret rose from their chairs, jabbing fingers at me.
"An absolute disgrace. Get out. Get out of my house before you dirty the floor!"
My chest felt like it was collapsing. I couldn't draw a full breath.
It took me a long moment to recover.
I knew nothing I said now would matter.
I wiped the wine from my face, picked up my phone, and began to dial.
Last month, when I transferred into this city, it was Police Chief Daniel Carter who'd personally welcomed me.
All I needed was for him to step in.
And this whole thing would fall apart.
---
第3章
But I called—again, and again—and Chief Carter didn't pick up.
My fumbling only made me look more guilty in their eyes.
Chloe stepped forward and snatched the phone out of my hand.
"Vivian, stop putting on a show. Who exactly do you think is coming to bail you out?"
Then she drove her heel into my chest.
I crashed backward onto the carpet. Blackness pulsed at the edges of my vision.
When I could see again, Chloe had already thrown herself into Ethan's arms.
She looked down at me, savoring it.
"Ethan, I warned you from the beginning. The ones who look all sweet and innocent? God only knows how filthy they are underneath. Finally believe me now?"
I looked at Ethan, my eyes rimmed red.
Whatever warmth had been there was gone. Completely gone.
Somehow, I dragged myself upright.
Brow furrowed, I stared straight at Chloe.
"What is it, exactly, that you want?"
She let out a cold, delighted laugh.
"What do I *want*? I want you to get what you deserve!"
She pulled out her phone and made a call.
Moments later, several bodyguards Chloe had hired appeared at the front door.
Before I could react, they had me pinned to the floor.
I tried to fight back. They kicked me—hard.
Stars burst behind my eyes. My cashmere coat and dress were ripped away, and I was dragged straight outside.
Snow was falling heavily over the estate.
I was left in nothing but a thin silk slip, shaking uncontrollably in the cold.
When I looked up at Ethan—
There wasn't a shred of pity on his face. Only glacial contempt.
"Vivian. If you weren't decent-looking, and obedient enough, you think I'd have ever dated you?"
"My mother's been hounding me to settle down. That's the only reason I brought you here tonight—to buy me some time. Instead, you humiliated me!"
Every word twisted the knife.
So *that* was why he'd been with me.
Because I was a pretty accessory—compliant, always available.
Soon the wrought-iron gates of the Sinclair estate were crowded with neighbors drawn in by the spectacle.
They came clutching mugs of mulled wine from the Christmas party next door, eager for a show.
Chloe fed on the crowd, raising her voice deliberately.
"Everyone come see! This *bitch* hid the fact that she used to work as an escort so she could marry into the Sinclair family. Caught red-handed—and still won't admit it!"
"Tell me—what's it going to take to teach a filthy little tramp like this a lesson?"
I curled into myself in the snow, bruised and bloodied.
The neighbors from the estate next door whispered, snickered, mocked.
"She *looks* so demure. Who would've guessed she was this shameless underneath?"
"A man like the Sinclair boy? He must be blind to have fallen for garbage like this."
Somewhere in the shouting, someone spat on my face.
I was shivering violently, my skin turning blue, my teeth chattering out of my control.
But the cold in my body was nothing compared to the cold in my chest.
---
