Alex Vance Tina Novel Betrayal for Kindness

I found a girl passed out on the sidewalk, dead drunk. Being a decent guy, I got her a room at a five-star hotel to keep her safe.
She thanked me by calling the cops and accusing me of rape.
She sobbed on the stand.
I was drunk I woke up in a hotel bed, naked.
You monster, she cried, pointing at me. I dont even know you. How could you do this to me?

I paid an exorbitant amount for bail. The day after I got out, I saw her again. Same situation, passed out drunk on the street.
This time, I walked on by.

1
You bastard! Shes only twenty! Are you even human?!
A middle-aged man, his eyes bloodshot, screamed at me, his voice cracking with rage. If the bailiffs werent holding him back, he would have torn me apart with his bare hands.
Beside him, the girl, Tina, was a portrait of sorrow, her shoulders shaking with sobs as if I were some kind of monster.
Mr. Vance, the opposing counsels voice was like ice, my client, Miss Tina Reed, accuses you of raping her two nights ago in room 708 of the Grand Astoria Hotel. How do you plead?
The comments on the livestream of the trial were a torrent of hate.
Scumbag! Fry him!
Looks so clean-cut in that suit, but hes a total predator.
That poor girl. They need to throw the book at him!
I stood in the defendants box, my mind a complete blank.
I thought back to two nights ago.
I was on my way to meet friends after a work dinner when I saw a girl passed out on the sidewalk. A group of guys who looked like trouble were circling her, whistling, their intentions clear.
I frowned and walked over. What do you think youre doing?
They were younger than me, but Im built solid. They muttered a few curses and shuffled off.
I knelt and gently tapped the girls cheek. Hey, wake up. Where do you live?
The reek of alcohol was overpowering. She was completely unresponsive, just mumbling something incoherent. I looked in her purse for a phone or an ID, but all I found was makeup and a set of keys.
Leaving her there, dead drunk, was just too dangerous.
I sighed, hauled her to her feet, and half-carried her to the nearest decent place, the Grand Astoria.
I got her a room and laid her on the bed. I remembered my first-aid training and made sure to turn her on her side, in case she got sick. The moment I did, she threw up. All over the brand-new Armani suit I was wearing for the first time.
The smell was so foul I almost joined her.
I stripped off the ruined jacket, threw it in the trash, pulled the covers over her, and left. My friends were waiting.
I thought that was the end of it. A small, insignificant act of kindness that had cost me a new suit. Bad luck, nothing more.
The next day, I was in the middle of a crucial project meeting at my firm when two police officers walked right into the boardroom.
Whos Alex Vance?
Every head in the room turned to me.
Were from the city PD. Youre a suspect in a sexual assault case. Please come with us.
In front of my bosses and my entire team, they slapped handcuffs on my wrists. In that moment, I went from the companys rising star to its resident rapist.

2
Mr. Vance, please explain to the court why you would take a complete stranger, a drunk young woman, to a hotel? Tinas lawyer was relentless.
Like I said, I was concerned for her safety, I answered calmly.
Her safety? he sneered. So your kindness was to get her a hotel room?
She was unconscious. I couldnt get an address out of her. A hotel was the safest option at the time.
Tinas father exploded again. Bullshit! You were just using that as an excuse to take advantage of my daughter!
Order! the judge warned, banging his gavel.
The lawyer continued. Hotel security footage shows you entering room 708 with Miss Reed at 11:10 PM and leaving at 11:35 PM. What did you do in that room for twenty-five minutes, Mr. Vance?
I got her settled, dealt with my ruined clothes, and left.
Dealt with your clothes? Or dealt with the evidence of your crime?
Tinas sobs grew louder. When I woke up, I was in the hotel bed. My clothes were off. My head was pounding I couldnt remember anything.
She pointed a trembling finger at me, her eyes filled with a mixture of terror and hatred. I found the room key on the nightstand and had the front desk look up who paid for it. It was him. I dont even know you! Why would you do this to me?!
Her accusation was like a bucket of ice water dumped over my head.
I looked straight at her. Let me ask you, I said, my voice low and steady, do you have a single piece of evidence that I touched you? Any marks on your body? Any physical evidence from the room?
Her lawyer answered for her. My client underwent a full examination. Due to your sophisticated methods, you left no obvious signs of violence! But that does not exonerate you! As for evidence, my client was disoriented. Who knows if you cleaned the scene?