LOGIN~Isabel~ I felt the air in the room shift. Beside me, William went still. Mr. Rowsley sat up, cleared his throat. "The deal is good, Mr. Sterling. Very promising. We have agreed to the percentage interest, but my client has one final stipulation. We need a seat on the board before we sign." He folded his hands, looking between William, Collins, and me. "We are talking about five hundred million dollars here. We need oversight." William didn't say a word, but his hand moved to his collar, slowly loosening the third button. It was a tiny gesture, but I knew what it meant. He was seconds away from walking away. I had to fix this. Fast. "We can do an observer seat," I said quickly. I looked right at Mr Willebrone. "An observer seat with full access to all board materials. However, that observation status only comes into effect after we hit Phase Two of this project. Once the primary construction milestones are hit, your seat activates." It was a compromise. It gave them
~Isabel~ Aunty Joey and I lingered in the doorway of the salon. We spoke for a bit more, but the air now felt strained… leaving was hard. I didn’t know when we would see each other next, or how soon life would let us breathe the same air again. But the moment I stepped out of the salon and the clear afternoon wind hit my face, my chest let go of the breath I’d been holding. Mr. Collins stood like a statue next to the black limo, the picture of absolute patience… i felt guilty then for keeping the man waiting for hours, as I jogged closer, he just reached out, opened the door with a professional nod and gentle smile. "Thank you," I said softly, sliding into the cool limo. "My pleasure, Miss," he replied, shutting the door. The silence in the car was too much, my brain was already running around stressing over the half-billion-dollar meeting looming over us. I needed a distraction, so i leaned forward, forcing some small talk and asking Collins to take a quick turn to
~Isabel~ Stepping further into the salon, one thought niggled at me. If this was my mom’s way of finally making things right with the woman who took me in at twelve while she was busy living her own life, then maybe she wasn’t entirely selfish after all. "Isabel?" Aunt Joey’s familiar loud voice called from the top of the stairs, and I froze right there. "Oh my god Isabel! What are you doing here my girl?" "Aunt Joey!" I cried out, so happy my chest felt tight. I looked up and took her in. She looked radiant, dressed in beautiful designer clothes, her hair styled perfectly. It was clear her business was finally doing really well. "Aunt Joey," I said again as she practically ran down the stairs and wrapped me up in a hug so tight I could barely breathe. She pulled back to look at me, let out a watery laugh, and hugged me all over again. "Look at you! You look incredible, like a proper heiress Bel! Turn around for me baby," she said, grinning so wide the corners of her eyes c
~Isabel~ He led us toward a black limousine waiting on the tarmac. William and I stepped into the back seat. "Did you check the hotel site, Collins?" William asked, staring at Collins through the rearview mirror as he brought out his phone and tablet. His entire mood switched back to business mode. "Yes, Mr. Sterling, and I set the meeting to 3:00 PM in the afternoon with Mr. Willebrone, some hours just before the business conference," Collins replied, steering the car into the bustling New York streets. "That's good. You have more time to nap, draft the contract, then go visit Josephine. Collins will drive you there," William said, turning his attention toward me. His eyes softened just before looking back at his screen. I nodded, taking the folder out of my bag to study it because I didn't think I'd actually have much time to rest anyway, so I figured I better get a head start on the work. I flipped it open, scanning the text. It was about a hotel chain business...Sterlin
~Isabel~"If she will tell me the truth," I replied."I think she has to tell you, Isabel. You deserve to know the truth about everything from here," William said.I agreed, though I didn't say anything aloud, letting the silence stretch between us. I just thought about how, like William had pointed out to me before, I really didn't know my mom at all. I think it is majorly because I didn't spend much of my teenage and adolescence years with her, leaving this gap of unshared secrets and hidden motives between us that I was only now starting to uncover.William flipped his wrist to check the time.I closed the file. It now strangely felt heavy in my hands, with all the truth hidden inside."We should be getting down soon," he said, his tone shifting as I placed the file on the table and reached over to pick up the investment folder instead."You can go through that when we get to the hotel," he said, gesturing at the folder.Just then, the intercom beeped. The pilot announced we should
~Isabel~William folded his hands, I watched as his broad chest rose and fell when he took in breaths, as if it was hard, before he unclasped his fingers and let them drop to the table. He looked like a man drowning in a sea of repressed grief, it appeared that this investigation was ripping the bandages off wounds he had spent twelve months trying to bury. I could see it and feel it, the level of raw pain he never wanted to confront again, the exhaustion carved into his features and into his eyes, and the tight way he held his shoulders, like if he let go he would collapse. It was hard on him learning these things, especially about his mother, and especially as it involved mine too.My mind raced back to the night Chloe and I snuck into his private study, back to the old accident report Chloe had browsed with her phone about a second car spotted trailing Eleanor's vehicle through the storm. So it was true, that second car was my own mother’s, meaning she had been stalking her frie
~Isabel ~The moment our eyes met, I saw the exact second the memory clicked into place for her. It was like watching a slow-motion crash. Her perfectly arched eyebrows climbed toward her hairline, and her mouth thinned into a hard, pink line.What was the name Willam called her then? Julie? Juli
~Isabel~“How”? I spoke out, still conflicted. I stood paralyzed in the middle of the buzzing cafeteria, staring down at my phone until the screen blurred. William’s words felt like a physical hand around my throat again. My brain was firing off a million questions per second, he was supposed to
~Isabel~The cafeteria was a total zoo. After three back-to-back classes, my brain felt like it had been put through a paper shredder. The noise of clinking trays and hundreds of people talking at once was usually just background noise, but today, it felt like it was pressing in on me. I dropped
"Just fifteen minutes Isabel" I muttered. That was my countdown to the end of this shift, I had to remind myself that just to get through it. I was moving through the crowded cafe with a tray of coffees balanced on my hand, dodging the elbows of people who paid for coffee with ridiculous amounts







