Chapter 1024
No.1
'All because of you...'
The words hammered against her skull. Rage, hatred, and bitter jealousy threatened to split her head open.
She had been the one to send Isabella to that cliff. She had unknowingly handed Isabella everything! This was all her own doing!
A scream caught in her throat.
Penelope Sinclair saw her daughter swaying on stage and rushed forward with security. They hurried Sophia away before she completely collapsed.
The press conference ended abruptly.
At the Blackwood Estate, Nathaniel Blackwood still watched the screen intently. "What's Isabella's current net worth?" he asked calmly.
Sebastian Blackwood pulled up a financial program, his fingers flying across the keyboard. "At least thirty billion dollars," he announced moments later.
A slight smile touched Nathaniel's lips. Impressive.
No.2
Thirty billion would easily place her on Forbes' Rich List. This woman never ceased to amaze him.
Within an hour, Twitter exploded with trending topics:
#Boss-Isabella
#Sophia-seduced-DiamondPrince
#Sophia-tried-to-kill-Isabella
#Isabella-owns-the-GrayDiamondEmpire
#Youtube-crashed
Isabella Montgomery had transformed from a nobody into the most searched diamond magnate—the woman who owned a mine with three billion tons of diamonds.
Countless tweets flooded the platform.
No.3
[I was completely wrong about you. I sincerely apologize!]
(Isabella Montgomery, are you by any chance in need of a sister? I volunteer!)
(I could be your stepmother, just saying.)
[Forget being family. I'll carry your bags anywhere. No salary needed. Just throw me a diamond you don’t want.]
Isabella lounged lazily on her sofa, utterly unbothered. She scanned the financial section of the newspaper. A large bottle of Coke sat on the coffee table before her, a long straw reaching her lips.
“Your Twitter is blowing up. They’re all begging for a response,” Julian Hawthorne noted. “Thinking of posting anything?”
“Twitter? Right, that.” Isabella took a long sip. She picked up her phone and typed a quick tweet.
Curious, Julian checked her profile. His expression instantly froze. A single line of text sat starkly on her page: –(Alexander Whitmore, have you eaten sh*t yet?)
‘Have you eaten sh*t yet...’
No.4
Instead of capitalizing on the moment to build goodwill, she posted...this?! Her obsession with making Alexander eat sh*t was truly something else. But this was Isabella. Expecting anything conventional was a mistake.
Julian swiftly changed the subject. “William Kensington called earlier. He wants you to come home. Your thoughts?”
“Why would I miss such entertaining drama?” A smirk played on Isabella’s lips.
Over at Montgomery Manor, the family was assembled in the grand living room.
Senior William Kensington slammed his hands on the ornate table. “Sophia Kensington! How could you?!”
“You are a Kensington! Have you no shame, throwing yourself at Diamond Prince Harrison Winslow? You’ve disgraced this entire family! All of Westchester is laughing at us!”
“Grandfather, this is Isabella’s fault! She set me up! If she owns the Gray Diamond Empire, why keep it a secret? Why let me host that press conference?!” Sophia stood her ground, defiance in her eyes.
“How dare you!” William’s fury erupted. He grabbed a teacup and hurled it directly at her head. “Did you ask her before publishing that photo? You posted it! You tried to seduce the Prince and pinned it on her! You deserve every bit of this humiliation! She’d be justified if she wanted you dead!”
“Ah!” Sophia cried out. The shattered porcelain had cut her forehead. Blood trickled down.
No.5
She pressed a hand to the wound, her anger boiling over. “Grandfather, have you lost your mind? Isabella is adopted! I am your real granddaughter! Why do you always take her side?!”
“Take her side? You feel no remorse?!” William roared, turning to the butler. “Reginald! Prepare the family punishment.”
The Kensington family punishment was thirty lashes. The whip was barbed. It tore the skin, leaving permanent scars.
Penelope Sinclair—Sophia’s mother—rushed forward, shielding her daughter. “Father, please! She’s young and foolish! I will discipline her! Victoria, say something! Your grandfather listens to you. Do you want to see your cousin whipped?”
Victoria Kensington cherished her kind image, but this was serious. She wanted no part of it.
Yet Penelope had dragged her in.
She had no choice but to step forward. “Sophia, just apologize to Grandfather. You were in the wrong this time.”
“I was wrong? All of you blame me! But do you see how vicious Isabella is? We saw her today! We told her about the press conference! She said nothing! She didn’t stop us! She planned this to destroy me!”
“And after all these years we raised her! She hid the diamond mine from us! She didn’t give a single penny to this family! She kept everything for herself!”
No.6
“Why defend someone so heartless and ungrateful? She’s just an adopted stray! She doesn’t deserve your sympathy!” Sophia raged, her voice shaking.
The others in the room frowned slightly. But the diamond mine profits concerned them far more than the scandal.
Isabella was adopted by the Kensingtons. Surely the diamond mine rightfully belonged to the family?
Isabella Montgomery stood silently, her gentle nature usually hidden beneath a calm exterior. But when it came to Sophia Kensington, her protective instincts surged fiercely.
She stepped forward, her voice soft yet unwavering. "Father, I understand Sophia's actions were unacceptable. But she wasn't entirely wrong in her feelings. We've cared for Isabella all these years. Shouldn't there be some acknowledgment? That diamond mine she discovered... Even if she chooses not to share it, shouldn't she have at least informed us?"
"Precisely," Gregory Kensington declared, his voice booming across the room. The second son of the Kensington family never missed an opportunity to express his opinions. "It's like forgetting the hands that fed you. Not only has she forgotten, but she's also biting those very hands!"
The atmosphere grew thick with condemnation toward Isabella.
Victoria Kensington saw her chance to play the compassionate mediator. She moved gracefully toward William Kensington, the family patriarch. "This isn't entirely fair," she interjected softly. "We can't blame Isabella for her secrecy. She never felt connected to us. But she would have told Grandfather."
She poured tea into William's cup with practiced elegance. "Grandfather always showed her such kindness. She respected him deeply. It doesn't make sense that she would keep this from him." Victoria's voice took on a coaxing tone. "Grandfather, isn't that true? Please tell them Isabella confided in you."
No.7
William's expression tightened. Speak for Isabella? Say what?
This was a massive discovery, yet she had never mentioned it. All these years, he had worried about her solitary life in Africa. He had instructed Reginald Thornton to monitor her wellbeing. He reserved those fifteen percent shares for her, protecting her interests against family pressure.
And Isabella...
Victoria noticed his hesitation. A flicker of triumph crossed her eyes, quickly masked by feigned concern. "Grandfather? Don't tell me she kept you in the dark as well?"
Before William could respond, Eleanor Kensington cut in sharply. "The audacity! Everyone knows how well you treated her. How could she hide something so important from you? This is unbelievable!"
"She's spread her wings now," Gregory sneered. "She wants to fly far away from us. Why would she share her wealth or her diamond mine?"
Emboldened by the family's outrage, Sophia looked at William with wounded eyes. "Grandfather, she doesn't value you. Why do you still defend her?"
"I may be impulsive, but I am your true granddaughter. Your blood flows in my veins. I've always used my allowance to buy you gifts."
"And Isabella? What has she ever done for you? Will you really punish me for someone who doesn't consider you family?"