Chapter 1475
No.1
"Unclear, Miss. Evening orders stated you couldn't pass this gate without authorization. Please understand I'm following instructions."
The adjacent guard was already calling Richard. The phone soon transferred to Isabella. She accepted it with a frosty expression, curious what explanation her uncle would offer.
Isabella took the phone, her expression hardening instantly. “What do you want?”
“What do I want?” Richard’s voice was a low, furious growl. “How dare you use that tone with me? Have you finally decided to grace us with your presence after all your gallivanting? Do you think Montgomery Manor is some cheap motel you can check into whenever it suits you?”
His anger escalated with every word. “Letting your mother bring you home was the biggest mistake of my life!” he spat. “You destroyed your own reputation five years ago, and now you’re trying to drag your sister down with you? You’ve shamed the Montgomery name! I should have ended you the day you arrived. It would have saved us all this disgrace!”
Isabella was blindsided by the tirade. Before she could form a response, Eleanor snatched the phone.
“Whatever Victoria did to you, even if she pushed you down those stairs, she is still your sister!” Eleanor’s voice was sharp, laced with venom. “That bastard child never should have existed! How can you be so vindictive? Holding a grudge for five years and now trying to ruin our family’s standing? You are utterly ungrateful!”
Isabella’s face went cold. So they knew. Victoria had gotten to them first, spinning her web of lies.
“You need to take a long, hard look at yourself, Isabella,” Eleanor continued, her words like shards of glass. “Stop spreading your legs for every stranger you meet. You’re an embarrassment. If you ever want to set foot in this house again, you will apologize to your sister. Properly. Then, and only then, might you be allowed to move your things back in. But if you think you can treat this estate like your personal flophouse, you can forget it. I wish we’d never taken you in. To me, you’re already dead!”
No.2
Each syllable was a deliberate blow. Apologize to Victoria? Sleeping around? They were swallowing every lie Victoria fed them, even after her own scandals. How could they be so blind? Did tears and dramatics always win over the truth?
Eleanor didn’t give her a chance to defend herself. She barked orders to the security team. “Make her leave. If any one of you lets her past the gates, you’re all fired. Every last one of you!” The line went dead.
The guards looked at Isabella with palpable anxiety. “Ms. Montgomery, please… don’t make this difficult for us.”
Isabella stared at the imposing Montgomery Manor. The grand, picturesque facade now felt like a cruel joke. This was her birthright, stolen from her for twenty-three years by Victoria.
Now, even returning was a battle.
A dark, cold smirk touched her lips. Soon. Very soon, they would all be on their knees, begging for her return.
She tossed the phone back to the guard and turned on her heel.
Saving Benjamin was the priority. As for Grandfather…
She slid into her car and quickly typed a message to Theodore Montgomery. [I don’t know what lies Victoria has told you, but trust nothing from her mouth. I will explain everything when I return.]
No.3
She powered off her phone and sped toward the private airfield. None of them had any idea. The adopted daughter they despised was their true heir.
At the private airport…
As Isabella’s car screeched to a halt, Maxwell was already waiting, flanked by ten of his most elite agents. They stood at rigid attention, bowing in unison as she stepped out. “Ms. Montgomery!”
Their respect was absolute. Their orders had come from the very top: protect this woman at all costs. Maxwell had told them only she could get to Takashi Yamamoto’s mountain stronghold. Where they would fail, she would succeed. Her capability was beyond question.
Isabella’s brow furrowed slightly at the sight of the large contingent. Too many.
“Why bring such a large team? Send them back to rest.”
“You’re heading to Westhaven. We have no operations there. Extra manpower ensures safety,” Maxwell explained.
Isabella countered sharply. “I’m going directly to Takashi Yamamoto’s mountain. I’ll retrieve Benjamin and return immediately. They can’t even ascend the summit… unless they intend to become mosquito bait at the base?”
Maxwell fell silent at her logic.
No.4
“Return to base and rest,” Isabella ordered the ten men.
They hesitated, disappointed. Accompanying Isabella on missions was a rare honor, yet she dismissed them so effortlessly.
Her point stood: What purpose did they serve besides being insect food at the mountain’s foot?
The team reluctantly agreed.
Isabella boarded the plane with Maxwell. The jet headed straight for Westhaven. A sudden thought struck her. “Is Takashi Yamamoto home tonight?”
“No, he’s a night owl. Clubs every evening. Poor Mr. Kensington remains trapped in the basement, starving himself foolishly.” Maxwell sighed.
Isabella relaxed. Takashi’s absence simplified everything. She entered the dressing room, changing into her stealth mission suit. She checked all necessary equipment.
Ninety minutes later, the plane landed silently on a secluded Westhaven mountain peak. The spy-model aircraft attracted zero attention.
“Landing on Takashi’s mountain would alert his guards. Driving there takes approximately one hour.”
No.5
“Understood.” Isabella exited the plane, entering a waiting vehicle. They sped toward the mountain.
The driver suddenly warned, “Maxwell, Boss Montgomery, we have a tail.”
Isabella glanced back, her sharp eyes instantly recognizing Dominic Sterling behind the wheel.
Had Nathaniel sent Dominic to monitor her?
“Ignore them. They’re with me,” Isabella stated calmly.
The driver relaxed while Maxwell frowned. With her? Was Boss Montgomery no longer cautious around Nathaniel?
What about Mr. Kensington?
The car reached the mountain base. Isabella stepped out, adjusting her custom sunglasses. She moved toward the slope.
“Exercise extreme caution, Boss Montgomery,” Maxwell called out anxiously. “If anything seems off, retreat immediately. Don’t take unnecessary risks.”
No.6
Scanning the mountain, she observed a dense network of infrared tripwires. Triggering any would set off alarms.
Heh. Did they really think this could stop her?
She advanced steadily, her black tactical suit emphasizing her lethal grace in the darkness. Isabella moved with cold, calculated precision.
Approaching the first infrared beam, she simply arched her back smoothly, clearing it effortlessly.
The driver watched from the car window. “Hey Maxwell, want to bet? I wager Boss Montgomery reaches the summit within an hour.”
“One hour?” Maxwell frowned. Even sprinting without obstacles took over an hour from base to peak. How could Isabella possibly achieve that?
The driver grinned widely. “If Boss Montgomery reaches the summit within an hour, I get ten days of paid vacation!”
“You’re on,” Maxwell replied.
Even though he was fully aware of Isabella’s capabilities, the mountain was treacherous. Scaling it in under sixty minutes while dodging every single infrared sensor seemed nearly impossible.
No.7
But up on the ridge, Isabella didn’t follow the main trail.
She moved with purpose, scanning her surroundings with sharp eyes.
She headed straight for the area with the highest concentration of infrared beams.
Places with heavy security usually hid the most valuable secrets.
Just as she anticipated, after maneuvering through an intricate web of lasers, a narrow passage came into view.
It was carved directly into the cliff face, resembling an ancient mountain pathway.
Only one person could pass through at a time.
The entire corridor was lined with overlapping infrared grids.