Chapter 1516
No.1
Nathaniel’s gaze narrowed at the mob surrounding the old man.
He glanced at Sebastian. “Handle it.”
Sebastian, still dazed, snapped to attention. “No one touches my future sister-in-law.” He sprang into action.
A smirk of pure possession curled Nathaniel’s mouth.
He took his son’s hand. “Let’s go.”
“Where, Daddy?” Oliver asked, confused.
“To find your mother.”
Backstage, models flocked around Isabella, their voices a chorus of awe.
Her dress was a masterpiece, something from a luxury house’s vault.
No.2
Her recovery from disaster, her transformation of it into magic, was legendary.
Isabella Montgomery was a star, born tonight.
Sophia Kensington burned with a jealousy so sharp it tasted like metal.
Her fists were clenched so tight her nails bit into her palms.
This wasn’t supposed to happen. She was supposed to fall. She was supposed to fail.
Sophia shoved through the adoring circle and grabbed Isabella’s arm. “What was that?” she hissed. “Where did those insects come from? That dress?”
She’d seen the organizer’s cheap garment before the show.
Without that cape, without that gown, the fall would have been inevitable.
Isabella’s eyes turned to ice. “Who are you to question me? I owe you no explanations.”
No.3
The audacity. The sheer arrogance.
This orphan, this nobody they’d pulled from the gutter, dared to speak to her like this?
“Have you lost your mind?” Sophia spat. “You’re a charity case! Without our family’s pity, you’d be dead in a ditch! How dare you use that tone with me? I should slap the ingratitude out of you right now!”
“Try it,” Isabella dared, a cold laugh in her throat. She held out her hands, then gestured to her face and legs. “Pick your spot. These hands are insured for five million. This face? Ten. These legs? A billion. Go on. I dare you to lay a single finger on me.”
Isabella’s voice was cold, but it carried a hidden edge.
Sophia felt like the ground had dropped beneath her feet.
A billion in insurance?
How could that be?
Was she made of solid gold?
No.4
Isabella’s warning was clear.
If anything happened to her, the insurance company would come after Sophia.
“Go on, hit me,” Isabella taunted. “What’s wrong? Scared?”
She cracked her knuckles.
The sound was sharp.
Sophia flinched.
“What are you doing?” she stammered. “There are people everywhere! You can’t hit me here!”
“Watch me,” Isabella shot back.
She swung her fist hard into Sophia’s upper arm.
No.5
Then she delivered a powerful kick to her heel.
A sharp crack echoed.
Sophia’s gemstone bracelet shattered.
Her stiletto heel snapped in two.
Isabella had broken both with bare hands and one kick.
Sophia stumbled, off-balance.
Rage and pain twisted her face.
“Isabella! Do you have any idea how much that bracelet cost? Half a million! I only wore it once!”
“So?” Isabella’s gaze was icy. “You broke my heel. I broke your bracelet and yours. Consider it payback. Double. Try something like this again, and I’ll return it tenfold.”
No.6
With that, she shoved Sophia aside and walked away.
Humiliated, Sophia dropped into a chair, stunned.
How did she know? She’d been so careful. No one saw.
Isabella entered her dressing room.
Julian had prepared this before the show.
A precaution against schemers like Sophia.
She was no fool.
She’d hidden a thin steel wire in her cape.
That wire allowed her aerial stunt.
No.7
Though she wore protective gear, the impact still left a deep cut.
“Let’s hope the headlines are worth the blood,” she murmured.
She changed and headed for the back exit.
But outside, a crowd swarmed her.
“Isabella Montgomery! I’m a huge fan! I’ll pay you to walk again!”
“Isabella, I booked us a table at a Michelin-star restaurant! Come with me!”
“I bought you a diamond necklace! I’ll get you anything you want!”
“Isabella, I’m from Vogue! Give me a moment!”
“Isabella! Look this way!”