Chapter 1889
No.1
“Help! Somebody! Get in here!” she shrieked, her voice cracking with pure panic.
This was worse than any accidental horror jump-scare. Her deepest fear was snakes. This visual was too vivid. Too lifelike. It was a waking nightmare.
Her personal assistant, Cassandra, burst through the bathroom door. She found Vivienne huddled and shaking at one end of the large tub. The phone glowed ominously from the water, the python still coiling.
The sight made Cassandra flinch. She steeled herself. She quickly fished the phone out. She tried to force a shutdown.
It was useless. The power button did nothing. The screen remained dominated by the slithering serpent. It tilted its head. Its forked tongue flickered out menacingly.
It was deeply unsettling.
Cassandra’s composure wavered. She grabbed a thick bath towel. She wrapped the possessed device tightly. “Try to relax, Madam. I’ll have this looked at immediately.” She hurried from the room, clutching the bundled phone.
Silence returned to the steamy bathroom. Vivienne’s heart hammered against her ribs. The real pythons were traumatic enough. Now someone sent a digital one to torment her?
That useless Lillian!
No.2
No… Lillian was just a maid. She lacked the spine for this.
It was her. That Montgomery witch.
Not only did Isabella steal her intended match, but she also dared to retaliate like this? Who did that low-class woman think she was? Vivienne would make her regret this.
Vivienne climbed out of the tub. She roughly toweled off and threw on a silk robe. She stormed into her study. She powered up her laptop. She opened a secure line to a senior executive at TitanTech.
“Push the headline about Arabella and Isabella to every single TitanTech user. Now.”
TitanTech was her premier national phone brand. It commanded over half the domestic market share. Millions used its devices. A system-wide notification would ensure the entire country saw the story about Isabella’s interference.
The executive complied instantly.
That same hour, every TitanTech user received a system alert:
Homewrecking Gold Digger Exposed! Click to see how a mistress and a Diamond Boss corrupted justice!
No.3
The salacious headline was designed for maximum clicks. Vivienne then placed another call. She arranged to meet Seraphina Delacroix. They would visit Genevieve Beaumont in the hospital. They needed to get a new recording.
Genevieve lay deathly pale on the hospital bed. Her sunken eyes remained shut, her complexion ashen. Her three-year-old daughter clung to the bedside, her small face swollen from endless tears.
The little girl tugged weakly at her mother’s limp hand. “Mommy, why did Daddy leave us? Was I bad? I can be better, I promise…”
Her tiny voice cracked. “Mommy, please wake up. I don’t want to be alone. I miss your hugs…”
The heartbreaking pleas echoed through the sterile room. Genevieve’s eyes fluttered open. Tears welled and spilled over, tracing paths down her hollow cheeks.
She pulled her daughter into a trembling embrace. Their shared sobs shook the narrow bed.
The scene was devastating.
A video of their grief spread like wildfire online. Sympathy poured in from thousands.
The mother and daughter duo trended worldwide.
No.4
(My heart is shattered! That innocent baby doesn’t deserve this!)
(The other woman should rot in hell! She deserves the cruelest punishment!)
(Why did Isabella save Arabella? They’re both monsters!)
(Seraphina is a true friend. Warning her customers about this scandal? She’s taking a stand against Isabella and Arabella! Respect!)
(They should beg for forgiveness at Genevieve’s bedside and then disappear!)
Netizens unleashed a torrent of hatred. Their words were knives aimed at Isabella and Arabella.
Seraphina, however, was celebrated. She was hailed as “The Most Ethical CEO” and “The Entrepreneur with a Conscience.”
Inside the Blackwood Estate…
The pythons had been relentless. They chased Lillian through the halls until Nathaniel himself intervened.
No.5
He commanded order. The snakes were returned to their enclosures.
Then came his decree. “Remove her from the estate.”
Lillian froze. Dread washed over her. He was exiling her? “Mr. Blackwood, why?” she cried. “I’ve done nothing wrong!”
Nathaniel didn’t bother to look back. A cold scoff was his only reply. His presence was absolute as he walked away.
Dominic dragged her out of the main hall. “The boss isn’t stupid,” he hissed. “You know exactly what you did. Get ready to live on the streets.”
He threw her out past the iron gates. His final words were a death sentence. The Blackwood family’s protection was gone. No one would ever hire her again.
Betraying Nathaniel Blackwood always ended in ruin.
Back inside the estate, in the kitchen…
Isabella had disposed of Lillian’s phone. She returned to preparing the lobsters.
No.6
Oliver stood beside her, confused. “Mommy, how did the snakes get out? Why were they chasing her?”
Isabella’s eyes darkened. The truth was simple. Lillian had planted a pouch of pheromone powder on her. A scent designed to enrage the pythons.
A quick flick of her wrist had sent the powder right back into Lillian’s own pocket.
But Oliver didn’t need to know the cruel calculations of adults. “Perhaps she annoyed them,” Isabella said softly. “Or did something she shouldn’t have. Don’t worry, sweetheart. If you’re good, you have nothing to fear.”
She turned to the stove. “Now step back, my love. The oil might splash. I’d be heartbroken if you got hurt.”
“Okay, Mommy!” Oliver’s worry vanished. The promise of lobster made him retreat with a happy smile.
Isabella cranked the flame to high. Oil shimmered in the wok. She tossed in garlic, scallions, and dried chilies.
The air filled with an aromatic sizzle.
Then came the lobsters. They hit the hot oil and turned a brilliant crimson. They looked utterly delicious.
No.7
Her phone rang sharply.
She answered. Julian’s voice was tense and direct. “We have another problem. The organizer of the Celestial Gala is causing a scene at SilverPeak. You need to get here now.”
Another issue? What now?
Isabella glanced at the sizzling lobsters in the pan, then at Christopher’s wide, expectant eyes. “Two hours,” she told Julian Hawthorne firmly. “I’ll be at the office by then.”
“Understood.”
She ended the call and turned back to the stove. “Plates, sweetheart. Dinner’s almost ready.”
“Yes, Mommy!” Christopher hurried to help, his small hands carefully setting the table.
Only when he stepped away did Isabella pull out her phone. Her screen flooded with notifications.
[TitanTech Founder Slams Isabella and Arabella]