Chapter 507
No.1
Oliver clapped his hands joyfully. “I want you to marry Mommy and give me a baby sister!”
“Consider it done.”
Isabella stepped into Rosewood Manor, still wearing Nathaniel's shirt. The memory of their encounter replayed relentlessly in her mind. Her cheeks burned with a heat she couldn't suppress.
Nathaniel wasn't the man she had envisioned for herself. Yet she couldn't deny the raw magnetism of his powerful physique. Those defined abs, solid and sculpted...
Lost in her thoughts, she failed to notice the figure closing in on her.
Slap!
The blow came without warning. A stinging pain erupted across her cheek.
Hidden guards immediately tensed, ready to intervene. Their leader, Maxwell, halted them with a sharp gesture. "Stand down. Boss's orders. We observe only."
One guard bristled. "We're just going to let someone assault her? She's our leader! No one touches her without consequences. I'm stepping in."
"Hold your position," Maxwell commanded calmly. "Trust her. She'll handle this. Just watch."
No.2
Isabella slowly lifted her gaze. A teenage boy stood before her, his silver-dyed hair stark under the lights. He wore ripped jeans and an oversized shirt, projecting a deliberately rebellious image.
It was Benjamin Kensington. Her eighteen-year-old biological brother. Corrupted by Victoria's influence, he saw Isabella only as a scheming adopted daughter, a gold digger preying on the Montgomery family.
He glared at her with pure venom. "How dare you do that to Victoria? She wouldn't hurt a fly! Why would you fabricate such lies? She cried herself to sleep because of you! She's too kind to even let me confront you! You're a soulless monster! You'd be dead in the gutter if our family hadn't taken you in!"
Isabella wordlessly wiped a trace of blood from her lip. A dangerous glint flashed in her eyes.
Benjamin had been in countless fights. But he had never seen a look so terrifying.
His bravado returned quickly. "Don't you look at me like that! You're just an adopted nobody! The security cameras here are all disabled. I could kill you right now, and no one would ever find your body or even care that you're gone."
Isabella paused. "The cameras are broken?"
"Of course! Why do you think I chose here? Scared now? You should be! Return the final appearance and ambassador role to Victoria. Do it before you regret it."
A cold, cruel smile touched Isabella's lips. "No. But thank you for the information." In one fluid motion, she swung her leg up. Her high-heeled shoe connected hard with his chest.
Thump!
No.3
The impact sent him flying across the room. He crashed to the floor, writhing in agony. The crack of breaking ribs was audible.
The hidden guards stared in awe. Their boss was formidable. She had just launched a nearly six-foot-tall young man through the air with a single kick.
Her clothes swayed as she advanced toward him. She moved like a victorious warrior surveying a conquered battlefield.
Terrified, Benjamin tried to shield himself with his arms. "Wh-What are you doing?! Stay back!"
Her skill was terrifyingly precise. One kick had shattered his ribs. He was utterly outmatched.
She loomed over his cowering form. Her gaze was lethal. "You said the cameras are destroyed. How could I waste such a perfect opportunity?"
She raised her leg again. The sharp tip of her shoe pressed down onto his head. She began to apply pressure.
Splash!
Benjamin’s face was shoved into a basin of murky, soapy water.
Isabella pressed down harder with her boot. “Clean out those disgusting, delusional thoughts!” she mocked. “Ask yourself this—if Victoria truly cared about you, why did she never push you to be better? Why did she let everyone in this family look down on you?”
No.4
He thrashed, desperate for air, but her strength was absolute. Water flooded his nose and throat each time he gasped. Only when his struggles grew weak did she finally release him.
Yanking his head back by the hair, Isabella snarled, “Benjamin Kensington, stop being a fool. That’s my only advice. Cross me like this again, and blood won’t save you. Family or not.”
She released him and walked away.
He slumped against the cabinet, heaving and choking. Unbelievable. How did that timid, quiet adopted girl become this? Who breaks ribs with a single, careless kick?
‘She’s pure evil. Trying to turn me against Victoria after all the pain she’s caused. I will make her pay,’ he vowed silently.
Across the villa, Isabella entered her private bathroom. She was scrubbing off her makeup, rinsing the metallic taste from her mouth, when a man entered and handed her an ice pack. “A DNA test would settle this,” he stated flatly.
“Julian, do you think Victoria is acting blindly? She owns every hospital and clinic in Westchester. The results would be falsified before the sample even reached the lab.” She studied her swollen lip in the mirror. “And what if they learn the truth? They’d still choose her over me.”
Julian’s expression tightened.
“Though,” she added, a cold smile touching her lips as she pressed the ice to her mouth, “I do look forward to the day the truth shreds their perfect world apart.”
His frown deepened. He hadn’t expected to find someone whose bitterness rivaled, perhaps even surpassed, his own.
No.5
“There’s a more pressing issue.” He passed her a phone.
The screen displayed a Twitter feed exploding with headlines: [Who is Isabella Montgomery’s Sugar Daddy?], [Victoria Kensington: Deepfake Nudes Scandal], [Victoria Kensington’s Opportunities Stolen!].
The top trending topic: [Victoria Kensington’s Chanel audition was sabotaged by explicit deepfakes displayed on screen, costing her the role.]
The comments were a torrent of hate:
[What a scheming witch! Our Vicky is pure class! She’d never!]
[The timing is so obvious. Dirty tricks to steal the spotlight.]
[She’s pure evil.]
[Who is she sleeping with? A nobody doesn’t land a role like this.]
[Chanel should be ashamed. Boycott Chanel!]
[Boycott Chanel! Boycott Isabella Montgomery!]
No.6
[Isabella Montgomery, get out. You’re not wanted.]
The vitriol was endless.
Isabella just scoffed, rolling her eyes. “This is nothing.”
Nothing? The entire internet was calling for her head. Her calm was unnerving.
“This is your first public battle, Isabella,” Julian warned. “You need to win it.”
“Making headlines is a victory in itself, isn’t it?” She strolled to the wine cellar, pouring a generous glass of burgundy. She offered one to Julian, who declined.
His gaze darkened. The past five years had carved cynicism into her soul. “Take this seriously,” he insisted. “It’s not a game.”
At that moment, Chanel’s executives were in emergency session. The online fury made hiring Isabella impossible.
She simply reclined on the sofa, taking a slow sip. “Relax. Do you think I’d make a move without a backup plan?”
Her fingers began flying across her phone screen.
No.7
Her private Instagram account flooded with hateful comments.
[You’re pure evil! How could you do this to Victoria Kensington? Why not Photoshop your own pictures too?]
[What a disgusting witch. I hope you and your family rot in hell!]
[Who do you think you are, auditioning for Chanel? How many men did you sleep with to afford that? Watch out for STDs!]