Chapter 523
No.1
The guards originally meant to remove Isabella now approached Sophia and her group instead.
Sophia cradled her dislocated arm, pain radiating through her. She snarled through clenched teeth. "Don't act so superior, Isabella! I wouldn't waste another second in this pathetic store. It's beneath me! Just wait. This afternoon, everyone will witness your true hideous nature. Your reputation will be completely destroyed!"
Sophia refused to let the guards touch her. She stumbled out on her own. Alexander and Julian supported Victoria. They shot Isabella looks of pure, unadulterated hatred. Victoria maintained her graceful, swan-like composure. The cherished princess. Though she secretly threw Isabella a filthy glare.
So what if she owned a diamond store? Isabella still lost to her! Alexander belonged to her. Eleanor belonged to her. Even the Montgomery family was hers!
Suddenly... "Wait." Isabella's clear voice cut through the air.
Alexander and the others instinctively halted. They turned to look at her, clearly startled.
"Please settle the bill for the shattered gold-plated display case. That will be three hundred thousand dollars total."
Isabella casually waved a card reader before them.
Sophia, Eleanor, Alexander, and Victoria were utterly dumbfounded.
Their eyes burned crimson with rage. Eleanor, harboring the deepest resentment, snapped first. "How utterly shameless, Isabella! After all these years living off the Montgomery family's wealth! And you dare demand three hundred thousand?!"
No.2
"Fine! Here's your three hundred thousand! But tonight, you will return to the Montgomery estate. You will repay every single penny you've ever cost us!"
Eleanor pulled out a card and flung it at Isabella.
Isabella picked it up and tossed it right back. "Unfortunately, Victoria broke the display. I'll only accept payment from her."
Victoria's face flushed scarlet with fury. Her hand was already injured. Now she had to pay Isabella 300,000? Isabella wasn't giving her a moment's peace!
She desperately wanted to kill Isabella on the spot. But she quickly composed herself. Paparazzi waited outside. Her plans were in motion. She swallowed her rage, adopting a soothing tone.
"Mother, Sister is right," she murmured. "I broke it. I should pay for it." She produced a card, though her eyes still blazed with anger. She would make Isabella pay for this arrogance. And for this ludicrous 300,000 'damage'.
After swiping the card, Isabella tossed it back. "You may leave now."
The four of them stormed out, smoke practically billowing from their heads.
As they exited, Sophia yelled back. "Just you wait, Isabella! Tune in to the press conference at three today! I want to see you beg for mercy!"
Isabella's lips curved into a smile. Beg for mercy? Oh, someone would be begging, alright.
No.3
She scanned the store. "Why is everyone standing around? Clean this mess up."
"Yes," the staff chorused, quickly starting the cleanup.
Isabella was shameless. But they were still employees. They needed their jobs.
The general manager pretended to help clean, feigning innocence.
"You're fired!" Isabella snapped.
In under an hour, Twitter flooded with trending hashtags.
#Ohly-owner-IsabellaMontgomery
#Isabella-attacked-Victoria
#Isabella-pushed-Victoria
#Isabella-insulted-foster-mother
No.4
These topics dominated the hottest discussions. Clearly orchestrated to criticize Isabella. Netizens happily joined the frenzy for entertainment.
[OMG! She's been exposed! How is she still so arrogant?!]
[Without Eleanor Young, she'd be dead long ago! How dare she treat her mother like that!]
[Oh god, my princess is injured! That must have been excruciating.]
[Isabella looks completely drained! Sophia must have attacked her out of pure spite for being exposed! How vile!]
[Counting down to the press conference! Let’s see how Isabella tries to talk her way out once everything’s revealed.]
Twitter flooded with reactions like these while reporters rushed to get statements from Victoria and Sophia.
“I won’t back down, no matter how violently Isabella retaliates,” Sophia announced to the cameras, her voice trembling with fake bravery. “The press conference will proceed. The world will know the truth.”
Nearby, Victoria winced dramatically as she nursed a bandaged wrist. “I don’t want to say much… It’s alright if she takes her anger out on me. I only wish to guide her back to the right path. Please, everyone, help me persuade her to stop this?” Her performance, complete with trembling lips and glossy eyes, swayed the public effortlessly.
The audience buzzed with anticipation, eager for the conference to start. They couldn’t wait to see Isabella publicly shamed and expelled from the modeling world for good.
No.5
Before long, the clock struck three.
The lobby of The Ritz-Carlton swarmed with paparazzi and influencers broadcasting live, their viewers hooked and waiting.
Amid the chaos, Sophia ascended the platform. She wore a striking crimson satin gown, radiating false confidence.
“Thank you all for coming on such short notice,” she began, gripping the microphone. “I know you’re all eager for answers, so I’ll cut straight to it.”
“Many of you may feel a single photo isn’t enough to prove Isabella is the other woman. That’s why I’ve arranged for a very special guest to join us today—Diamond Prince Harrison Winslow himself. He will clarify everything personally.” She gestured grandly toward the backstage area.
A team of broad-shouldered bodyguards cleared a path as Harrison emerged. Dressed in a tailored black suit adorned with obsidian diamond buttons, he moved with an air of untouchable elegance. His piercing blue eyes scanned the room, silencing the crowd momentarily.
The room erupted.
“It’s really him! Harrison Winslow! The CEO of Prestige Diamonds! He actually showed up!”
“Sophia pulled off a miracle! He hasn’t spoken a word since the scandal broke!”
“Isabella is finished. There’s no way she recovers from this.”
No.6
“Your Highness, please explain what happened! Why betray Princess Arabella? Weren’t you devoted to her?”
Reporters shoved microphones toward him while online comment sections exploded.
[Harrison is unreal. How could he cheat?]
[That home-wrecker Isabella deserves everything coming to her.]
The world watched, equal parts mesmerized and outraged, all directed at Isabella.
Meanwhile, the woman at the center of the storm lounged on her velvet sofa, carefully applying a thermal-reactive nail polish that shifted from bright red to deep blood crimson at the tips.
Julian Hawthorne eyed the television nervously. “It’s getting intense. You’re really not watching?”
“Why would I? This color is far more interesting,” Isabella replied without looking up, blowing gently on her nails.
He sighed. It wasn’t like the woman being torn apart online was actually her. Why was he so stressed?
Back at the hotel, the conference hit its peak.
No.7
Sophia handed the microphone to Harrison, beaming. “Your Highness, the truth, please. We’re all here for justice.”
Harrison took the mic, his expression unreadable. “This situation is… complicated. Instead of explaining, I’d like to show you all something.” He signaled toward the AV team.
Sophia’s heart raced with triumph. This was their agreement—he would reveal receipts of Isabella’s lavish spending, intimate photos, everything to paint her as a greedy, status-obsessed seductress. Once the evidence dropped, Isabella’s reputation would never recover.
At the Blackwood Estate...
Nathaniel Blackwood stood rigid before the massive screen. His knuckles were white. Oliver Blackwood clutched a modified remote. A high-frequency signal disruptor was synced to his drone. Sebastian Blackwood held a printed list. Every media outlet and influencer at the conference was named.
"Stand by," Nathaniel's voice was a low growl.
Oliver's thumb hovered over the kill switch. One press would blackout all signals at The Ritz-Carlton. The live stream would die instantly. No one would slander Isabella.