Chapter 506

Chapter 506:

Belle reached the VIP lounge door breathless and frantic, and shoved it open without knocking. Her movements were wild, reckless — a woman running on pure desperation.

The room was dead quiet.

Dr. Merrick sat alone on a sofa, sipping his tea with unhurried calm, entirely unbothered by the intrusion. There was no one else. The room was completely empty.

Belle’s eyes swept the space in rapid, panicked arcs. Where was the older male lead architect she had spent years imagining? Where was Sophia?

𝗜n𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗇t ac𝖼eѕs 𝗈𝘯 𝗀𝗮𝘭ոо𝘷𝘦𝗅𝗌.сo𝗺

“Where are they?” she snapped, dropping all pretense of composure. “Where is the lead architect? Isolde said he was here p>

Dr. Merrick set his teacup down slowly and looked at her with an expression caught between irritation and exhaustion.

“Miss Escobar, this is extremely rude p>

Grayson arrived in the doorway just behind her. He leaned against the frame in silence, his face dark with tension.

“Cut the pretense!” Belle shrieked, gesturing toward the back of the suite. “Tell me where Sophia is — is he hiding in the bathroom p>

She sprinted across the room and threw the bathroom door open. Empty. She spun and yanked open the closet doors. A few spare coats. Nothing else.

“Where is he?” Her voice cracked, spilling over into something raw and frantic. “Did Isolde hide him? She tricked me p>

Dr. Merrick rose slowly to his feet, his manner steady and firm.

“Miss Escobar, the lead architect was here not one minute before you burst in p>

Belle’s eyes lit up with desperate hope. “I knew it! Where did they go? Tell me p>

Merrick gestured toward the coffee table, where a glass of water sat half-finished, still cool with condensation.

“She left just before you came in. Not he — she p>

Belle went rigid. “She? Sophia is a woman p>

“Yes,” Merrick said, his gaze unwavering. “And I believe you passed her in the hallway p>

The hallway. Belle’s mind ground to a sudden halt. The only person she had seen in the hallway — the only person she had shoved past in her haste — was Isolde.

The thought that followed was so horrifying, so utterly unthinkable, that it arrived almost as a physical blow.

She trembled, the word coming out as barely a whisper. “You mean… Isolde p>

She shook her head violently, the denial coming out as a shriek. “No! Impossible! Isolde was just a housewife! She can’t even do calculus p>

From the doorway, Grayson let out a short, bitter, self-mocking laugh.

“Belle.” His voice was low and sharp. “Effie mastered calculus when she was five years old. Isolde taught her p>

Belle spun around to stare at him. “You believe it too? You think she is Sophia p>

Grayson said nothing. His gaze was cold and still.

Dr. Merrick lifted a sealed document from the table and held it out to Belle.

“This is the Team Aether registration form. The lead architect is signed as Isolde Carson.” He tapped the corner of the page. “The Greek letter in the notes section is Sophia’s official mark — recognized across the entire industry p>