Chapter 564

Chapter 564:

Isolde was sitting on a padded bench in the hallway, a sleek silver laptop balanced on her knees. Her fingers moved across the keyboard with steady, rhythmic precision. Despite her composure, a faint tremor ran through her hands — a residual trace of the past few days’ ordeal. She looked entirely at peace.

A surge of pure hatred burned through Belle’s stomach. She forced it down. She had to swallow her pride. She had to survive.

She walked over and forced the corners of her mouth into a trembling approximation of a smile.

“Isolde,” Belle said softly. “Can we talk p>

Isolde did not stop typing. She did not blink. Her eyes remained fixed on the screen.

“My lawyer is downstairs in the cafeteria,” Isolde said, her voice flat and entirely without warmth. “You can speak to him p>

Belle felt her knees weaken. She crouched down slowly, bringing herself to eye level — a beggar’s posture, a physical submission she had never in her life made willingly.

“Please don’t do this,” Belle whispered, her voice breaking precisely on cue. “We used to be family. If you drop the charges against my mother, I can speak to Grayson. I can make sure he increases your alimony. Anything you want p>

𝗠о𝘀𝗍 r𝗲𝗮𝘥 𝘁𝗁𝗶𝘴 𝗐𝖾ek 𝗼𝘯.сo𝘮

The typing stopped.

Isolde closed the laptop. The soft click of the metal casing sounded like a gavel.

She looked at Belle for the first time. Her eyes were like shards of dark glass.

“You actually believe I care about his money,” Isolde said.

She stood. The movement forced Belle to look up at her from the floor.

“You have misunderstood the situation entirely, Belle,” Isolde said, looking down at the woman crouching before her. “I don’t want a single cent. I want your mother to sit in that holding cell for the full forty-eight hours. I want her to feel the cold concrete. I want her to experience what it means to scream for help and have no one answer p>

The blood drained from Belle’s face. Her lips parted.

“That is vigilante revenge,” she choked out.

“No,” Isolde said quietly. “That is legal justice p>

She reached into the pocket of her white trousers and produced a small black USB drive. She held it up, letting it catch the harsh hospital lighting, and turned it slowly between her fingers.

“As for your company,” Isolde continued, “good luck p>

Belle stared at the small piece of plastic. Her lungs seized. Did she know? How could she possibly know? Was this a calculated bluff, or did Isolde actually possess the unredacted financial records? Paranoia took root and spread rapidly, cold and consuming.

Isolde turned her back on Belle, opened the door to her uncle’s room, and stepped inside.

The heavy door clicked shut.

Belle was left alone in the empty hallway. The silence was deafening. She was completely out of options — backed against a cliff with nothing beneath her. Her hands shook as she dug her phone from her bag and scrolled to Grayson’s name.

He was her last lifeline.

She pressed dial. The phone rang for a long time. Belle’s heart slammed against her ribs with every tone.

Finally, the line connected.

“I am in a meeting,” Grayson said. His voice was a wall of solid ice. “If this is about your mother, don’t speak p>