Chapter 588

Chapter 588:

Isolde did not break her stride. She did not even turn her head. “My legal counsel is available between nine and five,” she replied coldly. “Call his office p>

Grayson stepped directly into her path, forcing her to stop in front of her car.

“This is not about the divorce settlement,” he said, his chest rising and falling heavily. “This is about Sophia p>

Isolde paused. She slowly raised her eyes to meet his. Her gaze was flat and unreadable. “What about it? I have a company to run, Grayson. I do not have time for this p>

Grayson shook his head. “If you are Sophia—then the original blueprints for the Phoenix-X7 p>

“I drew them,” Isolde said, cutting him off. Her voice was matter-of-fact, stripped of any dramatic flair. “I drafted the entire propulsion system in the basement of the penthouse. I did it during those two weeks you took Belle to Paris for that ‘essential’ strategy retreat p>

The words hit Grayson like a physical blow. The air rushed out of his lungs.

He remembered that trip. He remembered coming home to find Isolde sitting quietly on the sofa, and he had assumed she had spent the entire fortnight doing nothing of value.

D𝗈n’𝘁 𝗆𝗂𝘀𝘀 𝘯𝗲𝘄 𝘳eleа𝗌e𝘀 o𝘯

Isolde took one step closer. The scent of her clean soap reached him, and it made his chest ache.

“And then,” she continued, her voice dropping to a lethal murmur, “Belle somehow acquired my discarded sketchpads. She changed the title block, applied the InnoTech logo, and presented the whole thing to you as her ‘visionary breakthrough.’ And you believed her p>

Belle, who had crept closer to eavesdrop, suddenly shrieked. “That is a lie!” she screamed, her face contorting with panic. “That was my original concept! You are a thief, Isolde p>

Isolde did not even glance at her. She reached into the pocket of her trench coat and produced her smartphone. She had anticipated Belle’s inability to hold her tongue when intoxicated. During the previous month’s industry gala, she had instructed Arland’s private security team to keep close watch on Belle—and they had captured every arrogant, slurred word.

She tapped the screen twice.

A crisp audio recording began to play from the speaker.

It was Belle’s voice, thick with intoxication, set against the background clink of champagne glasses.

“The best part about having Isolde around,” the recorded voice giggled maliciously, “is that I just dig through her recycling bin. I take her trash, hand it to my engineers, and Gray writes me a check for twenty million. It is the easiest money I have ever made p>

The recording clicked off.

Grayson stood frozen. His eyes moved slowly from the phone to Belle’s face. The expression he wore—absolute, devastating betrayal—was almost unbearable to witness.

Belle covered her mouth with both hands, shaking violently. She had no memory of saying those words. She had been far too drunk at that gala.

Isolde smoothly slid the phone back into her pocket. “Your soulmate is a serial plagiarist, Grayson,” she said, her voice measured and laced with pity. “Your entire InnoTech venture is a house of cards built on my garbage p>