Chapter 267
“Effie, look at me,” Isolde said firmly. “You do have a father. But right now, he is not acting like a hero. And that is okay. Because you are going to be your own hero.”
Effie sniffled. “But they laugh at me.”
Isolde stood up, walked to her tote bag, and pulled out a small, palm-sized object — a 3D-printed, aerodynamic drone model she had quickly assembled the night before to test a rotor configuration. She walked back and placed the sleek black plastic model into Effie’s hands.
“Take this to school today,” Isolde said.
Effie looked down at the model, her tears stopping. “What is it?”
“This is the ‘Little Bee’,” Isolde said, tapping the tiny rotors. “When those kids laugh at you, you hold this up. You tell them that your mother builds airplanes. And if they don’t believe you, tell them to watch the news next month.”
Effie gripped the plastic model tightly. A tiny spark of courage lit up in her dark eyes. “Will it really fly?”
“It will fly higher than anyone else,” Isolde promised.
𝗝𝘰in 𝗍𝘩o𝗎𝗌а𝗇𝗱𝗌 𝗈𝘧 f𝘢n𝘀 𝗼𝗇 ga𝗅𝗇𝗼v𝘦ls.𝖼𝘰𝗆
Two hours later, Isolde pulled her SUV up to the drop-off zone at the elite St. Jude’s Preparatory Academy. She unbuckled Effie and walked her toward the massive iron gates.
A black Mercedes pulled up right behind them. The door opened, and Kaiden stepped out in his tailored school uniform. He spotted Effie immediately, and a nasty smirk spread across his face as he opened his mouth to shout an insult.
Isolde turned her head and locked eyes with him.
Her gaze was so cold, so terrifyingly empty, that Kaiden physically froze in his tracks. The smirk vanished.
Isolde let go of Effie’s hand and walked slowly over to Kaiden, crouching down until she was eye-level with him. She leaned in close.
“Listen to me very carefully,” Isolde whispered, her voice barely a breath. She held up her phone, the screen displaying a photo of Belle meeting with a tabloid journalist. “If you ever say another unkind word to my daughter, this picture will be on the cover of every magazine in the country. And everyone will know that your real mommy is a liar.”
It was a bluff. The photo was from years ago and completely innocuous. But Kaiden was a child, and the threat of public shame for his mother was a powerful weapon.
Kaiden’s face turned white. He stared at the picture of his mother, his eyes wide with horror, then spun around and sprinted toward the school doors without looking back.
Effie, standing by the gate, watched him run. She looked down at the “Little Bee” in her hand and smiled.
Isolde kissed Effie’s forehead, watched her walk safely inside, and then returned to her car. The moment she shut the door, her phone rang. It was Arland.
“Tell me you have good news,” Isolde said, starting the engine.
“I have terrifying news,” Arland replied, his voice tight. “Sterling Stone wants to meet with you. Today at 3 PM.”
Isolde’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. “Sterling Stone? The Silicon Valley Tyrant?”
.
.