Chapter 389
Chapter 389:
Belle’s chest was heaving. Her eyes were bloodshot, and her perfectly styled hair had begun to unravel. She looked like an animal backed into a corner.
“Do you think you are so clever?” Belle hissed, taking a step toward Isolde’s back. “With your little penalty clauses? You think you can steal my company p>
Isolde tossed the damp towel into the brass basket and turned around, leaning casually against the edge of the marble sink. “I think I am meticulous, Belle,” she said, her voice smooth and devoid of emotion. “Unlike you p>
Belle took another aggressive step forward, invading her space. “I will sabotage the production run,” she threatened, her voice shaking with desperate rage. “I will blame the delays on your faulty specs. I will bury your startup in so much legal paperwork you won’t see daylight for a decade p>
Isolde didn’t flinch. She looked at Belle with absolute, chilling pity. “My specifications are flawless,” she said. “Professor Nelson audited them himself. If you attempt to sabotage the manufacturing process, The Institute will locate the anomaly in the telemetry data within an hour p>
She tilted her head, watching the panic rise in Belle’s eyes. “And when they do,” Isolde continued, her voice dropping to a lethal whisper, “Grayson will know that you intentionally cost him ten percent of his own company. He will destroy you p>
𝖱𝗲𝖺d 𝗈𝗻 𝖺ny 𝘥𝘦𝗏𝘪𝘤𝗲 о𝗇 ѕ.cоm
Belle’s eyes widened in sudden, horrifying realization. She had been so focused on attacking Isolde that she had forgotten the penalty applied to her failures as well.
Isolde pushed off the sink. She took one slow, deliberate step forward, and Belle took one involuntary step back.
“You are trapped, Belle,” Isolde said, her tone absolute ice. “You have to pray that your stolen design actually works — because you have to succeed in order for me to succeed.” She smiled. “You work for me now p>
The sheer humiliation of it snapped the last thread of Belle’s composure.
With a guttural scream of pure frustration, she raised her right hand and swung it in a wide, violent arc aimed directly at Isolde’s face.
Isolde’s reflexes — honed by years of high-speed racing and split-second engineering decisions — took over without thought. She didn’t block. She didn’t engage. She simply took one fluid half-step back, letting Belle’s hand slice through empty air. Belle’s momentum carried her forward, stumbling off-balance.
As Belle struggled to right herself, Isolde raised her phone. The screen was already on, the red dot of the recording app glowing brightly.
“Don’t,” Isolde said, her voice a low, dangerous growl. “Assault charges are so unbecoming for the visionary architect of InnoTech. The board would be very interested in this video p>
Belle froze. Her eyes locked onto the phone and the color drained from her face.
“I am not the submissive wife you used to bully in my own home,” Isolde said, her voice unyielding. “I am the CEO holding the debt on your entire life p>
She lowered the phone, her thumb hovering over the save button with deliberate menace.