Chapter 561

Chapter 561:

He had to get her back. It was no longer a matter of the company or of strategy or of anything rational. It was simply, irrevocably, about him.

Isolde gave a slight, formal bow and turned to leave the stage and the wreckage she had left behind.

Then a sharp ringtone pierced the air.

It was coming from Belle’s purse. A desperate, fragile hope flashed across Belle’s face — it was the ringtone she had assigned exclusively to her key supplier, Marcus Lee. She seized the phone like a drowning woman seizing a vine and answered in a ragged whisper.

“Marcus p>

But the voice that came through was not Marcus Lee’s. It was cold, impersonal, and unmistakably official.

“This is the International Financial Crimes Enforcement Unit p>

Chaos did not erupt with a bang. It arrived with a quiet, sickening thud.

The sound of Belle’s phone slipping from her trembling hand and landing on the thick carpet of the stage. A moment before, she had been standing in the glow of the spotlights, her smile perfected. Now, a tinny, official voice sliced through the murmur of the crowd.

𝘛r𝖾𝗇𝘥іո𝗀 ոov𝗲𝗅s 𝗈ո

The phone was on speaker.

“…a spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Investigation has confirmed that Marcus Lee, CEO of Lee Materials, was arrested this morning on charges of major commercial fraud and the forgery of industrial safety certificates p>

The voice, amplified by the silence that had fallen over the hall, was chillingly clear. Everyone heard it.

FBI. Commercial fraud.

The color drained from Belle’s face, leaving behind a mask of pure horror. Marcus Lee. Her largest supplier. The gaping, illicit hole in her finances that she had been desperately patching with misappropriated funds.

Sterling did not miss a beat. He turned to his assistant, his voice low and sharp.

“Notify our legal department. We’re suing InnoTech for breach of contract. I want full damages p>

That was the signal. The dam broke. Other investors surged toward the stage, their faces contorted with fury.

“Give us our money back p>

“You defrauded us p>

Grayson stood at the foot of the stage and watched the feeding frenzy without moving. He did not step forward. He did not intervene.

The words from the phone were clicking into place alongside a conversation from the day before — Isolde’s warning, which he had dismissed as petty jealousy. Adulterated raw materials. This was what she had meant. She had known. She had known all along, and she had watched in silence as Belle danced her way into a pit of fire she had dug herself.

His head turned toward the side of the stage.

And there she was. Standing in the shadows, a silhouette against the chaos, watching the scene unfold with an unnerving stillness.

Their eyes met across the frantic crowd.

There was no joy of victory in her gaze. No triumphant satisfaction. Only the cold, detached composure of someone watching a long-foreseen conclusion finally arrive.

Grayson pushed through the crowd and walked toward her, his steps heavy.

“You knew about Marcus?” he demanded, his voice raw and low. “Why didn’t you tell me p>

Isolde’s lips curved into a smile that held no warmth.