Chapter 51 Chapter 51: “Harper,” Isolde said, her voice steady. “I’m sending you the security logs from the penthouse from last night. And an audio file. I want to use them to file for an emergency motion. Not just for adultery—I want to argue that he is creating an unstable
Chapter 50 Chapter 50: Grayson grabbed her arm. “You can’t just walk out p> Isolde looked at his hand on her arm. Her gaze was lethal. “Let go,” she whispered. Grayson let go. He stepped back, unnerved by the intensity in her eyes. Isolde opened the door. “I want my
Chapter 49 Chapter 49: Midnight Rose. It was Belle’s perfume. Isolde wrinkled her nose. The scent was everywhere. It clung to the curtains, the sofa, the air itself. It was as if the apartment had been marked. She walked quickly to the study. She opened the wall safe—the code was
Chapter 48 Chapter 48: Dr. Evans was a kind woman with gray hair and a soft voice. After an hour with Effie, she called Isolde into the office. “She’s traumatized,” Dr. Evans said bluntly. “She feels abandoned and replaced. But she’s also incredibly resilient. And highly intelligent p> “I know,”
Chapter 47 Chapter 47: Isolde looked at him with profound pity. “You still don’t get it. I don’t want you to do anything for me, Grayson. I just want to be away from you p> “Is it the money?” Grayson pointed at the pile. “You have nothing! How will you
Chapter 46 Chapter 46: Isolde felt a strange sense of peace settle over her. The last thread of doubt, the tiny voice that whispered maybe he cares, finally snapped. She picked up her phone. She typed a message to Grayson. Isolde: Don’t wait for me. I’m not coming. Give the
Chapter 45 Chapter 45: It was a young man in a suit, looking terrified. He held a large velvet box with the SkyLine logo embossed on the bag. Isolde opened the door but blocked the entrance with her body. “Mrs. Lancaster?” the assistant squeaked. “Mr. Lancaster asked me to deliver
Chapter 44 Chapter 44: In a small apartment in Brooklyn, the smell of bacon filled the air. Isolde was flipping pancakes. Effie was sitting at the wobbly table, coloring on the back of a printout of the SkyLine stock chart. Isolde’s phone buzzed on the counter. Grayson. She let it
Chapter 43 Chapter 43: No, he told himself. Impossible. Isolde was currently sulking in some cheap hotel, probably crying over old photo albums. She couldn’t calculate thermal loads. She couldn’t code. He watched “Sophia” disappear into the backstage exit. “Daddy p> Grayson looked down. He realized he wasn’t holding anyone’s
Chapter 42 Chapter 42: Grayson stood near the front, his arms crossed. He wasn’t looking at the exit. He was looking at Sophia. “Get her,” Grayson said to Daron, not taking his eyes off the woman on stage. Daron blinked, wiping sweat from his forehead. “What? Boss, Belle is p>
Chapter 41 Chapter 41: Grayson stood up abruptly. His chair scraped loudly against the floor. His face was a mask of thunder. He knew. He knew instantly that “Sophia” was right. It was a rookie mistake, a cost-cutting measure that no real engineer would ever approve. Belle looked at him,
Chapter 40 Chapter 40: On the main stage, Belle Escobar was concluding her presentation. She wore a white power suit that looked tailored to within an inch of its life. Behind her, a massive screen displayed a rendering of “Eden,” SkyLine’s proposed Mars colony. It was beautiful. Glass domes connected
Chapter 39 Chapter 39: She turned on her heel, keeping her head down, and walked briskly toward the elevators. Inside the VIP lounge, Grayson stood up. He walked to the glass wall, his hand pressing against the cool surface. “Gray?” Belle’s voice was slurred, thick with wine. “What is it?
Chapter 38 Chapter 38: Belle Escobar had built a glass house on a foundation of sand, all to save a few dollars and boost her quarterly margin report. Isolde cracked her knuckles. She would weave this data into tomorrow’s attack algorithm. It wouldn’t just be a victory; it would be
Chapter 37 Chapter 37: Grayson took off his sunglasses. He stared at the screen. He stared at the small table in the corner, at the woman in the baseball cap. He couldn’t see her face clearly, but the design philosophy of her model—the brutal efficiency, the complete disregard for aesthetics
Chapter 36 Chapter 36: “Belle bought cheap parts to boost margins,” Isolde said. “She thinks engineering is about branding. She forgot about the physics p> Isolde wrote down: Phase 2: Stress Test. “She just handed me the win,” Isolde said. The Javits Center was transformed. Rows of computer terminals and
Chapter 35 Chapter 35: “Belle is at a photoshoot,” Grayson hissed. “Stop embarrassing me p> “You’re embarrassing yourself,” Isolde said. She opened the back door for Effie. Effie climbed in quickly, looking scared. “Let him in,” Grayson grabbed Isolde’s arm. і𝗻s𝗍𝗮𝘯𝗍 𝗮𝗰сe𝘴𝘴 𝗼𝗻 g𝖺𝗅n𝗼𝘃еl𝗌.со𝘮 Isolde pulled away violently. “Don’t touch
Chapter 34 Chapter 34: Isolde’s grip on the phone tightened. She remembered feeding him when he was a toddler. She remembered reading him stories before she knew whose son he was. But then she looked at Effie’s leg, where the bandage from the plane propeller cut was still visible. “Ask
Chapter 33 Chapter 33: She opened the fridge. It was empty. “Let’s go shopping,” Isolde said. They walked to the local bodega. Isolde counted the cash in her wallet. Forty dollars for the week. She bought milk, bread, eggs, and a box of generic cereal. Effie wanted the colorful brand-name
Chapter 32 Chapter 32: “You’re done,” Daron spat. “You think you can humiliate Grayson Lancaster and work in this town? We will blacklist you. You won’t get a job cleaning toilets at NASA p> Isolde stopped. She turned slowly. “Daron,” she said coolly. “You’re still using that outdated simulation software