Chapter 3 — The Secret Behind Eleven Years
Chapter 3 — The Secret Behind Eleven Years
Marcus demanded answers.
"You planned this!"
Isabella looked at him with quiet sadness.
"No."
"I spent eleven years preventing this."
She handed him a faded leather notebook.
Inside were handwritten records.
Every time Marcus made a reckless investment...
She corrected it.
Every loan he secretly approved...
She quietly guaranteed.
Every lawsuit he never knew existed...
She settled.
Every financial crisis...
She solved before he even heard about it.
"You thought you built an empire."
She closed the notebook.
"I spent eleven years keeping it from collapsing."
Marcus stared silently.
"You could have exposed me years ago."
"I could have."
"Why didn't you?"
"Because I loved you."
Her answer struck harder than any accusation.
"I believed one day you'd stop chasing power long enough to appreciate the people beside you."
She glanced toward Vanessa, who had quietly slipped out of the hotel.
"But instead..."
"You chose someone impressed by your title."
"And forgot the woman who protected it."
Marcus lowered his head.
May you like
For the first time...
He understood what he had truly lost.
