Chapter 35:


    “Belle is at a photoshoot,” Grayson hissed. “Stop embarrassing me.”


    “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.


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    Isolde pulled away violently. “Don’t touch me.”


    She got into the driver’s seat. She locked the doors.


    Kaiden started to whine, pulling on the nanny’s hand. “I want to go with Effie!”


    Grayson stood in front of the car, hands on his hips, assuming she wouldn’t dare move.


    Isolde looked at him through the windshield. She shifted into Drive.


    She revved the engine. The cheap muffler was loud.


    Grayson’s eyes widened. He saw her face. There was no hesitation there.


    He stepped back.


    Isolde hit the gas. She swerved around the Bentley, tires screeching slightly on the asphalt.


    She left them there. Grayson standing on the curb, looking furious and impotent. Kaiden crying on the sidewalk.


    Other parents were watching. Whispering.


    “Did you see that?”


    “Lancaster can’t even get his ex to talk to him.”


    Grayson felt the heat rise up his neck. He kicked the tire of his Bentley.


    “Get in the car, Kaiden,” he growled.


    “But I wanted to ride with Effie!”


    “Get in!”


    Grayson mmed the door. He gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white.


    She was defying him at every turn. She was erasing him. And God help him, he missed her.


    Harper poured the champagne into two coffee mugs.


    “To freedom,” she toasted.


    “To freedom,” Isolde echoed.


    They were sitting on the floor of the Brooklyn apartment. It waste.


    “You won’t believe this,” Harper said, pulling out her phone. “Look at TMZ.”


    Isolde looked.


    A video. Grainy, shaky footage taken from a phone.


    It showed a silver Bentley racing a Lamborghini on a deserted stretch of road in Queens. The Bentley swerved, nearly hitting a barrier, before spinning out.


    Police lights shed.


    Billionaire Grayson Lancaster Cited for Reckless Driving.


    “He’s spiraling,” Harper said. “He always drives fast when he feels out of control.”


    Isolde watched the video. She knew that driving style. Aggressive. Sloppy. He was angry.


    “He’s lucky he didn’t kill someone,” Isolde said. Her voice was t.


    “He spent four hours in the precinct before Daron bailed him out,” Harper said gleefully. “Mugshot and everything.”


    Isolde handed the phone back. “I don’t care.”


    “Good,” Harper said. “Now, business. I did some digging on SkyLine’s supply chain for thepetition.”


    Isolde leaned forward. “And?”


    “They acquired a small firm called K-Techst week. To supply the sensors for their Mars habitat model.”


    Isolde frowned. “K-Tech? They make discount thermostats. Their sensors have a 4% drift rate.”


    “Exactly,” Harper said. “Belle pushed for the acquisition. It saved them two million dors.”


    Isolde smiled. It was the smile of a predator.


    “4% drift,” she whispered. “In a closed-loop ecosystem, a 4% error in oxygen levels is fatal within three weeks.”


    “Can you prove it?”


    “I don’t need to prove it,” Isolde said. “I just need to let the simtion run long enough.”


    She grabbed her notebook.


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