Chapter 141:


    Isolde slipped away to thedies’ room. She needed a moment of quiet. The adrenaline was beginning to fade, and her arm had started to ache in its absence.


    She entered a stall and locked the door.


    A momentter, the main door swung open. High heels clicked across the tile.


    “That went well!” Belle’s voice — high, anxious.


    “It went fine.” Cheryl’s voice — harsh, dismissive. “Stop fishing forpliments. Did you see the look on the Lockheed rep’s face? He wasn’t buying it.”


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    “It’s Isolde’s fault!” Belle whined. “She rattled me. She put that doubt in everyone’s head about the yield rate.”


    “Forget her,” Cheryl snapped. “She’s a gnat. We’ll crush her soon enough.”


    Isolde held her breath.


    “Did the bank call?” Belle asked.


    “Yes,” Cheryl said, the snap of apact punctuating her words. “I pulled the strings with First National. They’re freezing Carson Dynamics’ credit line tomorrow morning — citing instability due to the divorce.”


    Isolde’s heart stopped. Carson Dynamics. Her mother’spany. Her father’s legacy.


    “Good,” Belle giggled. “That old witch Ellyn deserves it. Once thepany goes under, Isolde will be begging us for a settlement. She’ll have to crawl back to Gray just to pay her mother’s medical bills.”


    “Exactly,” Cheryl said. “We starve the beast. Now fix your lipstick. You look pale.”


    The door opened and closed.


    Isolde sat in the stall, trembling — not with fear, but with a rage so white-hot it felt like ice moving through her veins.


    They weren’t just attacking her. They were going after her mother. They were going after the only thing her family had left.


    She unlocked the door and walked to the sink. She looked at herself in the mirror. The gunmetal dress. The emerald brooch.


    She pulled out her phone and dialed.


    “Mom?”


    “Isolde?” Ellyn’s voice was unsteady. “I didn’t want to bother you.”


    “The bank,” Isolde said. “They’re freezing the ounts tomorrow.”


    Silence. Then a quiet sob. “How did you know? The manager only just called me privately. He said it came from the top.”


    “Cheryl Juarez,” Isolde said. “Mom, listen to me carefully. Do not sign anything. Do not dere bankruptcy. I’ming to the office tomorrow.”


    “But Isolde, we have no cash flow. The inventory is stuck—”


    “I’ll handle it,” Isolde said. “Orbital will handle it.”


    “What? With what money?”


    “With a purchase order,” Isolde said. “And then I’m going to burn InnoTech to the ground.”


    She hung up and walked out of the bathroom. And was waiting for her.


    “We’re leaving,” she said.


    “Is everything okay?”


    “No,” Isolde said. “They just dered war on my family. So I’m going to nuke theirs.”


    As they moved toward the exit, Daron stepped into their path again, nked by two other drunk suits.


    “Running away again?” Daron sneered.


    Isolde didn’t break stride. She walked directly up to him.


    “Daron,” she said, her voice carrying clearly over the surrounding chatter. “Does Emily know you maxed out the joint Amex at the Sapphire Clubst night? Or did you tell her it was a business expense?”


    The conversation nearby stopped. Daron turned purple. “You — shut up!”


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