Isabel awoke the next morning with a pounding headache and eyes gritty from unshed tears. She lay curled on the edge of Alexander's worn leather couch, the faint smell of coffee drifting from the kitchen mixing with the dull hum of the city outside.
She tried to sit up but her body protested — every muscle felt bruised by memories alone. The realization that her life as Emily had been ripped from her, her father murdered, her childhood twisted into a lie… it all crashed down on her again.
Alexander appeared in the doorway, sleeves rolled up, holding a steaming mug. His eyes, dark and steady, studied her carefully.
"Drink this," he said, setting the coffee on the table in front of her. "And eat something. You can't bring down Victoria on an empty stomach."
Isabel gave a bitter laugh, her fingers wrapping around the mug for warmth. "Bring down Victoria? How? She owns everything. She owns people."
Alexander knelt in front of her, his voice low but strong. "She doesn't own you anymore. You remember now. That's your weapon. And you have me. That's more than you think."
Isabel's eyes burned with unshed tears. She didn't want to need him — but deep down, she knew she did. He was her only ally in this twisted labyrinth of lies.
"I can't go to the police with just my word," she whispered. "She'll bury me alive. I need real proof. Something that can't be twisted."
Alexander's mouth curved into a grim smile. "Then we find it. Her lawyer, Edwin Clarke — he handled your father's will. If there's anything forged, any hidden transactions, it'll be with him."
Isabel's pulse skipped. The thought of confronting the man who had helped steal her inheritance — her entire life — sent a cold thrill down her spine.
"And if he won't talk?"
Alexander leaned in, his breath warm on her cheek. "Then we make him. He's a coward. Men like him always are."
---
Hours later, Isabel sat in the backseat of Alexander's dusty sedan, parked discreetly outside an old stone building that housed Clarke & Associates, a law firm that reeked of inherited power and secrecy.
She pulled her hood lower over her face, her hands trembling in her lap. She wasn't just Isabel anymore — she was Emily too, a ghost demanding vengeance.
Alexander watched her from the driver's seat, his fingers drumming the wheel. "Are you ready?"
"No," Isabel breathed, staring at the imposing glass doors. "But I'm doing it anyway."
He reached over and tucked a small recorder into her pocket. "Get him to admit it. Just one slip, that's all we need."
She forced a nod, her chest tightening as she stepped out into the cold. Each step felt like walking into her own grave — but this time, she'd crawl out and drag Victoria down with her.
---
Inside, the law firm was suffocatingly pristine. Mahogany floors. Glass walls. Smug portraits of long-dead founders glaring down at her.
She found Clarke's office at the end of a dim hallway. A gold plaque read: Mr. Edwin Clarke, Senior Partner.
Isabel's throat tightened. Memories flickered — a flash of her father's smile, the smell of his aftershave. And then Victoria's venomous whisper: "It's all mine now."
Rage flooded her veins. She knocked once, then pushed the door open.
Edwin Clarke looked up from his papers, startled, his round face already flushing red. "Excuse me, miss — do you have an appointment?"
Isabel stepped inside, letting the door click shut behind her. "No, Mr. Clarke. But you're going to want to hear what I have to say."
He blinked, his eyes narrowing. "And you are…?"
Isabel stepped closer, her shadow falling over his desk. "Emily John's daughter. Or did you think she stayed dead?"
The color drained from Clarke's face. His fingers twitched on the desk. "I-I don't know what you mean…"
Isabel slammed her palm on the polished wood. "Don't lie to me! You helped Victoria forge documents, didn't you? You changed my father's will — erased me like I was nothing!"
Clarke looked like he might faint. His eyes darted to the security button under his desk, but Isabel caught the glance.
"Press it, and I swear I'll drag you down with her," she hissed. "Talk. Tell me what you did — and I might let you walk away."
Clarke swallowed, his jowls quivering. "She — she threatened me! She said if I didn't help her, I'd lose everything — my family, my practice…"
Isabel's heart hammered. Her recorder was catching every word.
"And my father? Did you know she poisoned him too?"
Clarke flinched. "I didn't know it was poison — I thought it was an accident. By the time I realized — she made me an accomplice. I couldn't go to the police — she owns them too!"
Isabel felt a fierce, cold triumph fill her chest. This was it. The first crack in Victoria's empire of lies.
"You're going to testify," Isabel said, her voice like steel. "And if you don't — this recording goes to every news station in the city. Either you stand with me — or you go down with her."
Clarke bowed his head, defeated. "I'll do it," he croaked. "Just… please protect my family. She's dangerous."
Isabel's eyes hardened. "So am I."
She turned on her heel, stepping back into the corridor where Alexander waited in the shadows. She looked at him, fire burning in her eyes.
"It's starting," she whispered. "Victoria's reign ends now."
---
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To be continued…
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