"What do you want from me?" I breathed.
Because whatever it was... I knew I wouldn’t have a choice.
But before Ryan could tell me his terms, a soft knock echoed on my door.
"Isabelle, sweetheart, are you sleeping already?" Estelle’s voice sounded from behind the door.
"I think she’s tired; let’s talk to her in the morning," Joel added, obviously trying to get his wife away.
Ryan pulled back, his gaze full of warning. He was telling me to send them away.
But I could also see his jaw ticking; he was anxious. He didn’t want them to see him with me... again.
I was certain.
So I did exactly the opposite. "I’m still awake Mum; the door is open," I said.
The door handle turned, and Estelle’s head poked in.
She smiled at me and entered my room with Joel behind her.
That was when I noticed Ryan was nowhere in sight.
My eyes scanned the room and stopped on the slightly parted door of the bathroom, and I got my answer: Ryan was there.
"Oh Isa, you did so well today," Estelle praised, taking my hand. "How are you feeling? Are you tired anywhere? I told Rita to heat some soup and bring it up to you."
"Thank you," I said quietly, "But you shouldn’t have; I’m feeling alright. I’m not tired at all. I’m happy to help."
"Oh child, stop being so distant. I don’t know what you did, but I’ve never seen that boy Cassian show such genuine interest in a girl," she said, making me lower my head to hide the blush tinting my cheeks.
"I realised that too," Joel said. "He acted very differently when it came to you. I was expecting the cold Cassian from before, but he looked almost human. Did he say anything about the alliance?"
I stiffened.
"No Father," I said carefully, "Cassian didn’t say anything about the alliance."
"Oh," Estelle teased, looking at me with gossip in her eyes. I hadn’t seen this side of her before. "Tell me, what do you think about Cassian? I know he’s handsome and all that, but how do you see him as a person?"
I blushed further, my heart hammering in my chest.
I wouldn’t lie; Cassian was perfect in every sense of the word, but ultimately, everything was a lie. I couldn’t overlook that.
"He’s alright," I said, and Estelle laughed.
"Haha, you’re the only girl I know who will put Cassian in the category of alright. He’s more handsome than your dad when he was younger even though he was popular with the girls back then..."
"Estelle," Joel exasperated.
"See? He’s jealous," she pouted, "but I’m only telling the truth. When your dad was young, he liked the attention, so even though I had a crush on him, I had to make him work for it when he finally asked me out—"
"You," Joel seemed to be on the verge of having a panic attack.
I found myself smiling at their antics even though my heart was still heavy with Ryan, Cassian, and everything.
Estelle squeezed my hand when she heard me laughing, her expression softening.
"Thank you, Isa."
"For what?" I asked.
"For being here," she murmured. "It was after I read that letter from Isabelle that I realised I had ignored a lot of things. She was obviously in love with someone else, and we kept asking her to agree to the alliance."
Yes, she was in love with your foster son, the snake you gave shelter to.
I wanted to scream those words, but my lips were tied.
"Seeing you with Cassian today, I didn’t expect you two to hit it off so fast. I know you’ll make each other happy. Treat him well, Isabelle. Teach him how to erase the hatred in his heart and love again. That boy deserves some light in his darkness."
I felt my eyes sting. Hearing the emotions in Estelle’s voice made my heart clench.
What if I had already destroyed everything? I drew a clear line with Cassian a few minutes ago.
He must hate me by now. I hated lying to him too. I wasn’t my real self with him.
And worst of all...
Cassian had already started looking at me like he knew.
However, I nodded. "I will treat him well."
But I needed to change the subject fast.
"Um... I know it’s not my place, but have you gotten any leads about Isabelle’s whereabouts?"
Silence.
Neither Estelle nor Joel reacted. They just stared at each other, their expressions unreadable.
"I’m sorry I asked," I said quickly.
"No, you don’t have to apologise. I understand why you’re worried," Joel said. "We still haven’t got any leads. Our sources traced her to a private clinic in Manhattan, but the CCTV footage was missing. We’ve been trying to recover it, but we need an expert. It’s like she disappeared."
"I’m sorry," I said again, followed by a knock.
Rita came in with the soup Estelle talked about.
"We’ll leave you to rest then. Good night, Isabelle," Estelle said.
"Goodnight, Mom and Father."
They left together with Rita, who placed the soup on the side table. The door shut with a soft click, and I let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding.
I sat on the bed, trying to relax.
Ryan sauntered out from the bathroom then, his eyes raking over me with that possessive, ’proud’ look that made my skin crawl.
"I saw what you did there; you must think you’re very smart," he scoffed.
I didn’t speak.
What would I even say?
"Here is the deal. You will continue your little act as the perfect Isabelle. Seduce Cassian all you want, but you will ensure the first contract signing—the down payment for the Quinn Knight alliance that will happen in a week—will happen on my terms."
"What are you even talking about?"
"I’ll be helping Joel draft the contract with our legal representatives. But I’ll give you the actual contract for the merger on the day of the signing. Make sure you switch it on the last day since you’ll be present at the meeting. They must sign the version I give you."
"What are the contents of the second contract?"
"You don’t need to know," he said. "I just added a little clause to benefit the Quinns."
He was delusional. Why would I agree to switch out a contract when I don’t even know its contents?
Wait, if the clause benefits the Quinns more than the Knights, won’t they see it as betrayal?
"I’m beginning to sense your main motive wasn’t Isabelle but the Knight and Quinn family alliance."
"Careful," he warned. "A woman who knows too much risks being shut up forever."
"You wouldn’t dare."
"I won’t do it myself. I just need to hand over the blade to Cassian, and he’ll destroy you and the Quinns for lying to him. Cassian is the last person you should lie to. He’ll make you regret it."
I swallowed, my fists clenching by my sides.
"What if I still refuse?"
"You won’t. We both know you’d rather be dead than go back to being Yvette Swan."
He turned toward the door, pausing with his hand on the knob. "Oh, and Yvette? Clean yourself up. You smell like Cassian Knight’s desperation. It’s beneath you."
He slipped out of the room, leaving me in the silence.
I slipped off the mattress and sank to the floor, my hands shaking as I pressed them against my face.
What do I do? Who would save me?
Across the room, my reflection in the vanity mirror looked back at me—pale, haunted, and wearing a face I no longer recognised.
Like Isabelle, should I also disappear?
Is this the end?