CHAPTER 14: THE LAST LIE OF ISABELLA HART
The workshop became silent.
Not normal silence.
The kind of silence that comes before something breaks.
Everyone was looking at Isabella.
My mother.
The woman I had spent my entire life imagining.
The woman I had finally found.
And now...
My grandmother’s final message had placed her at the center of everything.
“The person who destroyed this family is someone you have loved your entire life.”
Nobody wanted to say it.
But everyone was thinking it.
Isabella.
My mother.
The woman who had warned me.
The woman who had protected me.
The woman who had been missing for twenty years.
She looked at the screen.
Then at me.
And I saw something I had never seen before.
Guilt.
Not fear.
Not confusion.
Guilt.
“Mom?”
My voice cracked.
She closed her eyes.
For a moment, she looked like she wanted to disappear.
“I knew this day would come.”
Vanessa immediately stepped forward.
“No.”
Her voice was sharp.
“No, don’t do this.”
Everyone looked at her.
Vanessa shook her head.
“Don’t stand there and let everyone blame you.”
Isabella looked at her.
“Vanessa…”
“No.”
Vanessa’s eyes filled with tears.
“You were the only person who ever tried to protect me.”
The words surprised me.
Because this was not the relationship I imagined.
I thought Vanessa and my mother would hate each other.
I thought they were enemies.
But Vanessa looked at Isabella like she had lost someone important.
Like she had lost family.
“I know what happened.”
Vanessa whispered.
“I know what my mother did.”
A pause.
“But you didn’t destroy Hart Jewelry.”
She looked at Daniel.
“You know that too.”
Daniel remained silent.
And that silence bothered me.
“Someone explain.”
My voice became louder.
“Everyone keeps knowing things except me.”
I looked at Isabella.
“You.”
I pointed toward Daniel.
“Victoria.”
“Even Vanessa.”
A pause.
“But I’m the person this entire war is about.”
My eyes burned.
“And nobody tells me anything.”
Isabella stepped closer.
“You’re right.”
Those words surprised me.
She nodded.
“I was wrong.”
The room became still.
“I spent twenty years protecting you with lies.”
She looked at me.
“And I became the same kind of person I was trying to protect you from.”
I didn’t know what to say.
Because part of me wanted to be angry.
Part of me wanted answers.
And part of me...
Just wanted my mother.
She reached into her coat.
She pulled out a small envelope.
“This was from Eleanor.”
My grandmother again.
Of course.
Everyone had a letter.
Everyone had a secret.
Except me.
I took it.
My hands trembled as I opened it.
Inside was a single page.
Isabella,
I stopped.
It was addressed to my mother.
If you are reading this, then you have failed at the one thing I asked you to do.
My heart tightened.
I continued.
You were supposed to let her grow up without knowing the Hart name.
I looked up.
Isabella lowered her head.
The letter continued.
Because the Hart name is not a crown. It is a target.
A pause.
But I know you. You will try to protect her. You will try to fight for her.
Another line.
And that is why I fear you will make the same mistake I made.
I swallowed.
The next sentence changed everything.
You will choose your daughter over the truth.
I looked at Isabella.
“What does this mean?”
She didn’t answer.
The letter continued.
The truth about Alexander must be revealed.
My father.
The truth about Isabella must be revealed.
My mother.
But most importantly...
I turned the page.
The truth about the first Hart betrayal must finally come out.
Daniel stepped closer.
“What betrayal?”
Isabella looked at him.
“You know.”
Daniel’s face changed.
“No.”
She nodded.
“Yes.”
A cold feeling moved through me.
“What?”
Isabella looked at me.
“The first betrayal wasn’t Victoria.”
A pause.
“It wasn’t Vanessa.”
“It wasn’t Daniel.”
My heartbeat increased.
“Then who?”
She looked toward the old portrait of Eleanor.
And whispered:
“Your grandmother.”
Nobody spoke.
Even the air seemed to stop.
“My grandmother?”
Isabella nodded.
“Eleanor built Hart Jewelry.”
She looked at the old workshop.
“But she did not build it alone.”
Daniel’s expression changed.
“My grandfather.”
“Yes.”
Isabella nodded.
“And when the company became powerful…”
She looked at me.
“Eleanor made a choice.”
“What choice?”
“She removed everyone who could challenge her.”
I stared.
“Even family?”
“Yes.”
The answer hurt.
“My grandmother destroyed her own brother’s legacy?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Isabella’s eyes filled with tears.
“Because she believed power was the only way to protect the people she loved.”
A bitter smile.
“She became the thing she was fighting against.”
The truth was heavier than I expected.
My grandmother.
The woman I admired.
The woman who taught me kindness.
Had also made terrible choices.
Then Daniel suddenly stepped back.
“Wait.”
Everyone looked at him.
He stared at the letter.
“There’s something wrong.”
“What?”
He pointed.
“This isn’t Eleanor’s final message.”
I frowned.
“What do you mean?”
Daniel took the paper.
“The ink.”
He examined it.
“This letter was rewritten.”
The room froze.
“What?”
He looked at Isabella.
“Someone copied Eleanor’s handwriting.”
My mother’s face changed.
“No.”
Daniel flipped the page.
“This was created recently.”
A horrible thought entered my mind.
“Someone forged my grandmother’s letter?”
Daniel nodded.
“Yes.”
“Who?”
Nobody answered.
Then the workshop door slowly opened.
A familiar voice came from outside.
“You really are smarter than I expected.”
Everyone turned.
Victoria stood there.
But she wasn’t alone.
Beside her...
Was the person we thought was dead.
Alexander Vale.
My father.
Alive.
Again.
But unlike Richard...
He wasn’t smiling.
He looked at me with tears in his eyes.
And the first words he spoke destroyed everything I believed.
“I’m sorry.”
A pause.
“Your mother didn’t abandon you.”
He looked at Isabella.
“She saved you from me.”
The room went silent.
My heart stopped.
Because after twenty years of searching...
I finally found my father.
And the first thing he did...
May you like
Was admit he was the danger.
TO BE CONTINUED...
