She would be kicked out of the Lancaster family.
She would lose the elite status she wore like a crown...
She would lose the luxury cars, the mansions, the haute couture... everything that made her glittering, untouchable, and admired.
She would go back to being a discarded orphan.
A destitute, impoverished orphan meant to be mocked and stepped on!
"No, please!"
Isabella pictured it. She pictured all the socialites who used to follow her around like lapdogs, fawning over her every move. She imagined them laughing at her, sneering, kicking her while she was down.
She couldn't accept it!
Like a madwoman, she lunged, grabbing her grandmother's ankle with one hand and Silas's pant leg with the other. "Uncle Silas, I know I was wrong! Please, don't tell my mom and dad..."
"I'll behave from now on! I promise! I promise I'll be good. I'll act as a servant for my sister! I'll wait on her, take care of her, and follow her every order. Just don't tell them, please don't tell them..."
She wept hysterically, her expensive makeup running down her face in grotesque streaks.
But she didn't care anymore.
She couldn't lose her status. She couldn't lose her billionaire family.
She refused to lose it all!
Yet, not a single soul spared her a shred of sympathy. Even looking at her felt like stepping in filth.
Kiera forcefully yanked her foot out of Isabella's grasp and turned her back on the girl.
It wasn't that her heart wasn't breaking.
She had genuinely loved and pampered this granddaughter for over a decade.
But the disgust and disappointment had finally eclipsed that love.
She had been soft-hearted last time.
And this was the result. She had nearly let Serena's reputation be destroyed.
She couldn't summon even an ounce of pity for Isabella anymore.
Black Jack watched Isabella's pathetic breakdown with folded arms, chuckling as she clapped her hands. "Darling~ I believe the phrase is reaping what you sow ons it 'shooting yourself in the foot"?"
Seeing that her grandmother had steadied her emotions, Serena gently patted the older woman hand before glancing sideways at Black Jack with a faint, knowing smirk. "Indeed."
Black Jack's eyes darted around the room.
She leaned in close to Serena, whispering with burning curiosity. "Seriously, darling, how did you pull that off?"
She genuinely couldn't figure it out.
From the moment Isabella schemed to steal The Heart of the Sea to the second she shoved it into the bag, Serena hadn't moved from her spot in the banquet hall.
So how on earth had the necklace magically reappeared inside Isabella's dress?
"And..."
Black Jack patted her empty bag. "My piece is missing too. If they had pulled a gun out of my bag earlier, we both would've been in a world of trouble."
Was her girl literally a wizard?
Serena let out a soft laugh, looking effortlessly lazy as she pointed a slender finger toward the ceiling.
Black Jack looked up.
Hovering silently near the vaulted ceiling of the grand estate were over a dozen pitch-black, miniature drones.
They were completely soundless. If you weren't actively looking for them, they were invisible against the dark architectural beams.
Isabella had obviously followed her gaze.
The moment she saw the drones, what little color remained in her face completely evaporated.
Serena cast a sideways glance at
Isabella, the corner of her lips
curving into a sweet, utterly
merciless smile. To properly
document this Debutante Gala Uncle Douglas arranged for dozens of Vinton Aero-Gaze Drones to patrol the estate from above."
"One of them just so happened to catch Isabella swiping The Heart of the Sea and shoving it into your bag."
"Her petty little tricks are far too predictable. So... since I knew exactly what game she was playing, I figured I'd play along."