Staging an armed assault... just to humiliate Serena?
Combining that with Isabella's pathetic attempt to silence him, it didn't take a genius
to figure out she was behind the whole thing!
But Kane quickly added, "But... the contract was placed from Elyndor..."
Elyndor?
Isabella was currently in the United Realmon States. If the hit came from Elyndor, maybe it wasn't her.
The crowd's murderous glares wavered slightly.
Isabella let out a shaky breath, feeling a glimmer of hope.
Yes! Agnes placed the order from Elyndor! It couldn't be traced back to her!
"I... I don't know them!" Isabella stammered, clinging to the lifeline. "This has nothing to do with me!"
She tried to look innocent, but Kane immediately pointed a shaking finger right at her. "The client explicitly told us we had to coordinate everything with this crazy bitch!"
"They told us to secure the room, then aim our guns at the two old... I mean, Mr. and Mrs. Vinton."
"And then... this bitch was supposed to dive in front of them and play the hero."
"The client guaranteed that if we played our parts perfectly, she would win back the Vinton family's favor, and she would take care of us financially once she secured her position."
The entire ballroom gasped.
The relief on Isabella's face shattered instantly, her faux-innocent mask crumbling into sheer panic.
She practically shrieked, "You're lying! You're making this up! I don't know you! What script? What hero? I have no idea what you're talking about!"
Did these thugs have zero professional integrity? Why were they spilling her entire master plan in front of everyone?!
But no matter how desperately she screamed, the crowd's eyes burned with absolute, unadulterated disgust.
Kiera pointed a trembling finger at Isabella, her chest heaving with fury. "No wonder... no wonder you fought tooth and nail to be at this ball!"
"You claimed you were here to support Serena! But this... this was your master plan!"
"What a hero... what an absolute hero!"
Kiera laughed bitterly, tears of absolute betrayal spilling down her cheek "You used my life, and
Holden's life as props for your little stage play
"So this is the surprise you had for us."
"How can someone be this venomous?!"
The guests no longer looked at Isabella like she was just an embarrassing clown.
Wearing fake jewelry and stealing the spotlight was pathetic. Framing someone for theft was malicious.
But hiring armed mercenaries, bringing real assault rifles into a growded ballroom and risking the lives of her own family just toplay the hero?
That wasn't just morally bankrupt. It was sociopathic!
"Oh my god... she is truly evil."
"She hired armed thugs to win back some attention? She played Russian roulette
with Mr. and Mrs. Vinton's lives?!"
"Does she have any idea what could
have happened? What if someone
had
a heart attack? Half the people
in this room are elderly!" Content"
"She's a complete lunatic!"
"And I actually thought she was being brave when she jumped in front of them. It
was a script!"
"She is rotten to her absolute core."
"Who would ever associate with a psychopath like that?"
Listening to her grandmother's heartbroken fury and the crowd's venomous disgust,
Isabella began to shake uncontrollably.
It was over.
It was completely, utterly over.
Every single one of her dirty secrets had just been dragged into the light...