Page 57 of The Forbidden Billionaire Attorney

I can almost hear the ice crackling in my abandoned drink, the cold seeping into my veins. Isabella had suspicions—correction, she had facts—and I dismissed them. The guilt piles on, heavy as the last word in an argument you know you’ve lost. “What did you hear?”

“About how they’re set to move to the next phase of their plan—pin the media leak on someone in your firm.”

My stomach does a flip that could compete in the Olympics. “Did you hear who?”

“It was a woman’s name. I think Isabella? I walked away right after that so they wouldn’t catch me. Adrian, my career may be at stake for telling you all this, but it doesn’t feel right to stay quiet. You need to stay a step ahead of them.”

“Already am. Thanks, Sam,” I manage, voice sounding like I’ve gargled gravel. He’s putting his neck on the line for this call. “I owe you one.” Or twenty.

“Stop them, Adrian,” is all he says before hanging up.

“Stop them” sounds like a tall order when your trust has been doing the limbo under betrayal’s stick. But Isabella had been right all along. And I? Well, I’d been spectacularly, monumentally wrong.

It’s time to stop playing defense with my heart as the penalty. Time to step up my game. Because if there’s one thing I know, it’s that Isabella King doesn’t deserve to be collateral damage in a war she triedto warn me about. And if I have to climb through the trenches to make it right, then so be it.

My heart’s not just racing; it’s sprinting like it’s got a finish line to cross. The buzzing in my ears isn’t just from the shock of Sam’s bombshell—it’s pure, unadulterated guilt. I’ve been a first-class idiot, letting my misplaced trust in Leo blind me to Isabella’s sharp instincts. Mom’s voice slices through the fog of betrayal, “Adrian, what’s wrong?”

I wave her off, fingers fumbling over my phone screen to text Isabella. I need to tell her right away. But there’s no answer, no comforting “ding” to signal she’s heard me. Tapping into my overly concerned baby daddy skills, I check her location. Bingo—she’s at the office. She didn’t come into work today, though. Why would she suddenly be there now?

“Mom, can you watch Caleb?” My voice comes out more desperate than I intend. “I need to go see Isabella.”

“Of course,” she replies, eyes narrowing in concern. Mothers—gotta love their built-in worry radar.

I’m all thumbs as I snatch my jacket, keys jingling a frantic melody as I scoop them up. If I were a superhero, my superpower would be screwing things up at light speed.

“Adrian,” Mom calls after me, her tone laced with a mix of caution and care, “be honest with her.”

“Plan A,” I mutter, because let’s face it, Plan B is basically “Adrian screws up again.”

The night air slaps me awake as I stride to the car. It’s time to put on the charm, unleash the wit, and for once, get real with the one person who’s seen through my polished facade. As I peel out of the driveway, I can only hope that Isabella’s still willing to listen, and that I can fix the unfixable before it’s too late.

Chapter twenty-three

Isabella

Ibreeze into the office, my heels clicking a steady rhythm against the polished floors. The entire floor is dark and quiet, but there’s a knot in the air, one I can’t quite untangle. Then I spot them—Kate, Leo, and Jordan the IT guy huddled together like they’re plotting to steal the last cookie from the jar. And wouldn’t you know it, Jordan gives this tiny nod, so small you’d miss it if you blinked. Great, the IT guy’s in on whatever this is.

“Is everything okay? Did you figure out my Roblox login?” I say, more to break their weird little pow-wow than anything else.

They turn, and Leo’s face has that look, like he just won the lottery but lost the ticket. “Isabella,” he starts, voice dripping with fake concern, “we need to talk.” Oh, do we ever.

“About?” I cross my arms over my chest.

“Found something interesting on your computer,” he accuses as I edge closer, my heart doing an unwanted salsa in my chest. I shoota glance at my desk, expecting smoke or fireworks, but nope, my computer sits there, innocent as a cat next to a spilled vase.

“Jordan found documents that prove you’ve been hiding liabilities related to the merger,” Leo continues, throwing his words like daggers.

“Excuse me?” My eyebrows shoot up so high they could apply for orbit. Hiding liabilities? In what universe?

“Seems like sabotage to me,” Kate says, her normally kind demeanor suddenly dissipated.

“What’s the matter, Isabella? Adrian not giving you enough attention? You had to go and leak significant files to the media?” Leo smirks, and oh, it’s a punch straight to the gut.

Betrayal seeps into my veins like poison. Kate, of all people—my confidant, my lunch buddy, the keeper of my biggest secret: Adrian and me. She must’ve spilled it all to Leo, served it up on a silver platter with a side of backstabbing.

“Wow, Leo, did you come up with that zinger all by yourself or did you have to Google ‘how to be a grade-A jerk’?” I manage, even though my voice quavers with anger.

But inside, I’m reeling. Because if they know about Adrian, what else have they dug up? And just how far are they willing to go to take me down?

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