CHAPTER 14 — THE LAST BETRAYAL
CHAPTER 14 — THE LAST BETRAYAL
The photograph remained on my phone.
My twin.
A gun against her head.
And beneath it:
I KNOW WHAT YOU LOVE.
For three seconds, I couldn't breathe.
Then I called her.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
My heart began pounding.
“Arthur!”
He turned.
“What happened?”
I showed him the photograph.
His expression changed instantly.
“Where was this taken?”
I enlarged the image.
The background was blurry.
But I recognized the curtains.
My own house.
Someone had been inside.
While we were gone.
Arthur immediately contacted security.
“Lock down the residence.”
A voice answered through his earpiece.
“Already done.”
“Anyone inside?”
A pause.
“Negative.”
My stomach dropped.
“Then where is she?”
Arthur looked at me.
“Who?”
“My sister.”
His face went pale.
THE EMPTY HOUSE
We reached the house within twenty minutes.
Every door was locked.
Every alarm was active.
Security cameras were functioning.
Nothing appeared disturbed.
But my sister's bedroom door was open.
I walked inside.
Her phone was on the bed.
Her shoes were beside it.
A cup of tea sat untouched on the nightstand.
And on the mirror—
someone had written one word in black ink.
BETRAYAL.
Arthur examined the room.
“She didn't leave willingly.”
I stared at the mirror.
“No.”
My phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
“Hello?”
A distorted voice replied.
“You should have listened to Damian.”
“Where is my sister?”
“Safe.”
“Prove it.”
A video appeared on my phone.
My sister was sitting in a dark room.
Her hands were tied.
She looked directly at the camera.
“Isabella, don't—”
The video stopped.
I clenched my fist.
“Who are you?”
The voice laughed.
“You've been asking the wrong question.”
“What question should I ask?”
“Who betrayed you?”
The call ended.
Arthur looked at me.
“It's bait.”
“I know.”
“Then don't go.”
I looked at the message.
“You're right.”
Then my phone buzzed again.
This time, a location appeared.
The rooftop of Montrose Global.
And one final instruction:
COME ALONE.
I smiled bitterly.
“They've been studying me.”
Arthur frowned.
“What?”
“They know exactly what I'll do.”
I picked up my coat.
“Which means they'll expect me to come alone.”
Arthur understood.
“So you won't.”
“No.”
I looked at him.
“We're going to give them exactly what they want.”
THE ROOFTOP
At midnight, I stepped onto the roof.
Alone.
At least, that's what the cameras would show.
The wind whipped through my hair.
The city stretched beneath me.
Every light looked like a tiny star.
Then a voice came from the darkness.
“You came.”
I turned.
Victoria stood beside the helicopter pad.
“I told you not to trust me.”
“I don't.”
She smiled.
“Good.”
“Where is my sister?”
“Alive.”
“Bring her here.”
“Not yet.”
I stared at her.
“You've been manipulating everyone.”
“Yes.”
“You lied about Victor.”
“Yes.”
“You lied about my father.”
“Yes.”
“You lied about Damian.”
“No.”
Her expression changed.
“I never lied about Damian.”
“Then tell me the truth.”
Victoria walked closer.
“The man controlling this isn't Victor.”
“I know.”
“It's Edmund.”
My heart stopped.
“My grandfather?”
“Yes.”
“But Damian said he was alive.”
“He is.”
“Where?”
Victoria pointed toward the building.
“Below us.”
I stared.
“Inside Montrose Global.”
She nodded.
“He never left.”
THE MAN UNDER THE COMPANY
Victoria led me through a concealed entrance.
We descended through levels I had never seen on any architectural plan.
Ten floors.
Twenty.
Thirty.
The deeper we went, the colder the air became.
Finally, we reached a steel door.
Victoria entered a code.
The door opened.
Inside was a room filled with monitors.
Every monitor showed someone.
My mother.
My father.
My sister.
Rosalie.
Damian.
Vanessa.
Arthur.
Even me.
I stared at the screens.
“How long?”
Victoria answered:
“Twenty-seven years.”
I felt sick.
“My entire life.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because your grandfather believed control was the only form of protection.”
A man spoke behind me.
“And he was right.”
I turned.
An elderly man stood beside the main console.
White hair.
Straight posture.
Cold blue eyes.
I had seen his photograph thousands of times.
Edmund Montrose.
My grandfather.
He smiled.
“Hello, Isabella.”
I couldn't move.
“You're alive.”
“Yes.”
“You watched everything.”
“Yes.”
“You watched Damian abuse me.”
“Yes.”
“You watched them steal from me.”
“Yes.”
“You watched Rosalie disappear.”
“Yes.”
My voice shook.
“And you did nothing.”
He smiled sadly.
“I was waiting.”
“For what?”
“For you to become strong enough to inherit everything.”
I stared at him.
“You call that strength?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
I stepped closer.
“You call cruelty education.”
His expression hardened.
“You survived.”
“Because I had no choice.”
“Exactly.”
I laughed.
“You're worse than Evelyn.”
His face went cold.
“Be careful.”
“No.”
For the first time in my life, I refused to be afraid.
“You don't get to call yourself my grandfather after treating my life like an experiment.”
Silence.
Then he smiled.
“Now you're ready.”
THE LAST BETRAYAL
The doors behind me locked.
My grandfather pressed a button.
A screen appeared.
My sister was brought into the room.
I rushed toward her.
Security guards stopped me.
She was alive.
But frightened.
“Isabella!”
“I'm here!”
Edmund watched us.
“This is the final test.”
I stared at him.
“Test?”
“You must choose.”
“Choose what?”
He pointed toward two screens.
One showed my sister.
The other showed Rosalie.
Both were trapped.
Both had armed guards beside them.
“You have sixty seconds.”
My blood froze.
“What do you want?”
“Choose which one receives the Montrose inheritance.”
“No.”
“Then neither survives.”
My sister screamed:
“Don't listen to him!”
Rosalie's voice came through the second screen.
“Mom!”
I closed my eyes.
My grandfather counted.
“Fifty.”
I opened them.
“Forty-nine.”
I looked at my sister.
Then Rosalie.
“Forty-eight.”
My grandfather smiled.
He believed he had finally cornered me.
But he had made one mistake.
He had spent twenty-seven years studying me.
And he still didn't understand me.
I looked directly at him.
“I choose neither.”
His smile disappeared.
“What?”
“I choose to destroy the inheritance.”
Silence.
My grandfather stood.
“You wouldn't.”
“Watch me.”
I pulled the small device Arthur had given me from my pocket.
He had warned me.
If I ever reached the vault again, I could activate the final failsafe.
The Montrose trust would dissolve.
Every asset would be transferred into independent foundations.
No heir.
No dynasty.
No empire.
No one would own it.
My grandfather stared at the device.
“You'll destroy your family's legacy.”
“Yes.”
“You'll lose billions.”
“Yes.”
“You'll become nothing.”
I smiled.
“That's what everyone thought before.”
I pressed the button.
THE EMPIRE WITHOUT AN OWNER
Every screen went black.
Then red.
SUCCESSION TERMINATED.
My grandfather's face turned white.
“No.”
He rushed toward the console.
“Stop it!”
“I can't.”
“You don't understand what you've done!”
“I understand perfectly.”
The system began transferring assets.
Hospitals.
Schools.
Research institutions.
Housing foundations.
Disaster-relief organizations.
Every major account.
Every property.
Every investment.
The fortune that had controlled governments, corporations, and families for generations was being divided.
Not stolen.
Not inherited.
Freed.
My grandfather collapsed into his chair.
“No.”
I walked toward him.
“You wanted a perfect heir.”
He looked at me.
“You got one.”
I pointed toward myself.
“Someone who refused to become you.”
THE LAST TRUTH ABOUT DAMIAN
The doors suddenly opened.
Damian walked inside.
Blood still stained his shirt.
He was accompanied by police officers.
My grandfather stared at him.
“How did you get out?”
Damian smiled.
“Your security team isn't yours anymore.”
Arthur stepped into the room behind him.
“Neither is your company.”
Edmund looked at me.
“You planned this.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“I learned.”
Damian looked at me.
“I owe you the truth.”
I waited.
“The first time I met you wasn't at that charity dinner.”
I frowned.
“When?”
“Three years before our wedding.”
My heart stopped.
“You knew who I was.”
“Yes.”
“Who told you?”
“Evelyn.”
“Why?”
“She wanted me to marry you.”
I stared.
“And you agreed.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I thought I could control the Montrose inheritance.”
He looked down.
“Then I fell in love with you.”
I didn't answer.
“I know that's meaningless now.”
“Yes.”
“I know.”
He stepped closer.
“I don't want forgiveness.”
“Good.”
“I only want you to know that the last thing I did before coming here…”
He looked at my sister.
“…was save her.”
My sister nodded.
“He did.”
I looked at Damian.
For the first time, I believed him.
But believing someone didn't mean letting them back into my life.
“Thank you.”
He nodded.
“That is enough.”
EVELYN'S FINAL MESSAGE
The police took Edmund away.
But before leaving, my phone received one final message.
From Evelyn.
You think you've won.
Then another.
You haven't.
A video appeared.
Evelyn was sitting inside a prison cell.
She smiled.
“Isabella.”
“You always believed I wanted your money.”
She leaned closer to the camera.
“I never cared about the money.”
I watched silently.
“I wanted something far more important.”
She paused.
“Your grandfather's secret.”
My heart stopped.
“What secret?”
She smiled.
“The reason he built the trust.”
The screen went black.
Then a final sentence appeared.
ASK YOUR MOTHER ABOUT THE NIGHT YOU WERE BORN.
I looked at my mother.
She was standing across the room.
Her face had gone completely white.
“Mom?”
She didn't answer.
“What's she talking about?”
My mother began crying.
Then she whispered:
“You weren't the first child I gave birth to.”
The room fell silent.
I stared at her.
“What?”
She closed her eyes.
“There was another.”
My grandfather had spent decades controlling the family.
Evelyn had spent years manipulating us.
Victor had stolen identities.
Damian had lied.
Victoria had hidden the truth.
But apparently—
the deepest secret had never been about money.
It had been about a child.
A child who had disappeared before I was old enough to remember.
And as my mother finally looked at me, she whispered the words that shattered everything I thought I knew:
“Your real older sister is still alive.”
I couldn't breathe.
My twin stepped forward.
“That's impossible.”
My mother shook her head.
“No.”
She looked toward the darkened screens.
“She has been watching all of you.”
Then every monitor in the room turned on at once.
One image appeared.
A woman.
Older than me.
Older than my twin.
With my mother's eyes.
And my face.
She looked directly into the camera.
Then she smiled.
“Hello, little sisters.”
The screen went black.
May you like
And somewhere in the building—
a door slowly opened.
