Chapter 147

Adrian Valentine rubbed his temples in frustration, his voice low and tense. "Go home and stay there. The stock prices of the Langley Group and Valentine Corporation are about to plummet."

"Isabella, I always thought you were smart enough." His lips curled into a cold smirk. "Digging your own grave once was bad enough. Why make the same mistake twice?"

Isabella Langley bit her lip, not daring to meet his gaze. Her mother had been desperately trying to suppress the scandal at the company, but it was futile. Her father was too preoccupied with the mineral atlas project to spare her any attention. Now, her only hope was Adrian.

Her fists clenched, nails digging deep into her palms. That bitch Evelyn Roland should just drop dead already!

"Adrian, I know I was wrong," she whispered, her voice trembling. What terrified her more was the possibility of Scarlett Orlando uncovering the truth about the car accident.

"Darling!" Margaret Valentine hurried over, taking Isabella's hands in hers with motherly concern. The three of them stepped into the office.

Margaret spoke soothingly, "Don't worry, Adrian will handle the online mess. Go home and rest. I'll make sure your name is cleared."

Isabella looked at her future mother-in-law with gratitude. Margaret treated her better than her own daughter, always putting her first.

Leaning in, she murmured into Margaret's ear, "Auntie, I only acted out because I saw Adrian visiting Evelyn that day... I never thought things would spiral this badly."

Margaret patted her hand reassuringly. "Relax. I'll force that orphan to apologize. Who does she think she is, daring to compete with you?"

Turning to the door, she instructed, "The driver is waiting downstairs. Go home now."

Isabella cast a hesitant glance at Adrian. His expression was stormy, dark with anger.

"Adrian, I'll... I'll go now," she said, her voice thick with unshed tears.

He didn’t even look at her.

The moment Isabella left, Margaret's face hardened. "Find Evelyn immediately and arrange a press conference! Isabella's reputation must be restored!"

Adrian's lips twisted into a mocking smile. "Are you blind to the crashing stock prices? Do you want to push a dying woman to her grave, or watch the company go bankrupt?"

"Bankrupt?" Margaret shrieked. "Don't be ridiculous!"

Her voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. "There's something else. We need to get our hands on Alexander Durand's mineral atlas. We'll mine it ourselves!"

The thought infuriated her. "That bitch refused to talk before. If you hadn't shown her those photos—"

She winced, pressing a hand to her aching lower back. For the past year, she hadn’t slept properly. The irony was, only Evelyn could ease her pain.

Knock knock.

The sharp rapping interrupted her thoughts. Adrian's voice was icy. "Enter."