Chapter 20

Isabella's heels click across the marble floor as she approaches, and Noah is on his feet before she reaches the table.

"You weren't invited." His voice is low, controlled, but I can hear the warning underneath it.

"It's a public charity gala, Noah. My donation cleared weeks ago." Isabella's smile doesn't waver. "I have every right to be here."

I stand too, careful not to jostle Lila, who stirs against the empty chair Elena quickly pulls close to catch her. My father moves in beside me without a word, his presence solid at my shoulder.

"Whatever you came here to do," I say, "make it quick. My daughter is asleep three feet away."

Isabella's eyes flick to Lila, something almost soft crossing her face before it hardens again. "I didn't come to make a scene. I came because Marcus has something he wants to say. Something he should have said months ago."

She steps aside, and Delray moves forward, hands stuffed in his pockets, looking nothing like the confident performer from the gala eleven months ago. He looks tired. Smaller.

"I want to turn myself in." His voice is quiet, aimed mostly at the floor. "To the board, to the police if it comes to that. I'll give a full statement."

"Why now." Julian's voice cuts in, sharp with suspicion.

"Because she's been threatening my sister for months to keep me quiet, and I'm done being scared of her." Delray's eyes lift to Isabella, and whatever's between them, it isn't loyalty. "The messages I sent Amara. That was her too. She fed me every word."

The table goes silent. Isabella's composure cracks for half a second before she smooths it back into place.

"He's lying," she says. "He's trying to save himself."

"I have the texts." Delray pulls out his phone, holding it toward Julian instead of me. "Every instruction. Every payment. It's all there."

Noah's jaw tightens. "Isabella, if this is true—"

"It isn't." Her voice rises, just slightly, enough to draw a few nearby glances. "This is a setup. He's been paid by someone else to discredit me."

"Nobody paid me anything." Delray's voice cracks with something that sounds like relief. "I'm done. I just want it over."

Two security guards from the hospital foundation approach, alerted by the growing tension, and Isabella's eyes dart between them and the exit like she's calculating odds.

"This isn't finished," she says, low enough that only our table hears it, before turning and walking fast toward the doors, Delray staying exactly where he is.

"I'll need you to come with me," Julian tells him. "Tonight. Before you change your mind."

Delray nods, and they disappear together toward a side room, leaving the rest of us standing in stunned quiet at a table meant for a children's charity gala.

Noah exhales slowly, running a hand down his face. "That's it. That's actually it."

"We don't know that yet." My father's voice stays measured. "But it's close."

I sit back down, pulling Lila gently into my lap, her weight grounding me the way it always does. Across the table, Noah watches me, something unreadable behind his eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asks quietly.

"I don't know yet." I press a kiss to Lila's hair. "Ask me tomorrow."