Chapter 41

---

Chapter 41: Shattered Facades

The rain beat against the penthouse windows, enveloping the city in a pall of grey and depressingness. Isla leaned against the floor-to-ceiling glass window, arms folded, her image warped next to the curving skyline. Christopher's leaving got under her skin—he had gone on impulse, pleading a business crisis, but she wasn't deceived. He was keeping something from her. Again.

She redirected her attention inward, back to the study desk where the old letters of her mother were scattered. Time-yellowed pages, ink faintly faded, but the emotions shouted clear and loud. Every word written in diligent cursive, a documentation of a passion shrouded in darkness. Victor Kane. The name beat like a curse.

"I never fell out of love with him, Isla. He was my secret, my salvation and my sin."

Her mother's words created a reality Isla wasn't prepared to confront, a past of sorrow and betrayal. It was not a matter of Victor's cruelty or manipulation. There had once been love. True, desperate love. The realization created a hollow in her breast she couldn't define.

Footsteps sounded behind her. Isla turned, her heart bounding—but it was not Christopher.

It was Ethan.

His presence sent a shiver of former unease down her spine. He had been avoiding her since her confrontation with Victor. Here he stood now, hair dripping wet from the rain, jaw tense with tension.

"Digging into things you shouldn't," he whispered, stepping closer. "Victor is dangerous. This is going to end with you broken."

I need to know the truth," Isla said, her voice firm even while her hands shook. "About my mother. About everything.".

Ethan's jaw clenched. "You think knowing how ill this web is will give you peace? It won't.".

Why are you here, then?

He stumbled, his eyes darkening. "Because I care, damn it. Because I cannot continue to watch you fall apart."

Isla's chest tightened. For a moment, the silence between them opened up with feeling too profound to name. Then, as if to prevent the moment from falling into something unsaid, Isla looked away and reached for one of the letters.

I discovered something," she said to me, her voice reedy. "My mother spoke about an estate—a place outside the city. She said that was where Victor made her decide between love or survival.".

Ethan's face changed. "That property. that's where it began. And ended.".

She looked at him. "Take me there."

He looked as if he might argue, but after a pause, he nodded. "Tomorrow. But Isla—be warned. The truth doesn't set you free. It haunts you."

---

That night, Christopher returned.

He came upon her sleeping on the couch, the letters clutched in her arms like a shield. He just stood there, looking at her. The pain, the secrets, the distance—each one of them etched on her face even in sleep. He kneeled beside her, gently sweeping a strand of hair from her cheek.

I'm trying to keep you safe," he whispered.

Yet even while he lied, he was aware that he was lying. For in shielding her, he was shattering the fragile trust that had developed between them.

Isla stirred, eyelids opening. Eyes met his, and the cold in them cut deeper than any knife.

Where were you?" she asked.

"Business."

She stared at him for a long time, then slowly sat up. "I don't believe you. And I'm through pretending."

Christopher's throat constricted. "What do you want from me?"

The truth, she went on. "About Victor. About my mother. About why I feel as if I'm living in someone else's nightmare.".

He turned away.

"I cannot," he finally said. "Not yet."

She stood up, gliding by him with a coldness that made him shiver. "Then perhaps Ethan is correct. Perhaps I must return to the beginning."

He jumped up. "Ethan? You're speaking to him again?"

She whirled around, eyes blazing. "At least he doesn't lie to me." Silence thundered between them. Christopher's fists were tight. "Don't go to that estate. Please." But Isla was already off, and she didn't glance back this time. Outside, the storm raged on unchecked. ---