Chapter 6

Isabella POV

​The wind howls, a mournful sound that matches the hollow feeling in my chest. Below us, a thousand feet of empty air. Above us, the woman who gave me life is calmly discussing my death.

​"The stone, Isabella," Eleanor Vane calls out. Her voice is amplified by the silence of the night. She looks regal, her silver hair perfectly coiffed despite the wind. "Don't be tedious. We both know you value your life far more than a piece of rock."

​Liam’s arm tightens around me. I can feel the vibration of his growl against my ribs. "Eleanor, if you touch that cable, I will spend every cent I have making sure you never see the sun again."

​My mother laughs. It’s a delicate, tinkling sound. "Liam, dear, if I cut this cable, you won’t have any cents left. The Vane lawyers are already filing the papers to absorb Sterling Tech based on the corporate espionage charges your 'intern' so kindly provided."

​She looks back at me. "Three. Two..."

​"Stop!" I scream. I hold the sapphire out over the abyss. My fingers are trembling, but my gaze is steady. "I’ll give it to you. But only if Liam walks away. If he’s touched, I drop it. You know I’m fast enough."

​Eleanor tilts her head, considering. "A trade. How romantic. Very well. Gentlemen, bring them up."

​The mechanical hum of the cradle starting up is the most terrifying sound I’ve ever heard. We rise slowly, the metal scraping against the glass of the skyscraper. When we reach the balcony, four men in tactical gear reach down and haul us over the railing.

​Liam is immediately pinned against the wall. He doesn't struggle; he knows the odds. His eyes are fixed on me, pleading with me not to do it.

​I walk toward my mother. Every step feels like I’m walking toward a firing squad. I hold the sapphire between my thumb and forefinger.

​"Here," I whisper.

​She takes it. She doesn't look at me. She holds the stone up to the light, her eyes reflecting the cold blue of the gem. "Finally. The Sterling legacy, back where it belongs."

​She gestures to her men. "Take Mr. Sterling to the lobby. Ensure he leaves the building. And Isabella..." She finally looks at me, a cruel smirk playing on her lips. "Welcome home, darling. Your father has missed you terribly."

​Liam POV

​They shove me out of the main entrance of the apartment complex. The cold air hits my face, but it doesn't compare to the ice in my veins.

​"Isabella!" I shout, but the heavy glass doors are already locked.

​Felix pulls up in the Aventador, his face pale. "Liam! We have to go! The police are regrouping, and Julian is screaming for your arrest at the precinct!"

​"I’m not leaving her, Felix."

​"You can't help her from a cell!" Felix shouts. "Look at the news!"

​He hands me his phone. The headline is everywhere: ISABELLA VANE FOUND. HEIRESS CLAIMS KIDNAPPING BY STERLING CEO.

​The video is playing—a pre-recorded statement from Eleanor Vane, using deep-fake technology or a very convincing double, claiming that Isabella was held in a basement and forced to hack her own father’s company.

​They’ve flipped the script. I’m no longer the rival; I’m the villain. And Isabella is back in the hands of the people who want to use her as a hard drive.

​"Go to the warehouse," I command, my voice cracking. "We move to Phase Two."

​"Phase Two?" Felix asks. "Liam, we lost the Medusa key. We have nothing."

​I look at the dark windows of the upper floors. "We don't have the key. But we have the architect. And Isabella Vane is about to show them why you never try to cage a genius."

​Isabella POV

​The Vane Mansion feels different. It used to be a home; now, it’s a high-security prison.

​I am sitting in the library, the very room where I overheard Julian and my father planning my end. The red dress is gone, replaced by a pristine white gown my mother chose. It feels like a shroud.

​My father, Arthur Vane, enters the room. He looks triumphant. He walks over to the desk and sets the sapphire down.

​"You almost cost us everything, Isabella," he says. He doesn't sound angry; he sounds disappointed, which is worse. "To run to a Sterling? After everything I gave you?"

​"You gave me a cage, Father. And a death sentence."

​He waves a hand dismissively. "Julian was over-eager. He’s been dealt with. He’s currently on a 'sabbatical' in the Maldives. He won't be bothering you again."

​"And the wedding?"

​"Cancelled. You're far too valuable to waste on a man like Julian. No, I have a much better plan for you."

​He turns the sapphire over. "The encryption on this stone... Silas couldn't break it. He’s been liquidated for his failure, by the way. But you... You wrote the original logic for the Princess Codes when you were a child. You're going to unlock Medusa for us tonight."

​"And if I don't?"

​Arthur smiles. It’s the smile of a shark. He taps a button on his desk. A screen descends from the ceiling.

​It’s a live feed of a dark room. Liam is tied to a chair. A man stands behind him, holding a very thin, sharp wire.

​"Liam is a resourceful man," Arthur says. "But even he can't outrun a wire. One command from me, and the Sterling line ends."

​My heart stops. "You promised Eleanor he could walk away!"

​"Your mother is a visionary, Isabella, but I am a businessman. I don't leave loose ends."

​I look at the screen. Liam looks beaten, his head hanging low. I feel a sob rise in my throat, but I choke it back. I am a Vane. I am a calculator.

​"Fine," I whisper. "I’ll unlock it."

​I sit at the computer. My fingers fly across the keys. The code is familiar, like an old friend. The Medusa encryption is a masterpiece of nested loops and prime number traps. It’s beautiful. And it’s deadly.

​As I work, I see my father leaning in, his eyes wide with hunger. He thinks he’s getting the keys to the world’s financial markets. He thinks he’s becoming a god.

​But he forgot one thing.

​I didn't just write the logic. I wrote the fail-safe.

​"It’s done," I say, stepping back. "The Medusa core is open."

​Arthur lunges for the mouse. He starts clicking, his face lit by the green glow of the data. "Yes... yes! Look at the flow! I can see every bank, every transaction! I can drain them all!"

​He doesn't notice the small red icon blinking in the corner of the screen.

​System Overload: 60 seconds.

​"I need to go to my room," I say, my voice trembling. "I feel sick."

​"Go, go," Arthur mutters, not even looking at me. "Guards, take her to her suite."

​I am led down the hall. As soon as the door to my room is locked, I run to the vanity. I pull out a small, handheld device I swiped from Liam’s safe house earlier.

​I press the button.

​"Liam, do you hear me?"

​Static. Then, a low voice. "I hear you, Princess."

​I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. "The feed was a loop, wasn't it? You're not in that room."

​"I was never in that room," Liam says. I can hear the sound of a motorcycle engine in the background. "Felix looped the security cameras twenty minutes ago. I'm three minutes from your front gate. Did you do it?"

​"Medusa is active," I say. "But not the way he thinks. In thirty seconds, the system will initiate a total wipe of every Vane server. It will also send a packet of evidence to the Department of Justice that makes his embezzlement look like a parking ticket."

​"And the fail-safe?"

​"The fail-safe is me, Liam. To stop the wipe, someone has to input a biometric scan from the main terminal. My father is currently locked in the library. He can't leave until the wipe is complete or he dies trying to stop it."

​"Isabella, listen to me." Liam’s voice is urgent. "The mansion is rigged. Your mother... she didn't just want the code. She wanted the insurance. If the system is breached, the house goes into lockdown."

​Thud.

​The sound of heavy metal shutters slamming over my windows echoes through the room. The lights flicker and turn red.

​"Liam? Liam!"

​The comms go dead.

​I run to the door. It’s sealed. I am trapped in the dark, and I can hear the faint sound of an alarm blaring from the library.

​Suddenly, the wall paneling next to my bed slides open.

​My mother is standing there, holding a small suitcase and a suppressed pistol. She looks at me with a terrifying lack of emotion.

​"You always were too clever for your own good, Isabella," she says. "Your father is a fool. He’s going down with his ship. But you and I... we’re going to a new port."

​"I'm not going anywhere with you."

​Eleanor raises the gun. "You are the only biometric key left, darling. And I have a buyer in Dubai who will pay billions for a living, breathing Medusa.":

The floor shakes. An explosion rocks the far wing of the house.

​"That would be Mr. Sterling," Eleanor says, checking her watch. "He’s right on time. Too bad he’s about to find a very empty cage."

​She grabs my arm, her grip like a vice. But as she pulls me toward the secret passage, a voice echoes through the vents.

​It’s not Liam.

​It’s Julian.

​"Change of plans, Eleanor," Julian’s voice is distorted, coming from the room's speakers. "I didn't go to the Maldives. And I'm not letting either of you leave this house until I get my share."

​The room begins to fill with a thick, sweet-smelling gas.