Chapter 31

Alex left immediately.Izzy sat alone in her hospital room, the flash drive still sitting on the table beside her bed. She stared at it as if it might explode.A nurse came in to check her blood pressure. It was high again."You need to calm down," the nurse said."I know.""Whatever's stressing you***""I can't avoid it."The nurse frowned but said nothing.After she left, Izzy called Sophie."Vivienne's in the hospital," she said when Sophie answered. "Possible stroke.""Jesus. When?""Just now. Alex went to be with her.""How convenient.""What do you mean?""Izzy, come on. Alex confronted Vivienne yesterday, she admitted everything, and today she has a medical emergency? That's suspicious.""You think she's faking?""I think Vivienne's very good at controlling narratives. What better way to avoid consequences than to become the victim?""That's cynical even for you.""Maybe. But I've dealt with people like Vivienne before. They don't go down without a fight."Izzy rubbed her templ

Last Updated : 2026-02-03

Chapter 32

Julian was waiting in Izzy's room when they got back.He stood when they entered, hands shoved in his pockets."I heard what happened downstairs," he said. "Nurses are talking.""Good," Izzy said. "Let them talk."Alex helped her back into bed. The exertion had made her dizzy.Julian sat in the chair. "For what it's worth, you said what needed to be said.""Did I? Or did I just make everything worse?""With Vivienne, there is no making things worse. There's only being honest or letting her control the narrative."Izzy studied him. "We need to talk.""About?""Sentinel Strategies."Julian's expression didn't change, but something shifted behind his eyes. "What about them?""They're the firm that hired Cameron. The firm that's been feeding him information about Vivienne.""I know."Alex looked sharply at his brother. "You know?""Yeah. I hired them."The admission hung in the air."Jesus Christ, Julian," Alex said. "Why?""Because someone had to. Because Vivienne was never going to face

Last Updated : 2026-02-03

Chapter 33

The doctor refused."Absolutely not," Dr. Patel said when Izzy brought it up. "Your blood pressure is still unstable. Leaving the hospital for a board meeting is out of the question.""It's two hours. Three at most.""Two hours during which you could have a crisis with no medical support.""I'll bring a nurse.""Ms. Torres, I understand you want to be involved, but your health and your baby's health have to come first.""This is about my baby's future. About the family they're being born into.""What if we compromise?" Sophie said. "What if the meeting came to her? The foundation has video conferencing. Set up a laptop, let Izzy participate remotely. She stays in bed, stays monitored, but she's still present."Dr. Patel considered this. "You wouldn't be able to vote if you're not physically present.""I don't have a vote anyway," Izzy said. "I just want to observe.""And if the discussion becomes stressful?""Then I'll disconnect."The doctor looked at her charts. "Fine. But the momen

Last Updated : 2026-02-04

Chapter 34

The nurse gave Izzy medication to bring her blood pressure down."You need to stay calm," she said. "No more board meetings.""Noted."After the nurse left, Izzy lay in the dark trying to process what she'd just witnessed.Alex had kicked Julian off the board. His own brother. The person who'd been trying to get justice for Lila.Or was he? The more Izzy thought about it, the less certain she became.Her phone buzzed. Alex.*On my way to you. Need to explain.**Okay.*Twenty minutes later, he walked in looking exhausted."Before you say anything," he started."I'm not saying anything. I'm listening."He sat down heavily. "Julian crossed a line.""By documenting what Vivienne did?""By weaponizing it. By turning the board meeting into a public execution.""The board needed to know.""They did. But not like that. Not as a gotcha moment designed to humiliate our mother and force my hand.""So you kicked him out.""I removed someone who was using the foundation for personal revenge. There

Last Updated : 2026-02-04

Chapter 35

Alex moved into the hospital room.Not officially. The nurses didn't approve. But he brought a sleeping bag, a pillow, and refused to leave."This is ridiculous," Izzy said. "You have a foundation to run.""I can run it from here.""You need actual sleep. In an actual bed.""I'll sleep when your blood pressure stabilizes."He set up a makeshift office in the corner. Laptop, files, phone charger. He took calls in the hallway and came back to work beside her bed."You're hovering," Izzy said."I'm present. There's a difference.""Barely."But secretly, she was grateful. The nights were the worst. When the hospital went quiet, her mind wouldn't stop spinning through worst-case scenarios.What if the baby came too early?What if something went wrong?What if Julian destroyed the foundation and Alex blamed her for not stopping it?"Stop thinking so loud," Alex said from his corner at two AM."I'm not thinking loud.""You breathe differently when you're anxious.""That's creepy.""That's ob

Last Updated : 2026-02-05

Chapter 36

Alex came back six hours later looking worse than when he'd left."What happened?" Izzy asked."Vivienne showed up at my apartment.""Is she okay? I thought the doctors said she needed to rest.""She's fine. Or fine enough to ambush me in my own home." He sat down heavily. "She wanted to make a deal.""What kind of deal?""She'll step away from the foundation permanently. No board seat, no advisory role, nothing. In exchange, I don't give the speech at the gala.""What did you say?""I said no.""Just like that?""Just like that. She tried to negotiate. Offered to increase her donations, to fund new programs, to do whatever I wanted. But the price was silence about what happened with Lila.""And you refused.""Yeah. You should have seen her face. I don't think anyone's told her no in years." He rubbed his eyes. "She said I was choosing a dead woman over my living mother."Izzy winced. "That's cruel.""That's Vivienne. When she doesn't get what she wants, she goes for the throat.""How

Last Updated : 2026-02-06