THE UNMASKED HEIRESS: Isabella Hartman is back

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my voice shaking on the other end of the phone even though I was struggling to

ike it was all the time when he was trying to write me off. "I'm busy

my life. He'd saved my life by catching a bullet, or at least, that's what I thought, and I'd evened the score by going down for him. Six months in a minimum-security prison, a sealed recor

rtist to "polish" me, he slathered my face down with thick foundation and contour until I barely recognized my reflection in the mirror. "Can't have anyone whispering about my fiancée

my stepsister, had always been the thorn in my life, glamorous and deadly jealous. She loved the attention, and Ethan was providing an abundance of it

my criminal origins as an Ashcroft heiress. I was a trained digital forensics tactici

of the living room, and recording every angle of the area we were expected to refer to as home. He had been spending more nights the

w to thread my fingers through, he moved with a rhythm that turned my stomach. Underneath him lay Lilian, her sexy red dress abandoned on the

y chest. It was not simply a betrayal; it was a declaration of war. The man who at one time had sworn to protect me, was now using my own family to 

name flashing across the screen. I watched as it played,

ith his face and that of Lilian, their betrayal captured in the surveillance feed. My heart thudded,

escending tone. "I'm not going to have your shit affecting my empire when we're mar

porate leak, in order to save his beloved Blackvale empire, signed an N.D.A. and spent a retributory six months in prison. All because I had faith in him, in us.

ant to talk about family, Ethan? then you fucking Lilian in our bed?

eyes squinting, planning his next attack. "Isabella, what do you mean?" he stamm

l. I'd left my past behind once before, shed my old self as Isabella Hartman to become Bella Sinclair, for him. I'd love

ed the San Francisco skyline sparkle outside, a reminder of the world I'd battled to take back. E

e Ashcroft throne, the tech dynasty that made Blackvale look like a footnote. I'd taken on a disguise so I could be with him, so I co

number I hadn't dialed in years. After the first ring, a second,

he'd sparked. "I'm ready to be who I truly am." I hesitated, as I checked the video feed one final ti