Chapter 2

　　~ Isabella ~

　　I gripped my heavy silver fork until my knuckles turned white. Across the long dining table, Arthur Wolfe set his wine glass down with a slow, heavy clink. He tapped his cloth napkin against his lips, his cold eyes fixed right on me.

　　"Isabella," Arthur said, his voice ringing across the dining room. "I hope the pan-seared duck isn't too complicated for your palate. I know your family's idea of a fancy Sunday dinner was canned soup and discount white bread."

　　My stomach tightened, but I kept my shoulders straight.

　　"The dinner is delicious, Arthur," I said, keeping my voice soft and steady. "Thank you."

　　Arthur smiled, but the warmth never reached his eyes. "I only ask because legacy matters. The Wolfe family has dined at this table for three generations. We understand quality. We understand where we come from. It must be very overwhelming for a girl from a small town to sit in a room like this every weekend."

　　I looked over at Nathan, waiting for him to step in. He sat right beside me in his dark blue suit, his thumb moving across his phone screen. His eyebrows were pinched together as he read through corporate emails. He had not touched his food in ten minutes.

　　I nudged his knee under the table.

　　Nathan blinked, looking up from the bright screen. "What? Sorry. Dad, leave Bella alone. She handles herself just fine." He reached out, patted my hand once, and immediately went back to typing. "I just need to finish checking these European shipping logs before dessert."

　　Arthur scoffed, cutting another piece of meat. "Your wife is very quiet tonight, Nathan. A co-founder should have more to say about our quarterly performance."

　　"I spoke during the board meeting this morning, Arthur," I said, looking him dead in the eye. "And the numbers proved that my strategy brought in a thirty percent increase in net revenue."

　　Victoria, sitting across from me, let out a short, sharp laugh. She wore a bright pink silk dress and twirled a heavy diamond bracelet around her wrist.

　　"Oh, strategy," Victoria said, rolling her eyes. "Is that what we are calling it now? Anyone can push papers around, Isabella. Building a real empire takes true bloodline vision. Dad built this company. Nathan expanded it. You just happened to be in the room when they did."

　　"I was in the room because I wrote the original business plan on a folding table while you were in Europe on your father's credit card," I said softly.

　　Victoria's cheeks turned red. She slammed her fork down onto her china plate with a loud bang.

　　Arthur's gaze hardened. "Watch your tone in my home, Isabella."

　　Before I could answer, Victoria grabbed her crystal cider glass and stood up. She tapped the side of her glass with her knife. Clink. Clink. Clink.

　　The room went dead silent. The butler standing near the wall froze.

　　"I would like to make a toast," Victoria said, her voice high and fake. She smiled down at Nathan. "To my brilliant brother. To the man who carries the entire weight of Wolfe Enterprises on his shoulders while everyone else just takes the credit."

　　Arthur raised his glass. "To Nathan."

　　Nathan smiled faintly, setting his phone down for the first time all evening. "Thanks, Vicky."

　　Victoria held her glass high, but her eyes slid slowly toward me. Her smile turned sharp. "And to complete transparency in our company accounts. Although, speaking of accounts, Nathan... I noticed something interesting while reviewing the weekly audit logs this afternoon."

　　Nathan raised his eyebrows. "What did you notice?"

　　Victoria took a tiny sip of her drink and set the glass back down. She folded her hands over her lap. "Oh, it's probably nothing. Just a small, unexplained cash outflow from our main account. Five hundred thousand dollars transferred to an untraceable offshore routing code."

　　Nathan's smile vanished instantly. His body went completely stiff. "What are you talking about? Every major transfer goes through my desk or Isabella's desk."

　　"Well, it did not come from your desk, brother," Victoria said, tilting her head with a look of fake sympathy. "I checked the authorization code. It used an executive login. I am sure it is just a simple accounting mistake. Someone who isn't used to handling large sums of money probably pushed the wrong button."

　　She looked straight at me when she said the word "someone."

　　The air in the room felt heavy and thin. Nathan turned his head and looked at me. His eyes were wide, filled with a sudden, sharp question that he didn't put into words.

　　"Bella?" Nathan asked, his voice low. "Did you authorize a transfer to an offshore account today?"

　　My heart hammered against my ribs. The seed of doubt had just been planted right in front of me, and I could feel it taking root in his mind.

　　"No," I said, keeping my voice firm. "I did not authorize any transfer. I saw a minor system error on my terminal before we left the office, but the IT department told me it was just a software update glitch."

　　Victoria sighed loudly, shaking her head. "A glitch? Half a million dollars doesn't just glitch into another bank account, Isabella. That is not how banking software works."

　　"I know how the software works, Victoria," I snapped, leaning forward. "I helped design the authorization protocols!"

　　"Enough," Arthur commanded, his deep voice bouncing off the high ceilings. He did not look angry at Victoria. He looked at Nathan. "Nathan, you will investigate this outflow first thing in the morning. If there is a breach in our financial security, I want to know who is responsible."

　　"I will handle it, Dad," Nathan said quietly. He did not look at me again. He picked up his phone, unlocked it, and started typing fast. The warm connection we shared in his office earlier that day felt a million miles away.

　　I couldn't sit at that table anymore. The smell of the food made me sick. The cold stares from Arthur and Victoria felt like heavy weights on my chest.

　　"Excuse me," I said. I stood up, pushed my chair in, and walked out of the dining room before anyone could stop me.

　　I pushed open the heavy glass doors that led out to the terrace. The cool night air hit my face, making me shiver in my thin dress. I walked over to the stone railing and rested my hands against the cold surface, looking out at the dark Atlantic Ocean.

　　I hated coming to the Hamptons estate. It always felt like stepping into a gilded trap. I thought about the little life growing inside me. Only Nathan knows about this pregnancy, I'm supposed to feel happy. The thought of being a mother soon should make me happy.

　　But my father-in-law and Victoria always have a way to make me feel small despite my hard work and support I've offered.

　　"They don't deserve you, you know."

　　I flinched, stepping back. Julian stepped out from the shadows near the garden archway. He wore a tailored black tuxedo, his hair neatly combed back. He held two crystal glasses of whiskey in his hands.

　　Julian was Nathan's best friend and our head legal counsel. He was always around, always quiet, and always watching.

　　"You scared me, Julian," I said, catching my breath.

　　"I apologize," Julian said softly. He walked over to the railing and stood right beside me. He held out one of the whiskey glasses. "You look like you need this."

　　"I don't drink whiskey," I said, keeping my hands at my sides.

　　"Right. You prefer red wine," Julian said with a smooth smile. He took a sip from his glass and set the other one down on the flat stone wall. "I always remember what you like, Isabella. Even if your husband forgets."

　　I frowned, shifting my weight away from him. "Nathan doesn't forget. He is just stressed about work."

　　"Is he?" Julian asked, turning his body toward me. His eyes scanned my face, slow and hungry. "He spent the whole dinner looking at his phone while his father and sister tore you apart. A real man protects what is his. Nathan protects his empire first, his family second, and you last."

　　"Julian, stop," I warned, my voice dropping. "Nathan is your best friend. I am his wife."

　　Julian stepped closer. The smell of his strong cologne hit my nose. He reached out his right hand, his fingers stopping right at the edge of my bare jawline.

　　He touched my face. His thumb moved slowly over the skin of my cheek, sliding down toward my neck in a way no man had any right to touch a married woman. It wasn't a gentle touch; it was heavy, possessive, and wrong.

　　My blood ran cold. I froze for half a second before jerking my head backward, breaking his grip.

　　"Don't touch me," I hissed.

　　Julian didn't back away. His eyes darkened, filled with a sudden, sharp jealousy that made my stomach drop.

　　"You always pick him," Julian whispered, his voice thick with anger. "Eight years ago, you picked him when he was broke. Now he is a billionaire, and he treats you like a servant at his father's table. You could have had someone who actually sees you, Isabella. I loved you long before Nathan ever looked twice at you."

　　"You are insane," I said, taking two big steps back toward the house doors. "I love my husband. I have always loved Nathan, and I will always be loyal to him. Stay away from me, Julian."

　　Julian stood straight, his face twisting into a cold, dark smile. He didn't look angry anymore. He looked dangerous.

　　"Loyalty?" Julian muttered, taking a slow sip of his whiskey. "Loyalty is a luxury you can no longer afford, Isabella. Storms are coming for Wolfe Enterprises. And when the walls start falling, Nathan won't be the one saving you."

　　He took a slow, deliberate sip of his whiskey and set the heavy crystal glass down on the stone ledge with a dull thunk.

　　"You think you're safe because you helped him build this place? You think the foundation is solid?" He stepped closer, his dark eyes locking onto mine with an unnatural intensity. "A storm is coming. And when the walls cave in, Nathan won't hold up the roof for you. He'll use you to keep it from crushing him."

　　"Get away from me," I said, my voice shaking despite my best efforts to keep it steady.

　　I turned on my heel and pushed open the heavy glass doors, stepping back into the warm, bright interior of the estate. The laughter from the dining room felt distant, hollow, and sharp. My hands were trembling so badly I had to clench them into tight fists at my sides. I crossed the marble foyer, ignoring the butler who offered to take my wrap, and walked straight to the private guest wing.

　　When I opened the bedroom door, the room was dark except for the blue glare of a laptop screen on the desk. Nathan sat on the edge of the bed, his tie undone and dangling around his neck, his thumb flying across his phone screen while his eyes scanned the laptop monitor.

　　I closed the door behind me, the soft click echoing in the quiet room. "Nathan."

　　He didn't look up immediately. "Hold on, Bella. I'm trying to trace the routing origin for those numbers Victoria mentioned. The bank's server in Zurich is flagged, but the access log is completely clean. It doesn't make any sense."

　　"Nathan, look at me," I said, stepping into the center of the room.

　　He paused, sighing heavily as he set his phone down on the nightstand and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Bella, please. I know my dad was brutal tonight. He's always like that when the quarterly audits come around. You just have to let it slide."

　　"It's not just your father," I said, my voice tightening as the phantom feeling of Julian's thumb on my cheek made my skin crawl. "Julian came out onto the terrace."

　　Nathan raised an eyebrow, his expression neutral. "Yeah? He said he was going to grab a drink. What about him?"

　　"He touched me, Nathan. He told me you didn't care about me, and then he said..." I swallowed hard, trying to clear the lump in my throat. "He warned me that a storm was coming. He said you'd throw me away to save the company."

　　Nathan stared at me for three long seconds. Then, he let out a short, tired breath that sounded almost like a laugh. "Bella, Julian has been working eighteen-hour days trying to finalize the European merger setup. He's stressed, we're all stressed, and he's always had a weird, dramatic way of talking when he drinks." He stood up, walking over to me and placing his hands lightly on my shoulders. "He's my best friend. He's been with us since the basement days. He wouldn't do anything to hurt us."

　　I looked into his eyes, searching for the man who had held me in his office hours ago, the man who had cried over a tiny ultrasound photo. But all I saw right now was a CEO surrounded by fires he couldn't put out, blindly trusting the wrong people because he couldn't afford to believe his inner circle was rotten.

　　"He touched me in a way a stranger shouldn't touch a married woman, Nathan," I whispered, the words heavy between us. "I told him to stay away from me, and he threatened me."

　　Nathan's jaw tightened slightly, a flicker of irritation crossing his features—not at Julian, but at the situation. "I'll talk to him about personal boundaries tomorrow, okay? But right now, I need to figure out why half a million dollars moved out of our main holding account without my authorization code. If Arthur gets wind that our security is compromised, he'll try to push for an external board review."

　　He kissed my forehead, a quick, distracted gesture, before pulling away and walking back to his laptop. "Go to sleep, Bella. You need rest. We have a six-thirty flight back to Manhattan."

　　I stood in the middle of the room, watching him type furiously into the dark. The warmth from the afternoon had completely evaporated, replaced by a cold, crawling dread that settled deep in my stomach, right over the tiny life growing inside me.