Chapter 9 - Isabella Wanted More Than Marcus
I had assumed Isabella attacked me because she wanted my husband.
That was only partly true.
The recovered correspondence suggested something uglier.
Isabella wanted ownership.
Not of Marcus.
Of the deal.
She believed her work had created much of the company’s regulatory value and that Marcus intended to cut her out after ending their affair.
Andrew encouraged that resentment.
He wanted favorable terms from the distributor.
She wanted money and influence.
Together, they pressured Marcus.
The personal history made him easier to manipulate.
Then Marcus’s affair became more than a secret.
It became a business weapon.
Did Andrew order Isabella to attack me?
Nothing supported that.
In fact, the messages suggested he repeatedly told her not to “make this emotional.”
The violence appeared to be Isabella’s own escalation.
But Andrew had helped her get information.
He knew my room.
He knew my condition.
And he knew she was angry.
That was enough to raise questions about what risks he knowingly created.
Then Elaine called.
The security team had completed its preservation review.
“There’s additional footage.”
“Of the attack?”
“No. Earlier.”
Isabella entered through a restricted service entrance thirty minutes before she confronted me.
Andrew was there.
They argued.
Then he handed her something.
A small envelope.
Marcus watched beside me.
“What was inside?”
Elaine couldn't know from video.
But Isabella slipped it into her clutch.
Then Andrew pointed toward the elevator leading to the event suites.
Isabella walked exactly where he pointed.
That didn’t prove he wanted her to hurt me.
May you like
But it proved one thing.
She hadn’t found me by accident.
