I tore the blueprint in two.
"This is garbage!" I threw the pieces at Kieran and yelled. "My dad would never create something this unsightly!"
The paper flew past Kieran's head, and he ducked. "Calm down, Isabella."
"Don't tell me to calm down!" I picked up another set of plans off the table. "His drawings are not these. They were altered by someone.
For two hours, we had been fighting. World War Three was breaking out on the first day of our collaboration. Every time Kieran showed me a document, I found something wrong with it.
Kieran gritted his teeth and said, "The blueprints are exactly as your father left them."
"Liar!" Papers flew everywhere as I swept my arm across the conference table. "My dad drew stunning structures. "Not these dull boxes!"
Maya, my assistant, crawled under the table to pick up scattered documents. Kieran had already seen two of his staff leave the room.
"Stop ruining everything!" Kieran hit the table with a slam. "We should be partners!"
"Partners are honest with one another!"
"I'm telling the truth!"
I strode to the whiteboard and began sketching. I drew the building I remembered from my father's home office, even though my hands were shaking with rage.
"This is how my father's Morrison Building looked," I said, tapping the board with the marker. walls with curves. Rooftop gardens. windows that provide natural light.
Kieran gazed at my illustration. His face turned white.
He whispered, "Where did you see this?"
"In the study of my father. The day before he passed away, he had this exact design on his desk.
"That isn't feasible."
"Why is it impossible?"
Kieran took his phone out and dialed. "We have a problem, Dad. The original Morrison design was drawn by Isabella. The authentic one.
Richard's words were inaudible to me, but Kieran's expression darkened with each one.
"Are you sure?" Kieran inquired. "Completely sure?"
He hung up and gave me a scared look.
"What?" I insisted. "What was said by your father?"
"Sit down, Isabella."
"I'd rather not sit down. I'm looking for answers.
"Please. Simply sit down.
I obeyed because of something in his voice. I crossed my arms and took a seat in the closest chair.
Kieran said slowly, "The blueprints we have aren't your father's original design."
"I knew it!"
"The actual plans were stolen two years ago. the evening of your father's passing.
My blood froze. "What do you mean, stole?"
"His office was broken into. substituted phony Morrison blueprints for the original ones.
"Who? "Who would do that?"
"We're not sure. However, they have the actual plans, regardless of who it was. And they'll most likely turn them against us."
I got up so quickly that the chair toppled over. "You believe my sister is in possession of them."
"It makes sense. She has been secretly managing your father's business. His office would have been open to her.
"No." I gave a headshake. "Our own father is not someone Sophie would steal from."
Would she not? For two years, she has been deceiving you. She created a company to compete with us while giving you the impression that she was dead.
"That's different!"
"Is it?"
I wanted to strike him. to let out a cry. to destroy all of the room's furniture. Rather, I picked up my handbag and made my way to the door.
"Where are you going?" Kieran gave a call.
"To visit my sister."
"Wait, Isabella. She is still not conscious.
"I'll wait for her to wake up after that."
Kieran caught up to me halfway to the elevator.
"You can't go alone," he stated.
"Observe me."
"I'll accompany you."
"No, you're not."
Kieran gently took hold of my arm. "I am, indeed. Remember that we are now partners?
I recoiled from his contact. Where his fingers had been, my skin tingled. "I don't recall consenting to be partners."
"You signed the contract yesterday."
"Sophie upset me. I wasn't thinking straight."
"A contract is a contract."
The doors of the elevator opened. In the hopes that Kieran would remain, I entered. However, he followed me inside and hit the lobby button.
In irate silence, we rode down. Even though I could feel him observing me, I chose to ignore him and instead focus on the floor numbers.
"Isabella," he uttered quietly. "I am aware of your fear."
"I'm not afraid. I'm upset.
"You can be both."
The lobby was dinged at by the elevator. Kieran followed me as I hurried out.
"Talk to me," he said.
"There's nothing to discuss."
"There is a lot to discuss. Your sister. The plans were stolen. The way you're fleeing from me."
I came to a halt and turned to look at him. "I won't flee from you."
"So why won't you give me a look?"
"Because..." I opened my mouth to say something abrasive and cruel. However, the words died in my throat as soon as I met his blue eyes.
He appeared anxious. genuinely worried about me. Despite everything I had thrown at him, he was no longer angry.
"Because what?" he inquired softly.
"Because I forget that I'm supposed to hate you when I look at you."
Before I could stop it, the confession escaped. Kieran's gaze expanded.
"Isabella..."
"Avoid it. Just don't. I pivoted and resumed my stroll.
However, the world began to spin after I had only taken three steps. The lobby floor appeared to slant to one side. Spots of black danced before my eyes.
I muttered, "I don't feel good."
"Isabella? "What's wrong, Isabella?"
Kieran's voice sounded distant. He seemed to be calling to me from the bottom of a well.
My knees gave way. The marble floor hurried to greet me.
However, I fell into sturdy arms rather than the ground. I was grabbed by Kieran, who pulled me to his chest.
He yelled at someone, "Call 911!" "Now!"
I tried to tell him I was okay. that I simply had to take a seat for a moment. But I couldn't speak. I felt strange and heavy all over.l
Kieran whispered in my ear, "Stay with me." "You dare not faint on me."
The black spots, however, were growing larger. taking over my vision. As consciousness faded, I felt Kieran's arms close around me.
A woman's voice was the last sound I heard before everything went dark.
"Kieran? What became of her?
Sophie's voice was heard. My sister was up. She was also present.
However, how could that have happened? She was declared unconscious by the doctors. that it could take her days to wake up.
Unless, of course, she had been acting.
Just as the darkness engulfed me, the thought struck me.
What if Sophie hadn't been harmed at all? What if the vehicle collision was a hoax? What if I had been crying and worrying next to her hospital bed while she had been acting like she was unconscious?
What if I had been duped from the start by my own sister?
She was here now, witnessing my collapse in the arms of the man I was meant to despise.
The man who made my knees weak and my heart race with his touch.
The man who could be the only one to rescue me from Sophie's game.
However, one horrifying thought kept coming to me as the world turned black:
But what if Kieran was also having fun?