Isabelle’s POV The meeting room was pristine, the kind of sterile environment that stifled emotions and amplified tension. I sat at the head of the long glass table, flipping through the agenda for the upcoming collaboration between my company and Ryder Industries. But my mind wasn’t on logistics or contracts. It was on her. Kaia Carter. She sat at the opposite end of the table, poised and polished in her tailored suit, her every move deliberate, her smile just sharp enough to cut. I had spent the last few days piecing together the threads of her alliance with Walter Ryder, and what I’d found left me both furious and unsettled. Kaia wasn’t just manipulative—she was ambitious. Dangerous. And now, with the details Stephanie had uncovered, I knew the truth. Kaia didn’t care about Walt