complicated feelings

CHAPTER 6: RUMORS

By morning, the whole house knew.

Isla heard it before she even left her room.

"...secret daughter..."

"...sleeping in the east wing..."

"...Lorenzo was in there with her all night..."

She froze with her hand on the doorknob.

The voices were from two maids down the hall.

Isla waited until they walked away, then stepped out.

She had one job today. Stay invisible.

It lasted 10 minutes.

A butler. "Mr. Richard requests you in the study. 9AM sharp."

Isla nodded.

The Hourton study smelled like leather and money. Richard was on the phone. He waved her in without looking up.

"...no, she's not an heir. The lawyers are handling it. Yes. A settlement. A simple NDA."

He hung up.

"People are talking," Richard said. "That's how rumors work. By tonight the press will have 'Billionaire's Secret Daughter Moves In'. My stocks will drop 2%."

Isla kept her face blank.

"Is that why you called me? To threaten me? To tell me how much I cost you?"

Richard pushed an envelope across the desk. 5 million euros. You get the money. You sign NDA. Leave today.

Isla stared at the envelope. 5 million. Her mom's hospital debt when she died was 40,000 euros. Her Aunt Clara worked double shifts to send Isla to school.

She pushed it back. "No."

Richard's jaw ticked. "You're making a mistake. I've made plenty, Isla. Don't make one more."

"I'm staying," Isla said. She walked out before he could answer.

The hallway was worse.

Whispers. Stares.

Selena was at the top of the stairs, phone to her ear, loud enough for Isla to hear. "Yes, Mamma, she thinks because she spread her legs like her mother, she can have everything. An illegitimate from Joburg trying to be a Hourton princess."

Isla didn't stop. She went to the kitchen. Rosa was there.

"Don't listen to them, cara," Rosa said. "This house has always loved gossip more than truth."

"Why does everyone hate my mother?" Isla asked.

Rosa sighed. "Because she was the only one who said no to him. And men like Richard never forget a woman who says no."

Outside, Damian was waiting in the garden.

"You okay? I heard my father called you."

"He offered me 5 million to leave."

Damian laughed without humor. "Cheap. He offered Marie 50k in 2006 to disappear. Inflation is a bitch."

Isla looked at him. "Did you know my mom?"

"No. But I know what he did. And I know my brother Lorenzo is lying to you too."

"What do you mean?"

"Lorenzo told you he just found the file? He knew about you for 3 years, Isla. He has been paying your Aunt Clara's rent in Joburg."

Isla felt the ground shift.

Lorenzo was paying Aunt Clara?

She turned and saw Lorenzo at the window of his office, watching them.

His face was unreadable.

That night, the rumors got worse. Someone had leaked a photo of Isla entering the estate.

By 9PM, #HourtonSecretDaughter was trending in Italy.

And Richard Hourton had one more trick left.