WHISPERS OF BETRAYAL : THE COLD CEO

The Shopping

Isabella walked out of his office, breathing a breath of relief she didn't know she'd been holding in. On her way out, she bumped into someone and started to apologize, only to see who it was.

"Luca," she said with a smile. The two of them hugged each other; it had been ages since they'd last seen one another. "How was the interview?" he asked. She told him she'd gotten the job. "Congrats," he said.

Then Fiamma walked in on them and approached, looking beautiful as ever in a body-hugging, fitted gown. "How was it?" she asked. Isabella told her she'd gotten the job. Fiamma smiled. "We must go shopping!" Luca tried to walk out, giving them space, but Fiamma called after him.

"Luca, how are you? I heard from your cousin that you are not feeling too good." Luca's smile vanished. "I'm fine," he said, and walked out.

Isabella looked at Fiamma. "Don't tell me you are still in love with him after all these years." Fiamma sighed. "I'm deeply in love with him, but he is too toxic to see it." The two of them walked out of the company, climbed into Fiamma's luxury car, and drove to a shopping mall.

Fiamma bought lots of clothes for both of them, after countless tryings of different outfits. She drove Isabella back to her grandmother's house. Isabella told her, "Thanks so much for the shopping and making me get a job." Fiamma smiled and said, "It's nothing."

She couldn't come in — she said she had somewhere urgent to be. Isabella kissed her cheek, told her goodnight, and stepped out of the car, watching her drive away.

Isabella went inside, took the clothes up to her room, freshened up, and headed back downstairs to greet her grandmother. She had dinner, watched a short drama with Nonna Sophia, kissed her goodnight, and went to bed.

She woke up early the next morning, dressed in a fitted sky-blue skirt and a black top, put on her stiletto heels, and went downstairs. "Good morning, grandma. How was your night?"

Nonna Sophia replied, "It was fine. Come and have breakfast; I prepared pancakes and scrambled eggs with tea." Isabella sat down, ate quickly, and headed to work.

She arrived early, and a colleague named Vivian showed her around the company, briefed her on her new job, and led her to her desk. She immediately began going through the files, arranging the CEO's meetings and schedule.

Her intercom rang. She picked it up — it was Leonardo. "Come to my office," he said, and hung up. She hurried over and knocked before entering, after hearing him say, "Come in." "Good morning, sir," she greeted. He simply nodded.

"Check my schedule and tell me: when am I having my next meeting?" he asked.

"Sir, your next meeting is with the Spanish investors. The meeting is scheduled for 1:00 PM at Lacree's restaurant, sir."

"Do I have any other meetings?"

"No, sir. But after the meeting with the Spanish investors, you have to go to the new café shop and see if it is worth buying. You plan to demolish it and build a club there. That's all, sir, for today."

"Take these files and go through them. I need a report on them before 1:00 PM."

Isabella was shocked. There were so many files, and it was already 10:00 AM. How could she finish them in just three hours? She said nothing but, "Okay, sir," took the files, and asked, "Sir, is that all?" He said, "Yes." She walked out and got busy sorting through them.

She worked through each file with careful, rapid attention in order to meet the deadline he'd given her. At exactly 12:55 PM, she was done. She knocked on his office door, opened it, and dropped the reports on his desk.

Leonardo didn't say anything at first — just glanced at his wristwatch before going through the files. He'd expected a mistake or a mess, given how little time she'd had to sort through them. But to his surprise, there wasn't a single error. It was flawlessly done.

He remained completely expressionless and simply told her, "Gather your things; we are leaving for the restaurant now." After she left the room, he allowed himself a private thought: apparently, the certificate wasn't just for show.

They both got into his car. On the way, she briefed him on the meeting. They arrived on time. The meeting was brief — they signed the contract, shook hands, and left.

From there, they went to the café shop. The building was old and worn out, but the space suited a club well enough. Leonardo told the owner his lawyer would come by with the documents, and after paying him, they left and returned to the office. It was already 3:16 PM.

Immediately after he sat down, within the next twenty minutes, Isabella called to tell him his uncle wanted to see him. He told her to let him in.

The peaceful silence of Leonardo's office shattered when the doors swung open without a knock. His arrogant, power-hungry uncle, Marcelo Moretti, strolled in with a taunting smirk on his face.

Marcelo walked right up to the desk, ignoring Leonardo's murderous glare, and casually tossed a certified legal document onto the polished table. "This is a copy of your father's will."

"Dear nephew, if you don't get married before your thirtieth birthday, all this is mine. Have you forgotten that clause in your father's will?" He smirked and laughed. "All this is mine. Your frozen heart will not make you get married. Enjoy your few months left as CEO." He walked out with a triumphant smile on his face.

Leonardo slammed his fist onto the desk, boiling with anger. He would never let his uncle take this company from him. Never — not after all the hard work and sacrifice. Never.