EPISODE 3
1237 Words
A DEBT FROM THE PAST
“You look exactly like your father.”
The words hung heavily in the air.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Isabella felt as though the ground had disappeared beneath her feet.
The elderly man’s eyes remained fixed on her face.
Not in surprise.
Not in curiosity.
But in recognition.
As if he had known her long before this moment.
As if he had been expecting her.
“What did you just say?” Isabella asked quietly.
The old man sighed.
His shoulders seemed to sag beneath the weight of some invisible burden.
“The resemblance is remarkable.”
Alexander immediately stepped forward.
“Grandfather.”
His tone was sharp.
A warning.
The old man looked at him before shaking his head.
“You can’t hide the truth forever.”
Isabella’s heart skipped.
Truth?
What truth?
Her eyes darted between the two men.
The tension in the room was impossible to miss.
It felt as though she had accidentally walked into the middle of a secret she wasn’t supposed to know.
“Can somebody explain what’s going on?” she demanded.
Alexander’s jaw tightened.
“There is nothing to explain.”
“Liar.”
The word slipped out before she could stop herself.
Silence followed.
For a moment she expected him to explode.
Expected him to throw her out of the office.
Instead, something surprising happened.
Alexander looked away.
Almost guilty.
That single reaction told her everything.
He was hiding something.
Something important.
The old man walked slowly toward the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the city.
“When your father was alive,” he said softly, “he was one of the most honest men I ever met.”
Isabella froze.
Nobody spoke about her father anymore.
Not since the accident.
Not since everything fell apart.
“What did you know about him?” she asked.
The old man opened his mouth to answer.
But Alexander cut him off immediately.
“That’s enough.”
His voice echoed through the office.
The old man frowned.
“Alexander”
“I said enough.”
The room became silent.
A strange feeling settled in Isabella’s stomach.
Fear.
The more Alexander refused to talk, the more she wanted answers.
What connection could possibly exist between the king's family and her father?
Before she could ask another question, the office doors suddenly flew open.
A woman entered.
Beautiful.
Elegant.
Confident.
The type of woman who knew she was attractive and expected everyone else to know it too.
Her long dark hair flowed over her shoulders.
Diamond earrings sparkled beneath the lights.
She stopped the moment she noticed Isabella.
The smile on her face disappeared instantly.
Her gaze swept over Isabella from head to toe.
The ruined wedding dress.
The damp hair.
The tired eyes.
Then came the smirk.
“Who is she?”
Alexander’s expression immediately darkened.
“What are you doing here, Victoria?”
Victoria.
The name sounded familiar.
Then Isabella remembered.
Victoria Sinclair.
The heiress everyone expected Alexander King to marry.
Victoria folded her arms.
“I was having lunch with your grandfather downstairs.”
Her eyes returned to Isabella.
“I asked a question.”
Nobody answered.
Victoria took a step forward.
The expensive perfume she wore filled the room.
“Your assistant?”
The insult was obvious.
Isabella clenched her jaw.
She had already suffered enough humiliation for one day.
She wasn’t in the mood for another.
“No,” Alexander replied calmly.
Victoria blinked.
“No?”
Alexander stood.
The atmosphere instantly changed.
Power radiated from him.
The kind of power that made entire rooms fall silent.
“She works directly for me.”
Victoria laughed.
The sound was cold.
“Another one?”
Alexander’s eyes narrowed.
“Leave.”
The smile vanished from Victoria’s face.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me.”
For a second, Isabella thought Victoria might argue.
Instead, she slowly walked toward her.
Stopping only inches away.
Their eyes met.
Victoria smiled.
But there was nothing friendly about it.
“Whatever fantasy you’re entertaining,” she whispered, “it won’t last.”
Isabella stared back.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, you will.”
Victoria’s smile widened.
Then she walked away.
But not before leaving one final warning.
“Nobody takes Alexander King from me.”
The office doors slammed shut behind her.
The silence that followed felt suffocating.
“Pleasant woman,” Isabella muttered.
To her surprise, the grandfather laughed.
Alexander did not.
His face remained unreadable.
As though he was already thinking about something else.
Something far more serious.
A few moments later, he opened a drawer and removed a file.
He slid it across the desk.
“What’s this?”
“Your employment contract.”
Isabella stared.
“You were serious?”
Alexander raised an eyebrow.
“Did I look like I was joking?”
Slowly, she opened the file.
The moment she saw the salary listed on the first page, her eyes widened.
She looked again.
Certain she had read it wrong.
Then again.
The number remained the same.
Her breathing became uneven.
It was more money than she had earned in an entire year.
More money than she had ever imagined making.
With that salary she could pay her rent.
Cover her mother’s medical expenses.
Clear most of her family’s debts.
For a moment she couldn’t speak.
“Why?” she finally asked.
Alexander looked directly at her.
“Because you’re qualified.”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“That’s not what I mean.”
The room grew quiet.
“Why me?”
Something flickered in his eyes.
A brief flash of emotion.
Gone almost instantly.
“Let’s just say your father once helped my family.”
The answer raised even more questions.
Before she could ask them, her phone began vibrating.
Mom.
Immediately, her stomach tightened.
She answered at once.
“Mom?”
Her mother’s breathing sounded uneven.
Terrified.
“Isabella.”
Fear shot through her body.
“What’s wrong?”
There was silence.
Then her mother spoke.
“They came back.”
The blood drained from Isabella’s face.
“Who came back?”
“The men.”
“What men?”
“The same men who came after your father’s funeral.”
Her grip tightened around the phone.
A cold chill crawled down her spine.
She remembered them.
Two men in black suits.
Asking strange questions.
Searching through old documents.
Claiming they were investigating business matters.
They had disappeared years ago.
Until now.
“What did they want?” Isabella whispered.
“They were asking questions about your father again.”
Alexander’s attention immediately shifted toward her.
His expression changed.
For the first time since meeting him, he looked concerned.
“They searched the house.”
“What?”
“They went through everything.”
Isabella’s heart pounded violently.
“What were they looking for?”
Her mother hesitated.
A terrible feeling settled in Isabella’s chest.
“Mom?”
“They were looking for a file.”
The room suddenly felt colder.
“What file?”
Silence.
Then her mother whispered something that made Isabella’s entire body freeze.
“The file your father died protecting.”
The phone nearly slipped from her hand.
Across the room, Alexander King’s face turned pale.
And in that moment, Isabella realized something horrifying.
He knew exactly what file her mother was talking about.
To be continued…
- Writer
