Chapter 30
Isabella spun with liquid grace, the silk cape whipping upward in a fluid arc.
The fabric hung suspended for a heartbeat, a shimmering ribbon against the dark.
Then, with a sharp tug, she used its momentum to swing her body clear of the stage.
She soared.
The silk became her wings, carrying her in a lazy, hypnotic circle above the gasping crowd.
Her nude tulle dress floated around her, ethereal and weightless.
The cape billowed like a stormy sea beneath her.
A thousand fireflies swirled, a constellation of living stars framing her flight.
She was a phantom, a creature of myth stepped out of a forgotten tale.
Breathtaking. Otherworldly.
She moved with the effortless elegance of smoke, a goddess smiling down at her captivated subjects.
In one seamless motion, she hooked her legs mid-swing.
She reached down and slipped off her heels. “Who wants them?”
Her voice, a low purr, wrapped around the audience.
Seductive. Hypnotic.
The reaction was instantaneous.
A tidal wave of people surged to their feet.
“Me! Over here!”
Oliver bounced on his toes, tiny voice lost in the roar. “Mommy! Give them to Daddy!”
A knowing smirk touched Isabella’s lips.
She tied the shoes to the end of the cape and flung them into the crowd.
Chaos erupted.
A scrum of bodies fought for the prize, a frenzy of grasping hands.
“I had them first!”
“Get off! They’re mine!”
Maxwell and his team moved with lethal precision, diving into the fray.
Their boss’s property would not be claimed by some stranger.
A pair of discarded shoes had set the room on fire.
Isabella watched the madness she’d created, a sorceress pleased with her spell.
She descended, landing softly on the runway with the cape pooled around her bare feet.
She turned, utterly unbothered, and walked toward the shadows backstage.
Barefoot, she commanded the stage.
Her long legs, her statuesque height, the dress clinging like a second skin.
She was a vision from an ancient scroll, timeless and untouchable.
Every eye followed her retreat, hypnotized by the sway of her hips, the line of her back.
The moment she disappeared, the fireflies winked out of existence.
Darkness swallowed the hall once more.
Silence held for three full seconds.
Then, the explosion.
The crowd swarmed Theodore Montgomery, chanting her name. “Isabella Montgomery! Encore! Encore!”
Nathaniel’s gaze narrowed at the mob surrounding the old man.
He glanced at Sebastian. “Handle it.”
Sebastian, still dazed, snapped to attention. “No one touches my future sister-in-law.” He sprang into action.
A smirk of pure possession curled Nathaniel’s mouth.
He took his son’s hand. “Let’s go.”
“Where, Daddy?” Oliver asked, confused.
“To find your mother.”
Backstage, models flocked around Isabella, their voices a chorus of awe.
Her dress was a masterpiece, something from a luxury house’s vault.
Her recovery from disaster, her transformation of it into magic, was legendary.
Isabella Montgomery was a star, born tonight.
Sophia Kensington burned with a jealousy so sharp it tasted like metal.
Her fists were clenched so tight her nails bit into her palms.
This wasn’t supposed to happen. She was supposed to fall. She was supposed to fail.
Sophia shoved through the adoring circle and grabbed Isabella’s arm. “What was that?” she hissed. “Where did those insects come from? That dress?”
She’d seen the organizer’s cheap garment before the show.
Without that cape, without that gown, the fall would have been inevitable.
Isabella’s eyes turned to ice. “Who are you to question me? I owe you no explanations.”
The audacity. The sheer arrogance.
This orphan, this nobody they’d pulled from the gutter, dared to speak to her like this?
“Have you lost your mind?” Sophia spat. “You’re a charity case! Without our family’s pity, you’d be dead in a ditch! How dare you use that tone with me? I should slap the ingratitude out of you right now!”
“Try it,” Isabella dared, a cold laugh in her throat. She held out her hands, then gestured to her face and legs. “Pick your spot. These hands are insured for five million. This face? Ten. These legs? A billion. Go on. I dare you to lay a single finger on me.”