Sparks and Shadows

María walked in behind Isabella, reaching out to place a hand on her waist, afraid she would fall any minute with the way she stumble-walked. Isabella brushed her hand off, slumping into a couch in the sitting room. She buried her face in her palms, her mind spinning with the magnitude of what she had just seen. At first glance it had seemed like mutual consent, the attachment in the link Elizabeth had sent to her made it seem that way. 

But–It wasn't? 

María placed a hand on her shoulder and gently tried to pull her in but Isabella shrugged her hand off, and rounded on her. "Why the fuck did you not tell me what happened?" 

Her eyes lowered to her hands, "Lo siento. I didn't think something like this would happen and I didn't want to break such awful news to you. You were—" (I'm sorry)

"What do you mean you didn't think this would happen?!" Isabella ran a shaky hand through her hair. "I deserve to know. It happened to me! I would have also taken measures to prevent this if I knew they actually happened! You did nothing despite knowing!" 

María shook her head frantically. "I–I did do– I mean, Harry did something. He–he helped."

Isabella scoffed in disbelief, the look of betrayal on her face potent. "Are you being serious right now, María? Your brother fucking hates me!" She threw her hands into the air. "Why the hell would he help me?"

"He did! He took the CCTV footage from that night and he—." 

"Oh, he did?" Isabella's smile was brittle, her voice sharp with disbelief. "Tell me, please–" she tossed her phone at her. "Where did that surface from?" 

María's mind spun as she stared down at the phone in her lap: Isabella on the pole and then the bathroom photo. Him. The man who had nearly...

Harry had definitely taken care of the footage. I saw it on his iPad. What's going on right now? 

Isabella reclined back on the couch and shut her eyes. 

What exactly had happened last night? How could I have been so reckless? Did nothing dire really happen like Mar said? 

I didn't feel funny when I woke up tho. If I really had sex I would know. It would feel sore...or something down there. Right? 

Isabella shook her head as if to clear it of the thoughts, opening her eyes just as Harry walked in with Xander right behind him. He was the one person she didn't want to see right now. 

"Great," she hissed. "The knight in shining armor shows up. Came to finish what you started, Mr. Danvers?"

Harry stopped mid-step, his eyes narrowing at her words. 

Isabella stood, fists clenched at her sides. "You're such a hypocrite. You parade around like you hate me, judge me every chance you get and yet you've been hiding this? Why? So you can throw it in my face later?"

She pointed at her phone on María's lap. "Explain that. Because from where I'm standing, it looks like you were too busy being righteous to actually do anything."

Harry's jaw tightened. "You're looking at me like I'm the villain in your mess, Montez." Isabella moved her lips to speak but he cut her off. "Don't." His voice was low and cutting. "I don't owe you a damn thing. Not an explanation. Not a defense, certainly not a cleanup crew for your reckless decisions."

Isabella blinked, stunned. María moved, like she might say something but a single raised finger from Harry stopped her cold. He stepped closer, gaze sharp. "If you're desperate to blame someone, start with the person who got drunk enough to forget herself. Don't drag me into your regret spiral just because I happened to be the one who stopped it."

Isabella stared into the cold, unreadable eyes staring back at her. Her lips opened and closed, her thoughts too disoriented to come up with a reply. 

Most importantly, he's right. I'm the one to be blamed in all of this. Why can't I remember anything?! 

Mar said nothing happened. That he handled it. She wouldn't lie about that. So why the hell was it on the internet now? Did he lie to María then? 

Isabella looked away from the cold, charcoal eyes just as tears welled up in hers, blurring her vision. She blinked them back, hard, determined not to cry in front of him. Nor Xander for that matter. She rubbed at her temple feeling the onset of a headache from the spiral of thoughts pounding through her head. Her mind flicked – flashes of her moving around a pole. Laughing. The hotness of the bathroom. Someone's breath on her neck. A hand on her thigh.

Her throat closed. No air. Nothing. Everything. She couldn't tell what was real anymore.

Her chest heaved with the struggle to breathe, the tears she had been desperately holding back trailing down her face. María pulled her closer and wrapped her arms around her, rubbing a hand over her back soothingly. "There. There. Breathe. Sólo respira, amor. You did nothing wrong, Isa. Nada." (Just breathe, love)

Isabella clung tightly to her. "I—I thought I was just drunk. But this—." Her chest heaved with a deep breath, her head moving from side-to-side on María's shoulder. "That's not how I remembered it. He was touching me, Mar and I— God! I can't remember anything." Her voice broke at the last word and she clutched unto María tightly. "D—did nothing really happen?" Her voice was hesitant. Tentative. 

María shot a glare at Harry over Isabella's shoulder and he sighed, rubbing a hand over his jaw. María pushed Isabella gently away from her, until she was at arms length. "Nothing happened, Cari. I–I swear on our friendship," she rushed to assure. (Darling) "We got to you before he could really do anything, prometo. And you did nothing wrong: you're allowed to celebrate your birthday however you see fit, Vale?" (I promise. Okay)

Isabella sniffed, nodding, if anything to pacify María: her chest still felt heavy. María smiled at her, pulling her back into a hug. "I'm so sorry for keeping this from you. I thought I was protecting you," she apologized. 

Isabella pulled back and took María's hand, squeezing it. "Like a mother Hen?" Her lips tugged up slightly. "You always did act like a Mami."

María chuckled. "What can I say? I love you too much." 

Isabella nodded and pulled away from María slowly, her skin crawling. She felt too hot. Too exposed. "Um. I–I'm going to shower." 

María frowned. "You had one a while ago," she pointed out.

"I–yeah. I–" Isabella exhaled deeply. "I feel dirty right now, so—." She trailed off. 

María's eyes softened in understanding and she nodded. "I will be right behind you."

Isabella stood immediately and shuffled out of the room, her gaze briefly colliding with Harry's – blank, unreadable. She turned away. 

I can't deal right now. 

María turned to Harry the moment Isabella was out of earshot, her voice a whip. "what in heavens name was that about?!"

Harry didn't flinch, instead he waved her off like swatting a fly. "There are definitely more pressing matters than that, don't you think? What exactly happened?" 

María fell on the couch with a soft whoosh, deflated. She passed Isabella's phone to Harry, her voice tight with worry. "Take a look yourself." 

Xander appeared beside Harry, arms crossed, face grim. Someone named Lizzy had sent Isabella a message on X with a link attached to it. 

Lizzy: I'm sorry you have to see this, look at what's going around👇https://maskedeye.substack.com/p/montez-heiress-scandal-leaked

Lizzy: Is that really you? What are we going to do before he sees this? 

The frown on Harry's face turned into a scowl the moment the link loaded. His face went dark. 

Title:

BILLIONAIRE BRATS GONE WILD: Isabella Montez Spins, Strips and Stumbles Into Trouble

Posted on: April 28th, 12:00 PM

By: MaskedEye

Category: EliteRot Chronicles

"When daddy's money protects you from shame... but not the internet."

You heard it here first. The Montez Empire's darling heiress and alleged "future of the brand" took a detour from corporate princess to bathroom burlesque. Sources at the event confirmed Isabella Montez's very hands-on birthday bash ended with more than just champagne showers.

🟥 EXCLUSIVE FOOTAGE BELOW:

- Isabella Montez spinning on a stripper pole (yes, a real one, not a metaphor)

- A blurry but unmistakable shot of her pressed against the wall in the bathroom with a mystery man whose hands weren't exactly shy

And while it looked like consent at first glance, insider whispers suggest otherwise. So was it a wild night gone wrong or just another spoiled heiress spiraling off-brand?

"I guess this is what happens when you give a Montez too much freedom... and not enough PR training." — anonymous source close to the family

If you think the Montez board won't see this... think again.

If you think this will get buried... sweetie, it's already viral.

Click ▶️ below to watch what the legacy looks like now.

🧩 Editor's Note:

More on the Montez empire coming soon - because when the gold starts to crack, the rot starts to show.

#MontezScandal

#HeiressUnhinged

#EliteRot

Harry's fingers tightened around the phone as the video began to autoplay. "Bastards xucladors de sang!" He hissed through clenched teeth, his voice like glass. (Bloodsucking bastards)

Xander snatched the phone from Harry, afraid that he might squash it with how tight his grip on it was. "This was why some of the footage were missing or corrupted," he pointed out. "He got to it first." 

"And he does know her," Harry interjected, his jaw still tight, the glint in his eyes murderous. "It's already on X, it will spread fast, even as we speak. We need to move."

María's eyes drifted between them, confusion shining brightly in them. "He? What's going on, Harry? You took care of the footage, didn't you?" 

Harry turned to her, the fire in his eyes tempered with a sigh. "The footage was tampered with, we didn't get our hands on everything." María's eyes went wide with panic. Harry's gaze softened and he placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I was going to run a restore but I've got a better option now. Fret not." 

"Heavens," María muttered under her breath. "This– this can't be happening."

"Who is this Lizzy? Someone we can trust?" Harry asked, his hands still on her shoulder. 

María nodded. "She's Isa's PA," she answered quickly. 

Harry arched an eyebrow. "That's it?" 

María nodded and Xander scoffed behind them. "Definitely cannot be trusted." 

Harry hummed his agreement deep in his throat. "And the he?" María blinked at him. "The he that Lizzy mentioned? Before he sees this?." 

María's lips formed an O, realization setting in. "Th–That's Isa's Papa. If he finds out about this..." 

As if summoned by a curse, Isabella's phone rang at that moment, interrupting María. Xander glanced down at the caller ID. "Um. I think the he is calling." He passed the phone to María. 

FATHER. 

The caller ID glared at Maria and her face paled at the sight of it. "Oh lord!" She sprang up, running up the stairs.

Harry and Xander's eyes followed her, turning to each other the moment María disappeared up the stairs. 

"How long does it take to trace a substack anonymous account again?"

Xander gave a sly smile, adrenaline surging through him. "For me? Minutes. An hour at most." 

Harry cracked his knuckles, his face a wall of steel. "Let's go fish out a motherfucker."

Xander followed behind him, flexing his shoulders like he was going into a boxing match. 

"Tell Lucien he's got 2 hours max to deliver those lost files."

Xander stopped abruptly. "Wait. He said tomorrow—" 

"Plans changed." 

Xander muttered something under his breath as he followed Harry out of the room, scratching his hair, "Should I rally the boys?" 

Harry didn't even glance back. "I will handle the bastard myself." His tone was final and carried a promise. Xander winched and slowed down enough to whisper a prayer. 

Poor bastard. 

You've no idea what storm you just invited into your life.