The Heiress’s Contract Marriage With Her Enemy

Chapter Twelve: Broken Safe

Isabelle decided not to waste time and listen to the warning, so just in a couple of hours she was already standing in the empty living room of Charlotte's old house. 

She managed to get in with a key she found in Charlotte's things. 

Dust coated every furniture, and the curtains hung limply over dark windows. The place felt forgotten... But not by Isabelle.

Isabelle walked to the corner where a large steel safe was embedded into the wall and was hidden by a portrait of some cat. 

The door seemed to be open on broken hinges…

The lock was battered..The safe had been hit with something heavy. She crouched down and saw stacks of bills inside, two million dollars in loose cash. 

That much money couldn't be overlooked…

Her heart felt pushed as she ran her fingers over the bills. She pulled a stack free and counted it quickly. Every bill was crisp… It was easy money, life-changing money.

Isabelle felt a swell of relief. Two million could pay for private schools, doctors, food, clothes. For a good future for the twins. 

A future Charlotte would've wanted for them. Instinct told her to grab it all and run back to the twins. But something inside her wasn't leaving her alone.

Why did no one take the money yet? Why leave so much behind in an open safe? The thief didn't leave money. 

A real thief take money…

Which meant someone had already been here. Someone who knew there was something more valuable.

Isabelle squatted in the dim light and eyed the safe door. Scratches, chips, a thin coat of black grime where someone had packed fast. 

She pulled a small flashlight from her jacket and swept it inside. No jewelry, no documents, no photos. Just cash...

She slipped a stack of bills into a canvas bag she'd brought, thinking about the twins' future. She pictured Aurora's blue eyes and Aron's messy blonde hair. 

This money could be their ticket out of heartache. It could let them forget the poison of this house and their mother's fate. It could give them a life full of choices.

She opened the drawer at the bottom of the safe and reached for the canvas bag again, filling it with hundreds. 

That's when she heard soft footsteps behind her. 

"Fuck…"

Then another. The sound was slow. It pressed against her skin, filling her senses.

"Damn it!" Isabelle stopped her movements. The canvas bag thumped lightly in her hand. She didn't dare breathe.

Isabelle moved her eyes toward the dark entrance hall. 

She looked for anything she could use as a weapon. A broken bottle, a sharp metal piece. 

Spotting a rusted pipe lying near the wall, she grabbed it. 

It could cut through skin and it could save her.

She slid it into her coat pocket and slipped toward the curtains that covered tall windows. 

The footsteps came closer, sounding more heavy and certain. The intruder knew where she was. 

Isabelle's heart hammered louder than the steps.

She pressed herself behind thick velvet curtains and held her breath. 

Pressing the canvas bag against her ribs, Isabelle was praying that someone would just go away. She smelled stale air and fear and something metallic in her mouth. 

The steps stopped just outside the curtains. Isabelle felt the man's shadow cross the floor, broad shoulders pressed against the light from the hallway.

She closed her eyes and whispered into the darkness: 'Find the real reason he broke into the safe. Leave with what's better than money.'

A bracelet she wore made of thin gold band with a heart charm slipped off her wrist without her noticing. 

It dropped to the floor…

'Crap!' Her forehead formed huge waves, and her lips were ready to be smashed by the force she was pressing them together. 

The man's head snapped toward the sound. His silhouette shifted under the doorway. He moved fast and aggressively. 

Isabelle felt something cold fly toward her curtains. "Aaah!" She gasped and turned, yanking the curtains away to strike the figure.

She swung the pipe high. Her body moved before her brain registered fear. She felt the whoosh of air and heard something crack.

She stopped as the intruder staggered away. A heavy breath escaped his lips. 

"Isabelle," the voice was tense. "Stop."

She felt the pipe drop from her hands. She kept swinging. The room spun around like she was on a rollercoaster. Isabelle saw a man's face under the low light, calm but with furrowed eyebrows. 

"You can hurt me," he said quietly. "But then you'll regret it."

She swung again not caring and recognising his voice. 

"Die!!!!" She was ready to strike but then stopped. 

Isabelle backed away and looked more clearly. Anger still was cooking like Italian pasta inside her. 🤌

She forced her arm to hold the broken pipe more stable.

"It's me," he said softly. "It's me, Isabelle."

Her eyes narrowed. His face was familiar. Her brain caught up with her body.

"Reign?"