The Heiress’s Contract Marriage With Her Enemy

Chapter Seventeen: A Threat

When Simon leaned back in his chair, his eyes looked darker than before. 

The careless boyish grin was gone. And now, he looked like someone who spent too much time thinking about things no one should know.

"Let's start from the beginning," he breathed out. "Your sister and my brother died within days of each other. Everyone called it a tragic coincidence. But coincidences are rare in families like ours."

Isabelle stared at him. "You're saying someone planned it?"

He nodded slowly. "I'm saying someone benefited from it."

"Reign," she whispered.

Simon smiled sadly. "You said it, not me."

She sat up straighter, and crossed her arms. Her eyes narrowed a little. "Why would he kill his own brother?"

Simon didn't blink. "Let's talk about Caleb. He was about to leave the family business. He wanted to marry Charlotte. He wanted to make his own company with her."

Isabelle's heart felt like it was in a sinking ship. "She never told me that."

"Maybe she didn't want to jinx it. Caleb already had investors lined up. If he left, Reign would've lost the only person who kept him in check. Caleb was smart, calm. People liked him. Reign... well, you've met him."

"I live with him," Isabelle corrected coldly.

Simon went on. "If Caleb married Charlotte, their companies might have merged. The Munro name was powerful. Charlotte's company was doing better than anyone thought. But if both of them died... everything they owned would be scattered. Assets frozen. Stocks dropped. Reign bought out most of it within a week."

"Wait," Isabelle's voice cracked. "He what?"

"He's richer now than he's ever been. And then…he married you. The only Munro left who knew anything. You, the woman with a bankrupt company and a ruined name... but with power. With access. With the ability to dig."

Isabelle swallowed hard. "And he showed up with a letter from Caleb. A letter I never even saw my sister talk about…why would they want us to marry each other?"

Simon nodded. "That letter was real. I checked the ink, the paper, and the signature. But how did Reign get it first? Why didn't it come to you? Why didn't it come through lawyers?"

"I don't know," she said, mostly to herself. "He just arrived one night... like it was planned, but shocked…right after the news broke out about my family. Like he knew."

Simon leaned forward. "Reign doesn't do anything without a reason. He marries you, keeps the twins hidden, isolates you from your father, and then buys you a house far away from anyone who might tell you the truth. You're not just his wife. You're a threat. And he knows it."

Isabelle's mind was swirling so fast, she thought her head will start spinning too…

"Well, we bought this house together…I used my own money, and I've selected the location."

"Did you see it being advertised?"

"Yes."

"Well…"

Isabelle's forehead wrinkled on its own. 'How many moves ahead has he played in this game?' she wondered. 'Why me? Why my sister?'

Simon's voice broke her thoughts. "You're not safe around him. He won't kill you... not yet. But he'll use you. Break you slowly. You're smart, Isabelle. You see it, don't you?"

She nodded, but her stomach felt sick. 'Was I walking into a trap this whole time? Is he just waiting for me to give up? Sign something? Let go of the company? The twins?'

Then, there was a loud and slow clapping.

Simon's eyes widened and his mouth opened a little. Isabelle turned around.

Reign was in the doorway, wearing a dark suit and a smug smile that made her skin crawl. His eyes were scanning her, but his jaw was tight.

"Bravo," Reign stated. "Brother, haven't you done enough to ruin my image?"

Simon stood up, calmly. "It's not hard to ruin something that was already rotten."

Reign walked forward. "You always did talk too much."

"I talk when there's truth to speak," Simon replied.

Isabelle backed away slightly. She didn't trust either of them fully.

Reign's eyes locked onto hers. "Let's go."

"No," she hissed like a cat, planting her feet. "I came here on my own."

"And now you'll leave with me," Reign ordered, reaching for her arm.

She pulled away. "You don't control me."

He grabbed her without another word and threw her over his shoulder like she weighed nothing. 

She yelled and hit his back with her fists, but he didn't even flinch.

"Put me down!" Isabelle screamed.

"I warned you not to mess with my wife," Reign said darkly to Simon.

Simon raised both hands mockingly. "She came to me. I didn't force her."

Reign's voice turned cold. "Stay away from her. I don't care what game you're playing. You get too close again, and I'll make sure you regret it."

Isabelle kicked, but he didn't let her down. His grip tightened just enough to say, 'stop fighting, or I'll make it worse.'

Simon watched them leave with that same lazy grin. But his eyes didn't match the smile.

Outside, Reign shoved her into the car and slammed the door shut behind her. 

He walked around and slid into the driver's seat. The silence was meaner than any harsh words. Isabelle was breathing hard, glaring at him.

"You're insane," she hissed.

"And you're reckless," he snapped back. "Meeting my brother behind my back?"

"You don't own me!"

He started the engine. "I own enough to stop you from doing something stupid."

She leaned closer. "Are you afraid I'll find out the truth?"

He turned his head slowly, lips twitched into a bitter smile. "What truth, Isabelle?"

"That maybe," she whispered, "you had something to do with their deaths."

He didn't flinch. "And yet you still live under my roof."

"I live there for the twins, and our roof," she said. "And for the promise we made."

Reign laughed dryly. "The contract. Yes. That lovely paper holding us together."

"You act like it's a joke."

"No, Isabelle," Reign's jaw twitched, eyes on the road. "You are the joke. You think you're playing some deep game of revenge and justice. You're just a lamb who thinks she's a queen."

She sat back, clenched her fists.

'If I'm a lamb, I'll be the one that takes down the king,' she thought.

And in the back of her mind, Simon's words repeated louder than Reign's.

"You're a threat. And he knows it."