Chapter 22 - The Emissary
The bell above the bakery door jingled sharply, signaling the arrival of the first customer.
But it was not a local patron seeking fresh croissants.
A tall, sharply dressed man in a tailored charcoal suit walked into the rustic, warm shop. He wore dark sunglasses, which he slowly removed, scanning the humble bakery with undisguised, aristocratic disgust.
Isabella stepped out from behind the counter, placing herself firmly between the man and her sister.
"Arthur,"
Isabella said, recognizing her grandmother’s chief legal enforcer.
"Isabella. You are looking remarkably... pedestrian,"
Arthur sneered, his eyes raking over her oversized sweater.
"What do you want, Arthur?"
Isabella demanded, her spine straightening into the impeccable, terrifying posture she had perfected in the Harrington boardrooms.
"Victoria sends her regards,"
Arthur replied smoothly, pulling a thick, legal envelope from his breast pocket and dropping it onto the display case.
"She also sends her final offer. You return to the estate by Friday to assume your rightful place as the CEO of Harrington Global, or she will initiate a hostile asset freeze on this entire town."
Amelia stepped up beside her sister, untying her apron.
"You can't just freeze a town,"
Amelia stated, her voice shaking slightly but holding its ground.
"We own the commercial mortgage on this building, sweetheart,"
May you like
Arthur chuckled darkly, looking at Amelia with absolute contempt.
"And the bank that manages the loans for every single small business on this street. Victoria will crush your little fairy-tale life into dust if Isabella does not come home."
