Chapter 253 Betrayal

Chapter 253 Betrayal

Charlotte looked at him quietly.

"There are only two possibilities right now. First, whoever owns that burner phone just happens to work in Isaac's building—maybe an employee or business partner."

"Second, the mystery person who's been backing Jennifer and targeting us all along is Isaac himself."

George's body went rigid.

He didn't want to believe that a friend he'd grown up with could be scheming against him behind his back.

But every lead pointed straight to Isaac. The evidence was right there—he couldn't lie to himself anymore.

After a long silence, his voice came out hoarse.

"Can you pinpoint which floor that red dot is on?"

Charlotte's fingers flew across the keyboard again.

"Got it. Signal source is locked on the ninth floor."

Disappointment flooded George's eyes.

"The ninth floor. That's where Isaac's office is."

Charlotte knew he and Isaac had grown up together—this had to hurt. She let out a soft sigh.

"We can't jump to conclusions. Could be a client visiting him."

George slowly shook his head.

"Whether it's him or not, one phone call will tell us."

With that, he dialed Isaac's number.

The call connected quickly. Isaac's voice came through the speaker, warm and normal as ever.

Not a hint of anything off.

"George? Calling me at this hour—is something urgent?"

George pushed down the cold dread churning in his gut.

"Got time to grab a drink?"

Isaac sounded genuinely surprised, his tone teasing.

"You're ditching Charlotte to have drinks with me?"

"Just want to talk about something. Do you have any clients at the office right now?" George pressed.

"Nope, I've been free all afternoon." Isaac's answer came easily.

After some brief small talk, they agreed to meet at a bar and hung up.

George gave a bitter laugh.

"No point hoping anymore. It's him."

Charlotte reached out and patted his shoulder gently.

"Want me to come with you?"

George shook his head.

"No need. Better if I go alone."

"The way I am right now, meeting him solo—it'll put him at ease. If you come along, it'll just make him suspicious."

Charlotte nodded.

George stepped forward and pulled her into his arms.

"How did it come to this?"

Charlotte patted his back gently.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me—just go talk to him properly."

George released her, gave her one long look, then turned and left the office alone.

It didn't take long for George to arrive.

He found a booth by the window and sat down. Soon after, Isaac pushed through the door and slid into the seat across from him.

George looked up at the friend he'd known since childhood, emotions swirling in his eyes.

He couldn't wrap his head around it—why would Isaac team up with Jennifer behind his back to scheme against him and Charlotte?

Isaac squirmed under his stare and cleared his throat.

"Why are you staring at me like that? You look terrible—what's eating you?"

George picked up his drink and forced a bitter smile.

"What else? Charlotte's got too many guys chasing after her. I'm on edge every day."

Isaac felt sick to his stomach.

Seriously?

Was George really this pathetic now?

Ready to fall apart over Charlotte?

He rolled his eyes when George wasn't looking, keeping his fake smile plastered on.

"Don't stress yourself out too much. You and Charlotte have Miranda—what are those other guys compared to that?"

George caught that eye roll. The last thread of their friendship snapped clean through.

Isaac noticed George only taking small sips instead of downing drinks like usual. He frowned slightly.

"Why are you just nursing that drink? You usually knock them back."

A faint smile tugged at George's lips.

"Charlotte doesn't like it when I drink too much."

Isaac's stomach turned at that. He fell silent, not bothering to respond.

The two of them sat there with their own thoughts, making stilted conversation until after ten at night.

George figured he'd given it enough time—he wasn't going to get any confession out of Isaac anyway. He set down his glass.

"Getting late. I've got to take Miranda to preschool in the morning. I'll call a rideshare."

Isaac nodded, watching George stand and leave the booth.

As George's figure receded toward the door, Isaac's expression darkened, his eyes unreadable as he sat lost in thought.

A moment later, his personal assistant strode into the bar and approached the booth, speaking in a low voice.

"Mr. Reynolds, everything's ready. When do we move?"

Isaac pulled his gaze from the doorway, a flash of viciousness crossing his eyes.

"Tomorrow night. We'll blow this story wide open all at once."

Meanwhile, George arrived home. The moment he opened the door, Miranda ran toward him.

But as soon as she got close and caught the smell of alcohol, she spun around and dashed back to the living room.

Miranda hid behind Charlotte, muttering under her breath.

"Daddy smells yucky! All boozy!"

Charlotte ruffled Miranda's hair and looked up at George's exhausted face.

"Go take a hot shower before you stink up Miranda."

George stepped forward to hug Charlotte briefly, then headed for the bathroom.

Charlotte got Miranda settled for bed. By the time she stepped out of the child's room, George had just finished his shower.

He walked over and pulled Charlotte into his arms.

"Charlotte, how can people change like this? A friend I grew up with—and he turns around and schemes against me behind my back, coming at us from every angle. I just don't understand it."

Charlotte lifted her hand, running it gently through his damp hair. She stayed quiet, letting him hold her, giving him a steady anchor without interrupting.

George held her close, his voice thick with exhaustion.

Charlotte patted his back softly.

"Stop torturing yourself. At least now we know who's been hiding in the shadows. That's better than constantly dodging attacks from an invisible enemy."

George nodded against her shoulder, taking a long moment before finally straightening up.

He wiped at the moisture in his eyes and forced himself to focus on Charlotte.

"So what's your plan? Jennifer's waiting for our response."

Charlotte led him over to the couch. After a moment's thought, she spoke.

"We pretend to fall for it."

"What do you mean?" George's brow furrowed.

"Jennifer's using those stolen manuscript pages as evidence to force your hand, right?"

"So we play along. Let her stir up the buzz first. Let her slap that plagiarism label on me and make sure the whole internet knows about it. Then, when she's made the biggest scene possible, we release all our evidence and take her and Isaac down in one move."

"If we explain everything now, she'll just get yelled at for a few days. Better to let her have her moment. The more she gloats now, the harder she'll fall later."

George thought it over briefly, then nodded.

"Alright. I'm with you. Just tell me what you need me to do."