Chapter 149 Three Man Job
ISABEL'S POV
“My plan is going perfectly, Melissa. I told you I was the master planner, and that’s why I couldn’t stay with Austin. If I did, his laziness and lack of will to lead would rub off on me, and soon enough we would be in the same situation,” I said, moving playfully around my room as Melissa sat on the edge of the chair, watching me with a look that was a mixture of confusion and irritation.
I twirled once, my bare feet brushing against the rug as I walked past my dressing mirror, admiring how calm and in control I looked. Everything was finally aligning the way it was supposed to. The chaos, the rejection, the humiliation of being thrown out of that house, it was all turning into fuel now—sweet, powerful fuel.
Melissa shifted slightly in her seat, crossing her legs. “Isabel,” she called, stopping my movement. “Since you texted me asking if you can come over for the second time, you haven’t told me the original plan. What am I going to do? What are you going to do? You’ve just been telling me that you have a plan and that this plan would favour me in the end. That’s honestly why you’re still here, Isabel. But I’m starting to grow impatient.”
I stopped pacing and turned fully to face her. The excitement on my face dimmed just a little as I studied her expression. She wasn’t joking. Melissa wasn’t the patient type, and I knew that very well. She liked control, clarity, and results. Still, the slight annoyance creeping into my chest didn’t stop me from rolling my eyes dramatically.
“You really know how to kill the fun, don’t you?” I said, clicking my tongue lightly. “I was enjoying the suspense.”
She raised an eyebrow. “I’m not here for suspense. I’m here for results.”
“Relax,” I replied calmly, lifting my hands in surrender before dropping them to my sides. “Before, there was no need for you to know the plan because only I needed to get back into my house to execute it. Everything depended on me being there physically. But now…” I paused for effect, watching her lean in just slightly. “Now things have changed.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Changed how?”
“The whole plan has gone from a one-man job to a three-man job,” I said, my lips curling into a slow smile.
“Three?” she repeated immediately. “I thought it was just the two of us. Why do we need a third person?”
I walked back to my bed and sat down gracefully, crossing my legs. “Before I tell you why we need a third person, let me quickly brief you about the main plan.”
Without waiting for her response, I picked up my phone from the bedside table. My fingers moved quickly across the screen, muscle memory guiding me as I unlocked it. I scrolled past apps, notifications, and messages until I got to the locked folder — the one folder no one ever touched. The one that held everything.
I opened it, selected the video, and stood up again, walking over to Melissa. “Here,” I said, extending my phone toward her. “Just watch.”
She hesitated for a second before taking it, her skepticism obvious in the way her brows furrowed. “What exactly am I watching?”
“Something that changes everything,” I replied simply.
I folded my arms across my chest and leaned against the wardrobe, watching her closely as the video began to play. Explaining the whole thing verbally would take too long and wouldn’t carry the same impact. This tape spoke for itself. It was raw, undeniable, and devastating.
As the seconds passed, I watched Melissa’s face change. Her casual expression disappeared first, replaced by concentration. Then confusion crept in. Her lips parted slightly as her eyes followed every movement on the screen. She adjusted her grip on the phone, sitting up straighter as if the video demanded her full attention.
By the time the video was halfway through, her jaw had tightened. Her fingers clenched around the phone. I could see it — the shock settling in, piece by piece.
When the video finally ended, she didn’t say anything immediately. She just stared at the black screen, frozen. Then slowly, almost unwillingly, she looked up at me.
“What the hell?” The words slipped out of her mouth barely above a whisper.
I pushed myself off the wardrobe and smiled faintly. “I was just as shocked as you were when I discovered the tape too.”
She replayed a short part of it, as if trying to convince herself it was real, then handed the phone back to me. Her face was still pale, her eyes wide with disbelief.
“So that means Ryan Cole…” she began slowly, shaking her head. “The Cole family… they’re not as perfect as they claim. And Anna doesn’t know about this.”
“Of course she doesn’t,” I replied smoothly, locking my phone and slipping it back into my hand. “I only recently found out about it myself.”
Melissa leaned back against the chair, letting out a long breath. “This changes everything.”
“It does,” I agreed. “And now that you understand the weight of it, here’s the next part.” I walked back to the center of the room, my excitement returning. “My mom invited me over to a grand ceremony that’s happening tomorrow. Quinn's Group. Big crowd. Important people. Media. Guess who’s hosting?”
Melissa’s eyes lit up instantly. “Anna.”
I nodded, a big smirk spreading across my face. “Exactly. That’s where I’ll show not just Anna, but everyone at that ceremony this tape.”
Melissa’s lips slowly curved into a smile of her own. “This… this would break her. Completely.”
“She wouldn’t even see it coming,” I added. “One moment she’s standing there like the perfect daughter, the perfect CEO, the golden child. And the next — boom. Her entire world shatters.”
Melissa sat forward now, her earlier impatience completely forgotten. “She wouldn’t be able to run the companies anymore after that. I'm sure it's going to break her completely. The board would panic. Investors would pull back.”
“And my father,” I said, pointing at her playfully, “would have no choice but to make me the CEO.”
Her smile widened. “That’s it.”
“That’s it, babygirl,” I said, laughing softly as I reached out and gave her a high-five. The sound echoed slightly in the room, sealing the agreement between us.
Melissa exhaled, still riding the wave of excitement. “Alright. So where does the third person come in?”
“Ah,” I said, turning toward my bed again. “Now we get to that part.”
I picked up my phone once more. “We need someone who understands tech. Someone who can get past security, connect my phone to the projector, and play the tape without anyone stopping it.”
“An IT guy,” she said thoughtfully.
“Exactly,” I replied. “He’ll help me connect my phone to the projector and play the whole tape at the right moment.”
Melissa tilted her head. “Okay, that makes sense. But do you know anyone who does IT?”
“Yes,” I said confidently. “I do.”
She looked at me expectantly.
“He’s an old friend of mine from college,” I continued. “Smart, quiet, always in the background. He still owes me a favour, one I honestly thought I’d never need to ask for, especially because of how poor he is.” I shrugged lightly, a small smile playing on my lips. “But here I am.”