Chapter 78 A Notification
ISABEL'S POV
I walked into my room and the very first thing I did was grab one of the chairs beside my dressing table and shove it over with all the strength I had. It crashed to the floor with a loud thud, the sound echoing around the room, but even that wasn’t enough to release the frustration boiling inside me.
My hand went straight into my hair, fingers tangling harshly as I paced back and forth, my heels hitting the floor with sharp, angry steps. A low growl slipped past my lips before I could stop it.
Honestly, I felt like destroying every single item in this room — the mirror, the wardrobe, the bed, everything and it still wouldn’t calm the anger that had built up inside me. My chest felt tight, like something heavy was sitting there, refusing to let me breathe properly.
This was not how it was meant to go down.
This was not how I imagined it.
I had replayed this plan in my head countless times. Every detail had been carefully thought out, every move planned, every reaction predicted. The timing, the placement, the outcome — everything was supposed to fall perfectly into place. It was meant to be clean, quiet, and devastating for her.
Nothing was supposed to go wrong.
Or so I thought.
From the very moment Mom and Dad walked back into the house earlier than expected and announced that they had received a notification that their safe had been opened, I knew everything had shifted. That single sentence alone was enough to send a sharp warning straight through me.
A notification.
Is that how much they valued that necklace?
So much that they installed a notification system on the safe?
Who even does that?
I scoffed, shaking my head as I stopped pacing and leaned against the edge of the table. That stupid notification system completely scattered my entire plan, turning something that was supposed to be simple into a mess I hadn’t prepared for.
Mom and Dad weren’t meant to find out the necklace was missing until sundown. By then, the damage would have already been done. Accusations would be flying, emotions would be high, and Anna would be right in the middle of it all, with no solid way to defend herself.
But instead, just a few minutes after I took the necklace, Dan came to tell me that Mom and Dad were already on their way back.
Minutes.
That was all it took to ruin everything.
I clenched my jaw as the memory replayed in my head, my fingers curling into fists. Timing had betrayed me, and I hated it more than anything. Everything I had planned relied on time, and time slipped right through my fingers.
And now that girl had something strong backing her up, something that went completely against my plan.
She wasn’t around when the necklace was stolen.
That single fact alone weakened everything I tried to build against her.
I pushed myself away from the table and walked toward the window, staring out without really seeing anything. My reflection in the glass looked tense, eyes sharp, lips pressed into a thin line.
And speaking of backup — why was everyone backing her up?
That part angered me even more.
When we were kids, Dan always had my back. No matter what happened, no matter who was involved, he stood beside me. If I said someone was wrong, he believed me. If I needed support, he gave it without question.
Now?
Now he stood there defending someone who had just popped back into this family like she belonged here all along.
Someone who took my place.
And it wasn’t just Dan.
Ryan too.
That irritated me more than I wanted to admit.
When Anna first came back, I was genuinely excited. Not because I missed her or wanted her here, but because I knew drama was inevitable. I knew her presence alone would shake things up, and I was ready for it. I was ready to play the nice, supportive sister. The understanding one. The one who had finally accepted everything.
At least, that was the role I planned to play for today.
But the moment I saw her walk in with Ryan, everything changed.
Every single thing.
My suspicion from earlier in the morning had been right. Ryan did come here for her. Not for Dan. Not for any business reason. For her.
And worst of all, he came bearing gifts.
Those flowers.
Really nice flowers.
The kind you don’t just buy casually.
The kind meant for someone special.
Someone deserving.
And she didn’t deserve them.
Seeing the two of them together, standing side by side like that, something inside me snapped. The sight alone made my blood boil, my composure cracking before I could stop it. I lost my cool, and the moment that happened, everything spiraled.
Dan noticed.
Dan always notices when something’s off with me.
That was when he started suspecting that I had something to do with the necklace. That was when his eyes changed, when the doubt crept in, and suddenly I wasn’t just the concerned sister anymore.
I became a suspect.
I walked away from the window and dropped onto the edge of my bed, rubbing my palms against my thighs. This was supposed to be a small, painful gift to Anna. Nothing too extreme. Just enough to shake her position, to make my parents question her, to make her feel like she didn’t truly belong here.
But my plan failed.
Completely.
No one fully believed that Anna took the necklace.
They questioned it.
They doubted it.
They defended her.
Which meant there was no hate directed at her.
No resentment.
No cracks forming between her and my parents.
And worst of all, it meant I couldn’t make them see what I wanted them to see.
That Anna was a fraud.
An outsider pretending to fit in.
Someone who didn’t deserve what she had.
I exhaled sharply, leaning back and staring up at the ceiling. And now, I couldn’t even push the accusations further. I had already gone as far as I safely could. If I pressed harder, if I kept insisting, the attention would shift entirely onto me.
And if I got caught?
That would be an even bigger problem.
From the way Dad sounded earlier, I could already tell he was considering letting this go. He would probably change the password to the safe, increase security, or move the necklace to an even safer place. He would chalk it up to a scare, an unfortunate incident, and move on.
But Dan?
Dan wasn’t letting it go.
That was the real issue.
I didn’t know why he was so determined, but he kept insisting that he had to find the person behind it. He said it too confidently, too seriously. And that alone made me uneasy.
I rolled onto my side, staring at the wall as my thoughts raced.
She managed to escape this plan.
That much was clear.
Yes, I was angry about it right now. Furious, even. But throwing things, screaming, or breaking furniture wouldn’t solve anything. I needed to be smarter. More careful. More calculated.
This wasn’t a game.
I had underestimated her once, and I wouldn’t make that mistake again.
I needed to take my plans more seriously.
Take things to a higher level.
This was just one move out of many. A test, really. A way to see how protected she was, how people reacted when things went wrong. And now I know.
She had support.
Strong support.
But that didn’t mean she was untouchable.
I still had countless other plans against Anna tucked away, ideas I hadn’t even brought out yet. Plans that didn’t rely on timing alone. Plans that wouldn’t fall apart because of a notification system.
She might have dodged this one.
She might even think she’s safe.
But she won’t see what Melissa and I have installed for her next.