He Said It Was A Joke And I Made Sure It Cost Him Everything Chapter 09

He Said It Was A Joke And I Made Sure It Cost Him Everything Chapter 09

Twenty-four hours later, almost to the minute, I was at the office reviewing what data we had saved when the inspector’s message came through.

The heads of Cole Enterprises were in federal custody. All assets frozen. Individual investigations ongoing. And my name had been cleared of any involvement with the destroyed contract.

I stared at my phone screen.

“Isabella?” My mother walked in with a cup of coffee. She looked at my face. “Is something wrong?”

I handed her the phone.

Her hand shook. Coffee spilled, but she didn’t notice. She read the message three times. “This is real? Cole… Cole is finished?”

“The investigation is still ongoing.” I took the cup from her and set it down on the table. “But the main people are in custody. Frozen assets mean they can’t even pay for lawyers.”

My phone buzzed. An unknown number.

I hesitated, then answered.

“Isabella.” Jackson’s voice was rough. Unrecognizable. “You’re cruel.”

“What do you want?”

“My mother was arrested. My father too.”

He laughed, but it wasn’t a happy sound. “You planned this, didn’t you? From the day we broke up. No, before that. From the day you copied my hard drive. You were just waiting for this.”

“Jackson,” I interrupted. “Are you calling to make me feel sorry for you? Or to yell at me?”

Silence.

“Sienna is gone,” he finally said. “She disappeared as soon as they let her out of the detention center.”

I wasn’t surprised. Sienna was the kind of person who attached herself to power and ran when things fell apart.

“She left me a letter,” Jackson said, his voice dropping. “She said she was sorry. She said she said those things to me on purpose. Just to make me hate you. She never thought it would destroy my family.”

“And?”

“And?” He sounded wounded. “Isabella, my parents are being investigated because of you. I’m going to prison. My whole family is falling apart. And all you have to say is ‘and’?”

“Jackson.” I stood up and walked to the window. “When you tore up that contract, did you think about the fact that I would have had to pay millions in penalties?”

“When you showed off Sienna in front of me, did you think about our seven years together?”

“When your parents smashed my office and threatened my parents, did you think about what you were doing?”

“I…”

“No. You didn’t. You only think about yourself. You’re still only thinking about yourself. You didn’t call to apologize. You called to blame me.”

“You’re not angry at me. You’re angry at yourself. At your own choices. At your own stupidity.”

“You could have warned me,” he said, his voice breaking.

“You knew Sienna was trouble. You knew the government was taking back that land. You knew everything, and you just stood there watching me walk right into the trap!”

“I did warn you,” I said calmly. “Right before you tore up the contract.”

I heard him take a shaky breath.

“Jackson. I’ve known you for years. I know you better than you know yourself.”

“Once you decide on something, nothing changes your mind. The only thing I could do was make sure I didn’t go down with you.”

“Are you happy now?” he asked.

“No,” I said honestly. “I wish none of this had happened. I wish the Hartwoods and the Coles had never been engaged.”

He hung up.

I looked at my phone. My hands were covered in sweat.

Another message from the inspector.

[Sienna Blair maliciously manipulated Jackson Cole into destroying a federal project. Then she attempted to flee the country. Our team picked her up at the border. She confessed to everything. There’s no way she’s avoiding several years of prison time.]

I stared at the message for a long time.

Outside my window, the city lights were bright.

I thought about growing up with Jackson. The engagement. All of it.

We had no idea back then where the road would take us.

My phone buzzed again. A text from my mother. [Your father and I are downstairs. Let’s go home. Dinner is ready.]

I picked up my bag and took one last look at the destroyed office.

Tomorrow, renovations would begin.

In one month, Hartwood Capital Group would move into a new building provided by the government. A true federally backed enterprise.

And Cole Enterprises would be erased from the business world.

I pressed the elevator button. I thought about what the inspector had said. “Someone from Washington wants to meet with you.”

Not a city official. Not a state official. Someone from Washington.

The elevator doors opened. I stepped inside and looked at my reflection in the dark glass.

Isabella Hartwood. Twenty-eight years old. Only child of the Hartwood family. She had just ended a seven-year relationship and watched the destruction of the family that almost destroyed hers.

My reflection looked calm. No excitement. No thrill of revenge.

Just deep exhaustion. And a strange, quiet uncertainty.

The elevator reached the first floor. The doors opened.

My parents stood in the middle of the lobby. Behind them was Inspector Dunn. And next to him, a man I had never met in person but had seen on the news countless times.

“Isabella Hartwood,” the man said, reaching out his hand. His smile was warm. “I’m Gregory Shaw. I direct economic strategy at the White House.”

“I’d like to discuss the oil field’s development. And the future of the Hartwood Capital Group.”

I didn’t move.

Inspector Dunn cleared his throat. “Ms. Hartwood. Director Shaw flew in from Washington. He’s been waiting for two hours.”

I took his hand.

And I realized.

This wasn’t the end.

This was a completely new beginning.

**The End**