Chapter 1031 Surprise
Isabella kept saying she didn't care about Leon and that he had it coming, but she couldn't help sneaking peeks at gossip mags and the financial news.
Sure enough, there were some stories about Leon getting impeached, but they were pretty tame and mostly just rumors.
For ten days, there was nothing about Leon, and he really didn't show up. Isabella felt uneasy, sensing something was up, but she couldn't bring herself to ask Susan or call Leon, so she kept it to herself.
Then one day, Susan showed up out of the blue with a nanny and two security guards in black suits.
As soon as she walked in, Susan said urgently, "Isabella, get Kathy to help these folks pack your stuff. You need to come with me right now!"
Isabella was stunned. "What are you talking about? Why do I have to leave all of a sudden?"
She glanced at the serious-looking people Susan brought, totally clueless about what was going on.
Susan looked at Kathy, who was holding Milo, and said, "Kathy, get them to pack up Isabella and Milo's things. You're all moving to my place right now!"
"Okay," Kathy said, even though she looked just as confused.
Susan then grabbed Isabella's hand and pulled her to the bedroom. "I need to tell you something."
Once they were in the bedroom with the door closed, Susan looked super serious and said, "I'll make this quick. Some big news is about to drop that could put you and Milo in danger. Seb just called me and said you need to move to my place immediately. So, you and Milo are staying with us for a while!"
Isabella was dazed. "What do you mean? What big news? What's it got to do with me and Milo?"
She spread her hands, totally confused.
Susan stepped forward, grabbed Isabella's shoulders, and said, "Seb and Leon just merged Prosperity Group and Johnson Corporation. From now on, they're called Stellar International Group."
Isabella's jaw dropped. "A merger? Why would they do that?"
Both Johnson Corporation and Prosperity Group were huge; their merger would shake up the whole business scene in Maple Valley.
Seeing Isabella's shock, Susan smiled. "I only found out a few days ago. They kept it from me, and I'm Seb's secretary! Can you believe they hid it so well?"
"Why the sudden merger? Are they in some kind of trouble?" Isabella knew a merger like this didn't just happen for no reason.
"Yep!" Susan laughed.
"Seb's got a lot of old-timers from his mom and Andrew's days who don't like how he runs things. Plus, the real estate market's hit a wall. Seb wants to push the group into new territory, so he's eyeing a merger. Johnson Corporation's got a bunch of high-tech stuff, and Seb wants in on that.
On Leon's side, it's messier. Bronte's dad is the second-biggest shareholder at Johnson Corporation and has always wanted to boot Leon out. Since Leon took over, Bronte's dad has been a thorn in his side, even trying to get rid of him. Bronte's been pushing Leon hard too. So, Leon wants to merge with Prosperity Group to dilute Bronte's dad's shares. With Seb's help after the merger, Bronte's dad won't be able to cause much trouble," Susan explained.
Isabella thought for a moment and asked, "So, you're saying Bronte might come after me and Milo because of this?"
Susan nodded. "Yeah, Bronte's been using her dad's influence to pressure Leon into marrying her. But Leon's never caved. Bronte knows you and Milo are Leon's soft spots. If the merger goes through, Bronte loses her leverage over Leon."
Isabella laughed bitterly. "It sounds like Leon cares about me and Milo. But isn't he still tangled up with Bronte?"
Her words were dripping with jealousy and pain.
Seeing Isabella's jealous look, Susan laughed. "Come on, there's nothing between Leon and Bronte. It's all in Bronte's head! Yesterday, Leon told me to keep you calm and take care of you and Milo. Trust him; he's got no reason to lie. He's only dealing with Bronte because he has to. He let you rent a place because he was worried Bronte might hurt you and Milo. He's actually protecting you, even though it kills him to be away from you both. He's the one really suffering!"
"You mean he's stringing Bronte along to buy time?" Isabella glared at Susan.
"Pretty much," Susan nodded.
But Isabella wasn't buying it.
"Just because he's worried about me and Milo, he can do all this? Maybe he and Bronte are actually getting together!" Isabella's tone was full of jealousy, which she didn't even notice.
Seeing Isabella's jealous look, Susan patted her chest. "I've been holding this in for days. Finally, I've said everything I needed to say. Believe it or not, it's up to you. If you don't believe me, you'll have to wait for Leon to explain it himself!"
"Who wants to hear his explanation?" Isabella said angrily.
"Alright, save all your anger for Leon later. I'm just the messenger," Susan teased, holding Isabella's arm.
Hearing this, Isabella finally smiled.
"By the way, they probably won't be able to come home for a few days. Let's stay home with the kids, but we must not go out!" Susan warned.
"Is it that serious?" Isabella asked, puzzled.
"Very serious. You might not know, but a while ago in Skyhaven, Leon was almost killed by Bronte's dad!" Susan made a slicing motion across her neck.
"What? Why didn't he ever tell me?" Isabella asked in shock.
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