Chapter 141: Chapter 141 Divorce him
Bella’s chest still felt so heavy it almost hurt. Her eyes were raw from crying and her hands shook as she wiped at her damp cheeks. She tried to breathe calmly when her phone on the side table buzzed with Scarlett’s name flashing brightly.
With a trembling hand, Bella pressed answer. She pressed the phone to her ear and tried so hard to make her voice sound normal — cheerful, even.
"H-hello..." she croaked, but her throat burned and the word came out small and hoarse. Her nose was so red she sniffled without meaning to.
On the other end, Scarlett’s voice snapped like a whip. "Bella? What’s wrong with you? Why is your voice like that? Are you crying?!"
"N-nothing happened, Scar... really. I’m okay," Bella lied, her lips quivering as she tried to force a smile that Scarlett couldn’t even see. "I’m just— I’m okay..."
"Don’t you dare lie to me, Bellatrix_019!" Scarlett’s tone turned dangerously soft, the kind of softness that meant she was two seconds away from murdering someone. "Tell. Me. Right now. Or I’m booking the first flight out and I will land there and drag you back myself!"
Bella squeezed her eyes shut, fighting another wave of tears. Her voice cracked as she let the words spill out — how she overheard Jay’s phone call, how Stella was back, how she claimed to be the one who helped with the firewall. How Leonardo... might believe it.
By the time she finished, the line was quiet except for Scarlett’s breathing — sharp, furious.
Then came the explosion. "SCUM! ABSOLUTE SCUM!" Scarlett’s voice rose so high Bella flinched and pulled the phone back from her ear. "Bella, you need to divorce him, you hear me?! DIVORCE! That man is not worth a single tear from you!"
Bella’s eyes widened, shocked by how fierce her friend sounded. "But... Scarlett..."
"And why the heck are you sitting there crying like this?!" Scarlett’s voice cracked with rage. "We worked our asses off to save and fix that company’s stupid firewall! You, me, all — we fought tooth and nail to protect him and you’re gonna let that Stella witch take the credit?!"
Later it turned out it was actually their friend Blackknight, but the harm was already done, and they had to fix it together, putting aside all their work. Bella even made sure to build a unique system so no one could ever crack their base again.
Bella’s tears had stopped falling. She stared at her own reflection in the dark window — her eyes puffy, her lips trembling, but something inside her chest gave a tiny, rebellious spark.
Scarlett wasn’t done. "You listen to me, Bellatrix_019 — don’t you dare let some fake plastic ’ex-fiancée’ steal your victory. We did that. YOU did that. And if you let her do this, I swear my blood pressure will skyrocket and I will pass out right now!"
A small watery laugh bubbled out of Bella’s throat. "Scar... you’re right..." she whispered, her fists clenching tighter. Her eyes still hurt but they didn’t feel so heavy now. "You’re right. Why should I let her? I won’t let her take it."
"That’s my girl!" Scarlett practically shouted. "You want me to start a cyber war? I’ll pull BlackKnight out of hiding. Or we’ll do it your way. But you’re not giving up. Do you hear me?"
Bella drew in a shaky breath — this time, it felt less like she was drowning. "I hear you. I... I won’t let her take it."
After ending the call with Scarlett, Bella didn’t waste another second. She wiped her damp cheeks on her sleeve, took a deep breath, and opened her laptop, her eyes turning sharp, no trace of her innocent softness now.
She found Stella’s traces fast — she was good at this. Within minutes, she pulled up what she needed: Stella’s recent location, old posts, blurry photos from when she’d run off with that boyfriend named Tom. Bella clicked through them, her fingers steady, her eyes flickering with a stormy emotion.
"So you came back..." she murmured under her breath, her brows knitting.
She found a video — just a casual clip. Stella was sitting at a lavish dinner table with Jessica, and even though the audio was faint, Bella could tell what it was. Jessica’s eyes were warm and doting, the way she touched Stella’s hair, how she fussed over her, telling her to eat more. It looked like a perfect mother-daughter moment.
Bella’s chest squeezed. She bit her lip, hard enough to sting. "We both... are her daughters. And look how she treats you... and how she treated me..."
The unfairness pricked something raw inside her. She closed the video before she could see more. It hurt — it really did. But she sat there, her little fists clenched at her sides, whispering to herself, "It’s okay... although it’s unfair... it’s okay. I’m okay..."
She forced herself to exhale and clicked on Stella’s photo folder again. One by one, the images flashed by. Stella had dark, shoulder-length hair, a bit tousled in that fashionable way. Her pouty lips looked always painted red. Her figure was thin — so thin — and the angles in her photos made her waist look tiny, her legs long. She wore designer clothes, tight little dresses, expensive heels, sunglasses perched on her nose like she was always ready for the camera.
Bella studied every detail, She wanted to know the person trying to take her place, take her credit.
She reached for her plushie Berry, hugging it to her side with one arm while her other hand scrolled on the trackpad. Her eyes narrowed.
Bella didn’t stop at Stella. She wanted to know who that so-called ’friend’ was too — the one named Ford said helped save the company’s firewall. Hah! Bella scoffed softly to herself as she opened another file she’d dug up.
It was easy. She found the girl’s LinkedIn, her old college posts, even a few tagged photos with Stella at parties. Her fingers paused on the keyboard when she saw the degree: Bachelor’s in Cyber Security & Ethical Hacking. So this girl wasn’t just some random friend — she was an actual graduate, probably trained well enough to fool anyone who didn’t know how real hacking worked.
Bella leaned closer to the screen, her eyes narrowing. In the photos, the girl stood beside Stella, both flashing perfect smiles. The friend was tall, slim, her black hair in a sleek bob that made her look like a model. She wore tight dresses and bold lipstick, the kind of girl who knew exactly how to pose to look expensive.
Bella’s brows twitched. "Of course..." she muttered under her breath. "Birds of a feather flock together."