Penny leaned across the table, her sharp gaze boring into Darius's profile. "Tell us the absolute truth, Darius. Have you truly abandoned the original corporate play?"
"Or are you running this elaborate maneuver simply because I threatened to expose your actual name to Linda?" Isabel pushed, her eyes searching his face. “And to reveal your plans for not only her family’s legacy but her home too. Because taking Hearts Hotel also involves taking Heart House and that wetland beside it”
Darius stopped, a profound stillness settling over his features. "I am going to tell Linda the truth myself," he promised, his voice dropping into a rough register. "But I cannot do it within the twenty-four-hour timeline you demanded. I need the proper window." He swallowed hard, his hands resting steady against the table. "I promise you, it was never my intention to hurt or deceive Linda. I truly enjoy her company, and my relationship with her has nothing to do with my plans for Hearts Hotel."
The two women stared at him, completely silenced by the raw vulnerability written across his face.
"Something clicked with her the moment we first met that day on the beach when we arrived in Sweet Blossom Bay,” Darius admitted, looking out at the calm bay water through the window glass. "That first day on the beach, I think deep down inside, I knew in that exact moment I would never allow the commercial machinery to touch this coast.” He glanced back at them. “That's why I've been creating administrative delays all summer, hoping the family would find a legal loophole to preserve the property.I even instructed Clyde to monitor their private bank debts because I wanted to quietly buy up their liabilities myself just to shield them from predatory mainland developers." He let out a short, self-deprecating laugh. "When Baxter warned me about the pool excavation find, a part of me was secretly rooting for it to be a massive historical discovery."
Penny's eyes widened as the final piece of his behavior clicked into focus. "Because if a state historical freeze forces the delay, it wouldn't look like you failed your father's memory," Penny realized softly. "It would simply be an act of unpredictable legal logistics."
Isabel felt the last lingering chunk of her icy rage melt away completely, her chest expanding with a deep wave of sympathy for her brother. She reached across the polished wicker table, resting her fingers gently over his hand.
"Darius, you aren't disappointing our parents," Isabel told him, her voice turning thick with emotion. "They didn't want to destroy this town. They wanted to inject our family capital into the existing structures to save the community spirit."
"You need to show me every bit of that alternative plan," Darius said, his fingers tightening briefly around hers. "But for now, this alliance stays entirely between the three of us. Whoever is directing the Carolina Group needs to think our family fracture is permanent. I need the two of you to remain registered at the hotel to maintain the public appearance of a massive fallout."
Isabel nodded slowly. "Alright. We can do that."
Darius looked out at the shifting coastal sky, his jaw clenching tightly as a quiet, painful realization settled into his eyes.
“No matter what happens,” He looked at both of them, his eyes darkening with emotion. “I need you to trust me. Know that I won’t be able to tell you everything, as it’s best to keep this between myself and Clyde. But you have to know, whatever I do, it’s not because I’m moving forward with the initial plan. It will only look like I am.”
“That’s how you can flush out whoever’s working to steal this project from the Wayne Group and who’s trying to destroy the company,” Penny realized.
Isabel’s eyes widened as she realized what her brother was going to do.
"Darius,” Isabel breathed as another thought dawned on her. “Surely if we just move forward with the trust and help with the Hearts Hotel debt, we could stop the Carolina Group?”
Penny, realizing what Isabel meant, looked alarmed. “Yes, Darius, moving ahead as if nothing has changed on the Sweet Blossom Bay project could have huge consequences for you.”
“Especially personal ones, Darius,” Isabel said worriedly. She truly had never heard her brother talk or even look at any woman the way she’d seen him with Linda.
“Yes, there is an immense cost to this strategy," Darius agreed softly, his voice barely louder than the hum of the ceiling fans. "By continuing to play the part of the aggressive corporate predator for a little longer to trap the rivals, I am likely going to lose the only woman I've ever truly fallen in love with."
ISABEL
Darius stood up from the booth, offering a final, quiet nod before he picked up his files and walked toward the front door of the café. Isabel watched his retreating back through the glass window, feeling the tight knot of anxiety in her chest finally begin to loosen. For the first time in years, she wasn't troubled by the sight of her brother heading off to handle corporate business. Knowing he was secretly working alongside Clyde to dismantle what she thought was Baxter’s schemes and protect the town made her feel entirely at peace with him.
Isabel turned back to the table, picking up her fork to finish the last decadent bite of her chocolate cake. Penny took a slow sip of her cappuccino, watching Isabel with a soft, knowing look.
"Penny," Isabel began, setting her fork down on the porcelain plate. "I'm going to apply for that café manager position. The sign in the window says they need someone right away."
Penny paused, her coffee cup hovering inches above the saucer as her eyebrows rose in surprise. "Oh?" Penny’s eyes narrowed slightly, a warm light breaking through her expression. "Is thisbecause of that old dream you used to talk about? The bookstore and coffee shop combo?"
A pleasant wave of surprise washed over Isabel. It had been many years since they had last discussed that private ambition, back before her husband passed away, yet Penny had remembered the detail perfectly.
"It feels right somehow," Isabel admitted, shifting her gaze across the sunlit room to track the casual, inviting layout of the counters. "Like it's just meant to be. I can't explain it, but the moment I saw that sign on the window, something clicked."
"I know exactly what you mean," Penny told her, setting her cup down with a soft click. "I had that exact same feeling a few days ago. I found an old house about five miles down the coast from the lighthouse. It’s been completely abandoned, with no one living in it for around eight years."
Isabel shifted in her seat, her architectural instincts immediately kicking in with a touch of worry. "If it's right on the water and it's been sitting empty for that long in this humidity, it must be quite run down, Penny."
"It is," Penny confirmed, leaning closer across the table. "The roof needs structural work, and the landscape has completely taken over the property. But there's something about the place. It's like it's calling directly to my soul."
"Then I have to see it," Isabel told her, a spark of genuine curiosity replacing her earlier concern.
"We could drive past there right now," Penny suggested, her fingers tapping enthusiastically against the edge of the table.
