A cold tremor shot through her.

Her fingers clenched around the phone.

She looked at Ethan in alarm, her eyes wide with panic.

“Something urgent came up. I have to leave,” she rushed out, her voice shaky, unable to hold his intense stare.

She ended the call.

The screen went dark, reflecting her pale, frightened face.

Ethan stepped closer.

His shadow fell over her, making her retreat until her back hit the cold, hard wall.

He was too close, his presence overwhelming and suffocating.

“You…” she began, her lips trembling.

He moved swiftly, snatching the phone from her grasp.

His eyes scanned the screen, narrowing at the name Lucas Grant. His expression turned to ice, his gaze sharp enough to cut.

With a flick of his wrist, he sent the phone sailing over the second-floor railing.

It hit the marble below with a sickening crack, shattering into a hundred pieces.

Isabella stared, stunned, her mind struggling to process what just happened.

Disbelief gave way to a hot, furious anger.

“What did you just do? Are you insane, Ethan Blackwood?” Her voice rose, trembling with rage.

He looked down at her, his face unreadable.

“It’s mine. I can do whatever I want with it.”

“You’re joking! That’s my phone!” she snapped, frustration boiling over.

“Not anymore. It belongs to me,” he stated, his tone final and absolute. “Just like you do, Isabella. You are mine.”

His fingers closed around her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes.

The grip was painful.

“Remember who you are, Mrs. Blackwood.”

The pain was sharp, but her defiance didn't break. Her eyes blazed.

“Mrs. Blackwood? Is that what this is? So you can crush and humiliate me whenever you feel like it?” Her voice shook with a mix of fear and fury.

His voice dropped to a low, dangerous whisper. “Don’t push me, Isabella.” The warning was clear, a storm barely contained beneath the surface.

He held her gaze for one last, piercing moment.

Then he turned and walked away, leaving her alone in the heavy silence.

She leaned against the cold wall, all her strength gone.

She slid down to the floor, hugging her knees to her chest.

She rested her chin on her knees, her eyes empty, staring at the broken pieces of her phone scattered across the floor.

They looked like the shattered pieces of her will.