Chapter 257

Isabella was lost in thought when Julian noticed her car approaching. He strode toward her with purposeful steps.

She lowered the window slowly. "Mr. Montgomery."

"Good morning."

Isabella gave a brief nod. "Morning." Her fingers tapped the steering wheel. "Did you need something, Mr. Montgomery?"

Truthfully, Julian had no particular reason for being here. The unanswered questions from last night still gnawed at him.

"Last Saturday," he began, "I saw you with Mr. Graves and Mr. Aldridge outside The Grandeur."

Isabella listened, her expression unreadable, until he dropped the bombshell. "You're also Mr. Aldridge's protégé, aren't you?"

Her body went rigid. "How did you—"

But Julian had already seen the truth in her startled reaction.

"Those two YodaVision projects," he pressed on. "They were your brainchild too, weren't they?"

Isabella's lips pressed into a thin line. "What exactly are you—"

"One more thing." Julian's voice grew intense. "The CUAP programming language YodaVision uses—that was your creation too, wasn't it?"

Though no coding expert himself, Julian came from a tech-savvy family. He understood CUAP's revolutionary potential. The language had been YodaVision's foundation since day one.

If his suspicions proved correct, it meant Isabella had developed this groundbreaking technology at just seventeen.

Even now, Victoria Kensington couldn't grasp CUAP's basic principles.

The realization hit Julian like a thunderbolt—the true genius behind YodaVision wasn't Nathaniel Graves.

It had been Isabella all along.

Silence stretched between them.

But Julian already had his answer.

Despite his earlier suspicions, the confirmation left him reeling. Memories flashed through his mind—every interaction, every conversation. He'd never truly known her at all.

"Did you come here just to interrogate me?" Isabella finally broke the silence.

"I needed to know." Julian ran a hand through his hair. "I didn't plan to ask these questions today."

Their current relationship made this none of his business. Yet the words had tumbled out the moment he saw her.

Even he was surprised by his own actions.

Before Isabella could respond, Julian met her gaze squarely. "Don't worry—your secret's safe with me." His voice carried quiet conviction. Isabella studied him but remained silent.

Julian stepped back, creating distance. "You should go. I won't keep you." With that, he turned and walked away.

Isabella watched his retreating figure before driving into the underground garage.

For the next ten days, Isabella and Nathaniel worked around the clock. Every spare moment was spent poring over Frederick Aldridge's research materials.

Dawn found them at the office; midnight often saw them still there.

Then one morning, Isabella found herself at the airport, waiting for an important business associate.

Twenty minutes passed before her guest finally appeared.