Never Again Yours (Isadora and Magnus) novel Chapter 37

Isadora sat alone in her office.

She pressed her fountain pen to her forehead, eyes fixed on the view outside as she fell deep into thought.

The Vaughan Group’s Global Project was seeking $400 million in sponsorship.

She knew Pearl would pull every trick in the book to secure it.

After all, a 10% stake in The Vaughan Group meant annual dividends that could reach millions—money that would keep flowing for years to come.

Once upon a time, Isadora might not have cared so much about money.

She'd cared about family—except her adoptive mother, Carla, had been anything but loving. In fact, Carla had been downright cruel.

For twenty years, Isadora had endured a relentless cycle of emotional manipulation, icy silence, and outright abuse.

If she brought home perfect grades, Carla would only grow colder.

If she made friends, Carla’s mood soured.

Even laughter became a sin.

Back then, Isadora couldn’t understand why Carla disliked her so much, why she seemed determined to make her miserable.

Carla’s gaze was always loveless—cold, even disgusted.

Eventually, the truth came out.

Carla had orchestrated the entire baby-switching scheme from the start.

She hadn’t wanted to raise Isadora at all—she’d even abandoned her at a hospital, leaving her in a trash bin out of sight. The only reason Carla took her back was fear: if someone found Isadora, they’d discover Pearl was the imposter.

But Carla was just as terrified that Isadora might outshine her real daughter.

So Isadora grew up in the shadows, her childhood marked by darkness.

When she was finally brought back into the Vaughan family, she craved the love of Richard, Eleanor—even Prescott. She longed for them to care about her.

But no matter how hard she tried, Pearl was always the daughter, always the sister, in their eyes.

For three years, Isadora bent over backward, swallowing her pride, doing everything she could to win their affection.

Nothing changed.

It took being kidnapped for Isadora to see things clearly.

No matter how much you sacrifice or how loyal you are, if someone doesn’t love you, nothing will change that.

If she couldn’t have love—

Victor lounged at the head of the table, utterly at ease. His sharp haircut framed a strikingly handsome face, and a pair of black-rimmed glasses rested on his nose. The curve of his lips hinted at something roguish, an edge beneath the polished exterior.

The conference room was enormous. Department heads took turns presenting quarterly reports.

The finance director stood up, holding a stack of documents. “Last quarter, one of our subsidiaries completed its Series D funding. Assets now total three billion dollars.”

A round of applause broke out.

“That’s just one subsidiary. Under Mr. Fitzgerald’s leadership, The Fitzgerald Group’s profits have multiplied several times over. Next quarter, two more subsidiaries will be raising another round.”

The report ended and all eyes turned to their leader.

To his team, Victor was a rare kind of business genius.

Even before taking the helm at The Fitzgerald Group, Victor had already built his own business empire straight out of Harvard.

Three years ago, he returned home and inherited The Fitzgerald Group.

At first, the old guard doubted his abilities.

But Victor’s bold decisions, swift action, and fearless challenges led the company to new heights, again and again.

Now, at just twenty-seven, he had earned their respect—and then some.