Taming My Sugar Mommy
Chapter 49: Sarah secret

Chapter 49: Sarah secret

The first hint of dawn filtered through the blinds when Liam felt someone shake his shoulder. He startled awake, confused after falling asleep at the desk. His laptop had gone dark, notes scattered like evidence of a long night.

"Liam." Isabella’s voice was tight with tension, all softness from yesterday gone.

He looked up at her through bleary eyes. She stood there completely transformed—dressed in a sharp charcoal suit, hair pulled back severely, making her face all angles and determination. Something in her expression made his chest tighten.

"What time is it?" he mumbled, feeling the rough stubble on his jaw.

"Five-thirty." Isabella moved around the suite gathering her belongings, each movement purposeful. "Pack your things. We’re leaving for England immediately."

Liam stood, his back complaining after hours hunched over the desk. "England? Why? What’s happened?"

Isabella paused while folding a blouse, her back to him. When she turned, her face revealed nothing—a mask he couldn’t read.

"Just pack, Liam. The jet will be ready in forty-five minutes."

He crossed the room and gently gripped her shoulders. Through the fine fabric, he could feel how rigid she was. "Isabella, please. Talk to me."

For just a second, something raw flashed across her face—was it fear? Anger? Before he could be sure, it vanished, and she stepped away from his touch with fluid grace.

"We need to be in London. That’s all you need to know right now."

Her tone left no room for argument. Liam recognized this version of Isabella—the one who silenced questioning board members with a look. Whatever had happened, she wasn’t sharing.

’Jack’s message,’ he thought, remembering the text. ’Found something about Sarah Bennett you’re not going to believe.’ Had it worked? Isabella suddenly rushing to London right after Jack started investigating Sarah couldn’t be coincidence.

As Isabella began making calls, Liam headed to the bathroom. Under the hot shower spray, his mind raced. ’Did Jack deliver the information? Is everything falling into place?’

Through the door, he caught fragments of Isabella’s conversations:

"Marcus, we’re leaving for London in forty minutes... Yes, it’s urgent... No, just you and Christina for security..."

A pause, then: "Christina, I need you at The Peninsula in thirty minutes... Yes, full security protocols... No, I don’t want the local team involved..."

When Liam emerged, Isabella was closing her suitcase with a decisive click. Her eyes assessed him coolly.

"You’ll need something warmer. It’s raining in London."

Without waiting, she pulled a heavier coat from his luggage and handed it over. This wasn’t the woman who’d fallen asleep against him last night. This was Isabella Ashworth, business titan—the woman Forbes had called "brilliant and unforgiving" in equal measure.

"Are you going to tell me what’s happening?" he tried again as they prepared to leave.

Isabella’s hand paused on the doorknob. Without looking back, she said, "Sometimes, Liam, the less you know, the safer you are."

Her words hung between them, heavy with unsaid things.

---

The journey to the airport passed in silence broken only by rain hitting the windows. Marcus drove while Christina scanned their surroundings constantly. Isabella worked on her tablet, fingers moving urgently. Liam watched Hong Kong’s towers fade into the misty morning, feeling the distance growing between them.

Once he tried to reach her. "Is everything alright?"

Her fingers paused briefly—acknowledgment without answer—before resuming their rapid tapping.

The executive terminal whisked them through with invisible efficiency. No lines, no waiting, just discreet staff moving them seamlessly toward the sleek Gulfstream that waited on the tarmac.

Christina boarded first for a security sweep, Marcus oversaw their luggage, and Liam followed Isabella up the steps, noticing how tightly she held herself, as if bracing against something only she could see.

Inside, the cabin’s luxury surrounded them—soft leather, polished wood, and quiet technology. The pilot greeted them professionally.

"We’ll be cruising at 45,000 feet, Ms. Ashworth. Weather looks good except for some turbulence over Eastern Europe."

Isabella nodded briefly. "Thank you, Captain. I want wheels up in ten minutes."

"Yes, ma’am."

As the pilot returned to the cockpit, Isabella took her window seat. Liam settled across from her, watching as Christina positioned herself near the entrance. Marcus was last aboard, speaking briefly with ground staff before taking his place.

The engines hummed to life, vibrating gently through the aircraft. Liam observed the security team settling in. ’Whatever this is,’ he thought, ’it’s working perfectly.’

At cruising altitude, Isabella finally set her tablet aside and closed her eyes, leaning back. In the harsh cabin light, he could see the strain on her face.

He got up and brought back two glasses of water, placing one quietly in front of her.

Her eyes opened. "Thank you," she said, her first direct words since the hotel.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly.

A ghost of a smile flickered across her lips. "I’m fine."

Sensing an opening, Liam leaned closer, lowering his voice. "Isabella, I want to help. But I can’t if you shut me out."

She sipped her water, studying him thoughtfully. For a moment, he thought she might confide in him. Then her gaze shifted to Christina, alert at her post.

"Later," Isabella murmured, the word both promise and deflection.

Liam nodded, not pushing. ’She’s not ready to talk with others listening,’ he realized, feeling both satisfaction and unease.

Hours passed in limbo. Isabella dozed fitfully, occasionally frowning in her sleep. Liam alternated between work and watching their progress across continents on the screen map, their path a glowing line across the darkening world.

As they began descending toward Heathrow, Isabella woke. She looked out at London’s gray skies, her expression hardening with purpose.

"Welcome home, Ms. Ashworth," the captain announced. "Local time is 2:47 PM. Weather is overcast with light rain, temperature 12 degrees Celsius."

Isabella straightened her jacket and turned to Liam, speaking just above a whisper.

"I received information this morning about Sarah Bennett," she said, her words carrying a dangerous edge. "We’re going straight to the office."

A chill ran through him as he feigned surprise. "What kind of information?"

Isabella’s eyes were cold fire. "The kind that ends careers. And possibly freedom."

The plane touched down, rain instantly streaking the windows. As they taxied toward the terminal, Isabella’s phone chimed. She glanced at it, her jaw tightening slightly.

"Marcus," she called. "We’ll be going directly to Ashworth Tower. Have the car waiting."

Marcus nodded, immediately making arrangements.

They moved from plane to waiting Bentley with the ease only extreme privilege provides. London welcomed them with its familiar drizzle, buildings emerging from the mist like ghosts.

As Marcus pulled away, Isabella finally turned to Liam, her voice so quiet he had to lean in to hear her.

"Sarah Bennett has been selling company secrets," she said, each word precise and cutting. "Not just to competitors."

The pieces clicked perfectly in Liam’s mind. ’It worked,’ he thought, feeling a surge of satisfaction. ’Jack delivered exactly what I needed.’

Sarah Bennett was about to face Isabella’s wrath, and Liam had orchestrated it all from behind the scenes, invisible strings all under his control.