“Emily, there’s a cause for every effect. I’m not the one who pushed you down the stairs,” Isabella said coldly, sneering.
Emily’s hand leaned against the wall, her complexion growing paler. Of course, she wouldn’t forget that it was James who had pushed her down the stairs, and it was he who killed their child.
“Are you here to mock me?” Emily’s eyes were bloodshot, glaring angrily at her.
Isabella looked back at her, her gaze growing colder, as if coated in ice. However, her tone was disdainful, tinged with a smile. “Yes, just like how you came to the hospital to mock me back then.”
Back then, right after she had given birth to Asher and narrowly escaped death’s door, Emily had eagerly gone to the hospital, making a scene and even pretending to miscarry to frame her.
“Your last miscarriage was a hoax, but this time it’s real. How does it feel?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
Emily, trembling with rage, cursed, “You’ve had your laugh, now get lost!”
“Of course, I’ll leave. But before I go, we should settle our debts,” Isabella showed no intention of leaving; instead, she kept approaching.
She stopped in front of Emily, their heights were similar, but today she wore high heels, giving her a height advantage, looming over Emily.
“What debts?” Emily asked weakly.
Isabella listened and couldn’t help but sneer. Perhaps Charlotte and her daughters had done too many misdeeds, making them conveniently forgetful.
“Emily, the debt of killing my mother. You don’t think it ends just like that, do you?”
“You, what are you saying? I don’t understand. Eleanor died of an illness!” Emily denied vehemently, yet her body trembled uncontrollably, sliding down the wall.
Isabella grabbed her shoulder, slowing her downward slide. “Did my mom really die of an illness? Wasn’t it you who went to provoke her, triggering her heart attack! Emily, you think your deeds go unnoticed!”
“What evidence do you have?” Emily breathed heavily but wasn’t foolish enough to admit anything.
If Isabella had actual evidence, she wouldn’t stay here either.
Isabella smiled slightly, thinking that Emily wasn’t as stupid as she imagined.
“Punishing someone doesn’t always require evidence. Look, aren’t you receiving your retribution now?” Her eyes narrowed, and her icy gaze fell on Emily’s flat abdomen.
Then, there was a scream of despair from Emily. “Isabella, it’s you, it’s you!”
She might not be bright, but she wasn’t a fool. Isabella’s words were crystal clear to her.
Because of Eleanor’s death, Isabella was seeking revenge on her. So, Isabella intentionally seduced James, deliberately lured her to catch them together, and purposely caused the death of her child.
“Isabella, you murderer, I’ll kill you!” Emily struggled uncontrollably, but having just miscarried, she was weak and could fall even while standing. Her struggle appeared to Isabella as nothing short of a joke.
“Who’s the real murderer here? You killed my mother!” Isabella pushed Emily away, watching her fall clumsily to the ground. “Do you know why I supported James, gave him a chance to rise again? Because only by him rising again can I thoroughly avenge you.”
Emily struggled weakly on the ground, staring with bloodshot eyes and screaming madly, “Isabella, you wretch, you caused this, I’ll make you pay for my child’s life!”
“In the face of Emily’s hysteria, Isabella remained unusually calm. “The means don’t matter; the important thing is the result. Don’t feel too wronged; you were just too foolish… These were your own words to me in the past, Emily. Now, I’m returning them to you, word for word.”
Emily looked at her in utter shock, every expression frozen on her face.
Isabella blinked her clear eyes, full of disdain. “You brought this upon yourself. Emily, consider the debt for my mother’s death settled today.”
Emily had lost a child, considered her debt repaid.
Isabella didn’t desire Emily’s life, not out of magnanimity, but because she knew Emily was merely used as a pawn. As for the true culprit behind the scenes, Isabella wouldn’t let them off easy.
Having said what needed to be said, Isabella had no interest in seeing Emily’s twisted face. She turned to walk out of the hospital room, her hand just grasping the door handle when suddenly, a piercing laughter came from behind her.
“Isabella, aren’t you curious what I told your mom?”
She stopped and turned to look at Emily.
Emily laughed uncontrollably and continued, “I told her you were raped by a stranger and had a bastard child. She couldn’t take it and died.”
Isabella stood stiffly, her hands clenched into fists at her sides, the blood vessels bulging, displaying her anger.
“Why stare at me like that? Isn’t what I said true?” Emily’s laughter grew more reckless. Well, Eleanor was dead, what more could Isabella do to her?
Watching Isabella’s face pale, feeling immensely satisfied, she felt like she’d evened the score.
“Your mother always presented herself as an aristocratic lady, her daughters were considered more noble than us. But what does that matter? You were still played by a stranger. Isabella, where did you hide that bastard child? I really want to meet him, see if he looks just like the stranger…”
Before Emily could finish her sentence, Isabella slapped her hard, causing stars to dance in her eyes.
Isabella didn’t actually intend to hit her; she was just too contemptible and asked for it.
At that moment, Isabella regretted not activating her phone’s recording function earlier. With Emily’s recent words, she could have easily landed her in jail.
Leaving the hospital, Isabella’s mood was utterly terrible.
She drove, but her mind was elsewhere. Fortunately, it wasn’t rush hour, the road was mostly empty, or she might have caused an accident.
Emily’s words echoed repeatedly in Isabella’s mind.
Mom knew she was raped, that’s why she died. Her delicate mother must have figured out Charlotte and her daughters’ scheme against her. Her mother must have felt regret and guilt for leaving her in the Harris family’s den of wolves.
Isabella also regretted; she shouldn’t have kept it from her mom. If only she had told her earlier, explained that despite the rocky start with Andrew, they were doing well now. She should have introduced him to her mom earlier, showed her he was a good man.
But alas, all regrets were too late. Her mother was gone and wouldn’t come back.
Isabella felt her vision blur as silent tears streamed down her cheeks. With one hand on the steering wheel, she wiped the tears from her face with the other.