Chapter 358

The hospital room was suffocating with unspoken tension.

Isabella Sinclair had once been Harrison Kingsley's entire world. The man might neglect his duties to the company, but whenever Isabella showed the slightest discomfort, Harrison would drop everything to be by her side, no matter how packed his schedule was.

Three days without a visit? Unheard of. Until now.

"Harrison."

Isabella leaned weakly against the pillows, her lips trembling as she wiped away a smudge of faded lipstick. Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears as she gazed at him. "You've been so busy lately, haven't you? With corporate affairs and everything... I understand. It's nothing serious—just a perforated eardrum. The surgery's already done."

Before she could finish, Harrison cut her off, his voice grave. "Isabella, I came here to ask you something. Was what Evelyn said true?"

Isabella froze. Her pupils flickered like candle flames in the wind. "Harrison, how could you doubt me? I'm your wife! You know me better than anyone! I gave you two daughters—I nearly died giving birth to Sophia! I've sacrificed so much for you. How could I possibly be involved with a murder suspect? Harrison! Do you not love me anymore? When love fades, everything becomes suspicious, doesn't it?"

Her words were sharp, but beneath them, her heart hammered with terror.

Her indignation was nothing but a shield for the panic clawing at her insides.

"I'm not talking about that man, Adrian. Whatever history you have with him, I'll uncover it myself."

Harrison's gaze never wavered. "I'm talking about Victoria. Did you orchestrate the attack on Victoria?"

"No! No! It wasn't me!"

Isabella's voice cracked as she vehemently denied it. "Why would I hurt her? What would I gain? Why would I take such a risk?"

Harrison simply watched her, his fingers tightening around the phone that had grown warm in his grip.

Over the past three days, he'd discreetly investigated the connection between Isabella and Adrian. While it wasn't as damning as Evelyn had claimed—that Isabella had given Adrian her name as a token of love—there was truth to it. Isabella did know Adrian. They had been in contact.

And then there was the call log.

Though Isabella's phone showed no records of communication with Adrian, Harrison had checked Sophia's call history.

One number stood out—unfamiliar, unregistered, its location matching Adrian's hideout.

Harrison's stomach twisted.

His daughter, raised among elites, had never mingled with the dregs of society. She wouldn't even know how to find the slums, let alone venture there.

There was only one explanation for Sophia contacting Adrian.

"Isabella," Harrison exhaled sharply, his voice low. "Do you know what first drew me to you?"

Isabella blinked, caught off guard.

She'd always assumed it was her beauty, her youth. Men were simple creatures, after all—drawn to pretty faces and little else.

But she'd forgotten one crucial detail.

As the heir to the Kingsley empire, Harrison had his pick of society's finest—debutantes, starlets, heiresses. Yet none had captured his heart.

Back then, Isabella had been a nobody—an actress with mediocre looks and no pedigree.

So why had he chosen her?

"Because of your eyes," Harrison said quietly. "They were clear. Untouched by deceit. You made me want to protect you, to cherish you. With you, I felt like the man I was meant to be."

Isabella's breath hitched.

Clear? Untouched?

Those words didn't describe her. They sounded more like they belonged to Evelyn Ashbourne—the woman Harrison had truly wanted.

The thought made her blood boil.

"But it seems you don't need my protection anymore," Harrison continued, his voice hardening. "You've learned to fight your own battles—using whatever means necessary to destroy those who cross you."

His eyes darkened. "But this is the last time. From now on, you will behave. No more harming innocents. No more dragging the Kingsley name through the mud. Or I will send you away—far from Elmsworth, far from the chaos you've created."

The threat struck like a slap.

Isabella's entire body stiffened, shock and fury warring inside her.

"Harrison, what are you saying? You're discarding me? Locking me away like some unwanted mistress? Is this because of Evelyn's lies? Or is it because you've set your sights on Emeric Ashbourne's daughter? Using me as an excuse to replace me?!"

"Enough!" Harrison roared, his composure shattering.

"Did I strike a nerve?" Isabella sneered, her voice dripping with venom. "You're guilty, aren't you? When Victoria was still on the runway, the rumors about you two were everywhere! They said you pulled strings for her, that you wanted to keep her!"

Harrison's jaw clenched, his silence deafening.

"She was the one you really wanted, wasn't she? I was just the consolation prize!"

The words spilled out like poison, festering for years. Isabella was equal parts enraged and relieved. "If Victoria hadn't ruined herself with drugs, she would've been the lady of the Kingsley estate—not me!"

"Shut your mouth," Harrison growled, a vein throbbing at his temple.

"You adored her, defended her—yet when she humiliated herself on stage, where were you? Why didn't you rush to her side like Emeric? Why didn't you marry her then? Because you were afraid! Afraid a scandal would tarnish your precious reputation!"

Harrison snapped.

His hand lashed out before he could stop it.

The slap echoed through the room.

Isabella reeled, her cheek burning, tears streaming down her face.

Harrison staggered back, horrified. He'd never struck a woman before. But Isabella had pushed him too far.

"You hit me?"

Her voice was a whisper, trembling with disbelief. Then, like a switch flipping, she sprang from the bed, bare feet slapping against the cold floor as she bolted for the balcony. "If this is how you treat me, I'd rather die!"

Harrison's blood ran cold. "Stop her!"

The door burst open. His secretary and bodyguard lunged forward, grabbing Isabella just as she reached the railing. They hauled her back like a criminal, her face streaked with tears, her dignity in tatters.

"Assign two maids to watch her. You two guard the door. If anything happens to her, it's on you," Harrison ordered, his voice hollow.

"Yes, Mr. Kingsley!"

Without another glance at Isabella, Harrison turned and walked out, his footsteps heavy with exhaustion.

Isabella collapsed to the floor, legs giving way beneath her.

Tears hadn't worked. Tantrums hadn't worked. Even threatening suicide hadn't made him stay. He hadn't even looked back.

Did Harrison no longer love her?

Or had he never loved her at all?

A hysterical laugh bubbled up from her throat, startling the guards. "Mrs. Kingsley, are you—"

"Good," she whispered, her smile chilling. "We're finally on the same page."

He never loved her.

And she?

She never loved him either.

But Harrison would never know the truth—that the woman he'd truly loved, the one he'd secretly yearned for all these years, had been destroyed by her hand.

Pain.

That was the first thing Sophia Kingsley registered when she woke.

Her head throbbed. Her limbs ached. The air smelled damp, musty—like rotting wood and mildew.

Blinking against the dim light, she realized she was in an abandoned warehouse.

And she wasn't alone.

Two rats scurried past her feet.

"Ah!" She scrambled back, grabbing a broken brick and hurling it at them. The rodents darted away, their squeaks almost mocking.

"Hello? Is anyone there? Help!"

Just as her screams reached a fever pitch, the warehouse door creaked open.

A silhouette stepped into the sliver of light—a woman, curves accentuated by a tight leather suit, every inch the femme fatale.

"It's you," Sophia gasped. "You're the woman with Mr. Fairhaven!"

Lily smirked, adjusting her gloves. "Good evening, Ms. Kingsley. You were out for quite a while. I was starting to get bored."

"Did you kidnap me?" Sophia's voice shook with rage. "Do you have a death wish? I'm the heiress to the Kingsley Corporation! Let me go now, or I'll ruin you!"

Lily's grin widened.

Seeing words weren't working, Sophia bolted for the door, screaming. "Help! Some—"

A sharp kick to her stomach sent her flying.

She crashed onto the concrete, pain exploding through her body. Every bone felt shattered. Every breath was agony.

And Lily?

She just stood there, smiling.