She had originally thought that coming to the United Realmon States would allow her to use her grandparents' influence to crush Serena's arrogance.
But now things had devolved to this point...
Agnes continued, "Miss Isabella, if you use The Penance Play to soften the hearts of those two old folks, they'll force that nobody to forgive you."
"As long as the old folks give the word, what can the Vinton brothers or that nobody really do to you?"
Isabella pressed her lips together.
It seemed like the only viable option left.
"I understand, Agnes," Isabella said, taking a deep breath.
Agnes offered a few more words of comfort before they ended the call.
After hiding her phone again, Isabella walked over to the spot perfectly aligned with the security camera. She stood stubbornly in the exact center of the room, refusing to move or eat, putting on a flawless display of martyrdom.
Her back was straight, radiating an aura of desperate atonement.
When a maid brought her food, Isabella wept beautifully, her voice faint and weak. "Anna made a mistake, and it's my fault as her older sister. I failed to guide her. I failed to keep her in line and let her act out, which led to this horrible tragedy..."
"I just want to beg my sister Serena to forgive me... If she doesn't forgive me for even one day, I'll never find peace."
The maid tried to coax her to eat.
But Isabella looked utterly resolute.
The maid had no choice but to report the situation to Silas.
Silas was at the sanatorium, sitting at a desk dealing with company affairs while keeping his parents company. He didn't even look up. "If she wants to stand, let her stand. If she wants to starve, don't bring her food. Let her be."
After hanging up.
The maid relayed Silas's exact words to Isabella.
Isabella was furious.
This was the uncle who had spoiled her for over a decade?!
What kind of brainwashing spell had Serena cast on the Vinton family?!
Every single one of them had completely disregarded years of familial affection just for Serena!
But now, she had no other choice.
She could only bite the bullet and keep standing there.
And she stood for an entire day.
She was truly ruthless when it came to herself.
Just like when she wanted to stay with the Lancaster family, taking ice-cold baths for days to make herself severely ill.
She had a terrifying tolerance for self-inflicted pain.
After a full day without a drop of water, her stomach was burning, with hunger, and her legs ached agonizingly from standing solong in one spot.
But she had to swallow the pain and endure it.
Every so often, she made sure to look pale, pathetic, and on the verge of collapsing in front of the camera, muttering, Sister, I'm sorry dt's all my fault..."
Her performance was so convincing that the maids in the villa genuinely started to feel pity thinking she was unfairly suffering because of Miss Anna's mistakes.
However, Silas had given strict orders. No one dared to help her, console her, or bring her a crumb of food.
They all secretly wondered just what kind of person this newly returned true heiress
was.
To think she had the power to make the usually pampered Miss Isabella suffer like this?
In her head, Isabella cursed Serena millions of times.
That wretched nobody!
She was already suffering this much, and Serena still wouldn't back down!
Serena was doing this on purpose!
Just as Isabella felt she couldn't hold on any longer, footsteps echoed outside the door.
Her eyes lit up, and she immediately adjusted her posture to look even more frail and pitiful.
Her Penance Play had worked!
Grandma must have felt sorry for her.
They were sending someone to get her!
However...
The door locking her in remained firmly shut.
Instead, she heard the footsteps of a few maids passing by outside, along with their
casual chatter.