Propping up her frail body, Isabella immediately stepped into the suite.
She reached for the water pitcher on the table. "Let me pour some water for Grandpa."
Then she reached for a towel. "Let me wipe Grandpa's face."
Except, she was genuinely weak.
And blood was still dripping steadily from her hand.
Every deliberate, slow movement was a masterful display of manufactured misery.
She made herself look as though she had been brutally victimized.
"Isabella."
Kiera looked at her and sighed. "That's enough. We don't... need you here."
"This is the path you chose and the seeds you sowed. No matter how bitter this fruit is, you have to swallow it yourself."
"Stop putting on this tragic performance for us. We're too old to tolerate this kind of manipulation."
Her grandmother's voice was gentle as always.
But the words were piercingly cold.
Isabella froze, her nails digging deep into her palms.
She hadn't expected the grandmother who used to dote on her so unconditionally to become so completely detached.
She pressed her lips together tightly, staring at the two elders who showed absolutely zero emotion.
She could feel it...
They were truly, deeply disappointed in her.
But she couldn't leave.
If she walked out that door and gave up on winning back their favor, she would lose every shred of status and privilege she had in this family.
No one would ever treat her as the Lancaster heiress or the Vinton family relative again.
"Grandma..."
Desperate, Isabella crumpled to the floor in a desperate heap, lowering herself into the dirt. "I'm not asking for your forgiveness, and I'm not forcing Serena to forgive me either. I just want to tell you that what Anna did really had nothing to do with me..."
"I admit, I admit that at first, seeing how much you loved Serena made me a little jealous. But I never once thought about hurting anyone! I really had no idea Anna hated Serena that much. I..."
She scrambled to explain herself.
"Isabella!"
Holden's commanding voice cut her off once again.
The old man had clearly recovered quite well; his voice carried weight as he stared her down darkly. "The past is in the past. Anna... has already paid the price for her actions. There's no need to bring it up again."
"As for you..."
He glared at her, his authoritative
gaze piercing straig
darkest, ugliest parts of her
It sent a terrifying chill down Isabella's spine.
Just then, voices drifted in from the hallway.
Serena walked in, flanked by Silas and Douglas, the three of them mid- conversation.
Serena walked in the center.
Silas and Douglas flanked her on either side, like loyal knights protecting their princess.
As the three of them entered the suite, they immediately spotted Isabella collapsed on the floor.
Douglas raised an eyebrow. "Oh my, what act of the play are we on now?"
"U-Uncle Douglas... Uncle Silas..."
Isabella watched Serena being treated like absolute royalty by her two powerful uncles.
Acid bubbled up in her chest, practically burning a hole through her heart.
She just couldn't understand it.
Why did every single person instantly side with Serena and adore her the moment they met her?
In the Lancaster family, her grandfather was like that, as were her parents and brothers.
And now in the Vinton family.
Her grandparents were doing the same.
And so were her two uncles.
Did Serena really know some kind of dark magic? Had she brainwashed everyone in both the Lancaster and Vinton families with some evil sorcery?
Otherwise, how could it be this bizarre?