It was something to fight for.And she had fought harder than anyone knew.When James fell ill and his own family turned their backs on him, isabella stepped forward without hesitation. She sold the last investment her late father, Williams Laurent, had left her. That inheritance was not just wealth. It was memory, legacy, and the last connection she had to him. Letting it go had not been easy, but she did it anyway.
She believed James would remember and she also believed he would stand by her.But she was wrong.The door to his house stood slightly open.
As she approached, voices drifted out from inside.She could hear Lydia's voice.It was soft and intimate.
Lydia was saying"I am happy to carry your baby in my hands."
Isabella stopped,her breath caught as the words settled into her mind. Her heart began to pound uncontrollably. For a moment, she tried to convince herself she had heard wrongly, but then James' voice followed.
Everything inside her began to fall apart.Tears filled her eyes at once, rolling freely down her cheeks. Her hands trembled as fear crept into her chest.
Then a sudden thought struck her.She pushed the door open.She noticed that James was not with their own baby and that she had not heard her baby's voice,which was unusual.
Isabella was scared as she asked in fear"James... where is our baby Roy? I left him with you."
The room fell silent.James turned immediately, his face losing color the moment he saw her. Shock flashed across his eyes, followed by something darker.Lydia stood in the middle of the living room, holding a baby.But Mirabel barely noticed.
Fear had taken over completely.She asked"Where is Roy?"her voice shaking, her hands trembling in panic.
James said nothing.That silence told her everything she needed to know.isabella ran past them without waiting for an answer. Her heart pounded wildly as she rushed toward the room where she had left her child.
Her hands shook violently as she pushed the door open.
"Roy?"isabella said
The room was still.Her steps slowed as dread crept in.Then she saw her baby laying motionless.
"No..."isabella said
Her voice broke as she moved closer, tears blurring her vision.
"Roy...?"Her trembling hands reached out and touched him.The baby was cold and lifeless.
A broken cry tore from her chest as the truth crushed her completely.The baby had been sick and she knew that.There had been no money for treatment.James had told her he had nothing,but he had lied.
Isabella collapsed beside the bed, gathering her lifeless child into her arms as uncontrollable sobs shook her entire body.
Behind her unbearable grief, a hidden truth lingered.Lydia had seduced James,she had slowly taken control of him and in secret, she had poisoned the child.Isabella did not know,all she knew was loss.
She staggered back into the living room, her face soaked with tears, her body trembling with rage and heartbreak.
"James..." her voice cracked painfully. "You allowed our baby to die because of this stupid woman and her baby?"
Lydia's expression hardened instantly. Her eyes widened as she issued a sharp warning."I will not tolerate you insulting me like this," she said coldly. "I will drive you out of my house."
Isabella stared at her through her tears, disbelief burning within her.
Isabella spoke"You call this house your house?"
The air grew heavy with tension.James exhaled and his expression turned cold, distant, as if he had already made his decision.
"Enough," he said. "I love Lydia. I cannot stay with your behavior anymore."
Isabella looked at him as though she no longer recognized him.
"I gave up everything for you," she whispered.
"I did not ask you to," he replied without hesitation.
The words shattered what remained of her heart.Lydia adjusted the baby in her arms, a faint smile forming on her lips.
"This is his son," she said calmly.
Isabella turned quickly to James, desperation filling her voice.
"Tell me she is lying."
James did not deny it.
"He is mine." James replied.
The world around her seemed to spin.
"You betrayed me..."
"It is not what you think," James said weakly.
"It is exactly what she thinks," Lydia replied.
James stepped forward and took the baby from Lydia, holding him with a familiarity that revealed the truth isabella had been trying to deny.
This was not new,it was a life he had already accepted.suddenly another voice broke the silence
"You finally see the truth."
Isabella turned slowly.Janet stood at the doorway, a satisfied smile on her face.It was her stepmother.The woman who had always hidden cruelty behind false kindness.
"What truth?" Isabella asked faintly.
"That you were never worthy of him," Janet replied.
Anger rose through isabella's pain.
"You lied to him."
Janet lifted her chin slightly, her expression calm and calculated.
"I told him exactly who you are," she said. "A prostitute. A woman who had a child for another man."
Isabella's heart dropped as she turned to James.
"You believed her?"
James hesitated and it confirmed everything.What isabella did not know was how deep the deception ran.Janet and Lydia had carefully planned it all.
They deceived James' parents, Jennifer and Matthew, filling their minds with lies about Mirabel. They hired people to pretend they knew her as a prostitute. They paid a doctor to falsely claim she had undergone several abortions. They spread rumors that she was adopted and had no real connection to the Laurent family.
Then they manipulated the truth about wealth.
They told James' family that the properties and investments of Williams Laurent had already been given to them.
But the truth was far different.Mirabel was the biological daughter of Williams Laurent and his first wife, Blanca who was the rightful heir.Williams had loved her deeply because of her kindness, intelligence, and loyalty. That love had made Janet and her three daughters resent her bitterly. Their jealousy had grown over the years, turning into hatred.
They wanted everything that belonged to her.So they devised a plan.They promised James and his family that if he married Lydia, they would gain access to thirty percent of Williams Laurent's properties, worth one hundred and fifty million dollars.Greed took over,this made james and his parents to become blinded by ambition.
They had already decided to accept Lydia and planned to drive isabella out of their lives.
Back in the living room, isabella was still sad.
"I sold my father's last investment for you when your own family abandoned you," she said quietly. "And this is what I get?"
Lydia and Janet exchanged a look filled with silent triumph.
"I hate you," isabella whispered.
"You should thank us," Janet replied coldly. "You were never meant to win."
Isabella turned toward the door, ready to leave before she completely collapsed.But something caught her attention.It was a bracelet on Lydia's wrist.Isabella froze,she recognized it instantly.
"Where did you get that?" she asked sharply.
"James gave it to me," Lydia said.
"I did not," James replied, frowning.
"You left it here during your last visit," Janet added quickly.
Isabella's thoughts raced.She had lost that bracelet at Janet's house.Her gaze shifted to the baby's blanket.A logo and a private maternity clinic.The same clinic where Janet's friend worked and where isabella had once visited.A cold realization began to form.
"How old is the baby?" she asked slowly.
"Three months," Lydia replied.
Mirabel's stomach twisted.
"James... when did you reconnect with her?"
"A few months ago," he answered.
"Did you ever see her pregnant?"
"I kept it private," Lydia said quickly.
"Tell her the truth," Lydia urged.
"Do not let her deceive you again," Janet added.
James looked at isabella, his expression distant and final.
"You should leave."
Mirabel swallowed hard.
"This is not over."
"It is for you," Janet replied.
Mirabel turned and walked toward the door.
But as she reached it, the baby in James' arms began to cry.
The sound struck something deep within her.Slowly, she turned back and her eyes met Lydia's.For a brief second, Lydia's confidence cracked.Fear flickered in her eyes before she quickly hid it.Isabella said nothing and stepped outside.
Inside the house, James looked down at the baby again.This time, something caught his attention.It was a birthmark that resemble his.
At that same moment, a folded document slipped from Lydia's bag and fell to the floor.It was property papers and the documents were original.They all belongs to isabella's late father.
Stolen.
As isabella turned back, her eyes landed on the papers and she froze.Lydia's heart began to pound again.Across the room, Lydia felt it.Something deep was about to be exposed.