FAZER LOGINIsabella’s POV “What is it?”Lucas stepped in front of me the second he asked the question. His body moved without thinking, blocking me from Lila and the envelope. His shoulders stayed tense under his shirt, and his feet planted firmly on the concrete floor of the tunnel.Her eyes stayed on him for one second too long before she held the envelope out. The white paper looked plain in the dim underground lighting.“I intercepted it downstairs before security could.”Lucas took it carefully. His fingers brushed against hers for a brief moment. “Intercepted from who?”“One of the reporters.”Marcus and Claire had just reached us from farther down the tunnel. Their footsteps echoed off the concrete walls. Blair and Camilla’s arguing still echoed faintly behind them, voices carrying through the narrow passage.Claire looked exhausted already. Her shoulders slumped and she rubbed one hand over her eyes. “Can somebody explain what’s happening now before I lose my mind completely?”Lila poin
Isabella’s POV “That’s fake.”Mom’s voice yelled so quickly it barely sounded like her own. She stood in the middle of the narrow tunnel, her posture rigid but her hands trembling at her sides.Lucas still held the phone out toward me. The screen glowed in the dim underground light, casting a pale blue light on our faces. Camilla in a hospital bed. Pale. Younger. Holding me against her chest with tears already on her face. Not the cold woman Blair had described for years.“No,” Camilla whispered from behind us. “That picture was taken after she was born.”Everybody turned toward her. The group stopped moving in the narrow passage. Security guards shifted uncomfortably behind us, their shoes scraping against the concrete.Mom stepped forward so fast one of the guards instinctively moved between them. Her face flushed with anger, her breathing rough and audible in the quiet tunnel.“You lying bitch.”“Blair…” Claire started, reaching out a hand.“No.” Mom pointed directly at Camilla no
Isabella’s POV “Move.”Lucas reacted before anybody else. The second the nurse finished speaking, he was already at the door, his hand gripping the frame as he leaned out to check the hallway.“What floor access points are still clear?” he asked sharply. His voice carried down the corridor, low and urgent.The nurse shifted her weight from one foot to the other, her scrubs slightly rumpled from the long shift, her eyes darting between the group and the open doorway. “Security’s trying to hold the elevators, but reporters came through the west stairwell and…”“Lucas.” Claire’s voice cut through fast. She stood near the bed, her hand still resting on the railing. “Don’t leave her.”He looked back at me immediately. His eyes met mine across the small distance, checking, steadying. Then toward the doctor. “Can she walk?”The doctor hesitated too long. He stood near the monitors, clipboard in hand, his white coat hanging open.“I asked a simple question.”“She shouldn’t be exerting hersel
Isabella’s POV “I'm sick of this bullshit, You ’re not keeping me here any longer.” The words came out before the doctor even finished speaking. Everybody turned toward me. The muted television on the wall kept flashing headlines in silence behind us, the bright colors reflecting off the beige walls and the metal rails of my bed. I couldn’t look at it anymore. I couldn’t stay in this room another second listening to machines beep while strangers debated my bloodline on national television. The doctor frowned. He stood near the end of the bed with his clipboard in hand, his white coat slightly wrinkled from the long night. “Miss Isabella, with the bleeding and stress levels…”“I said I’m leaving, that's final.”Claire stepped closer instantly. Her shoes made soft sounds on the tile floor. “Bella.”“No.” My voice sharpened. I shifted against the pillows, and the IV line tugged at my arm. “I can’t breathe in here anymore.”Lucas looked at me carefully now, his eyes moved over my face
Isabella’s POV “Answer it.” Mom’s voice came out thin and strained. She stood near the chair by the wall, her hands gripping the back of it for support.Lucas didn’t move. The phone kept vibrating in his hand, lighting up his face over and over again in the dim hospital room. The screen flashed Victor’s name with each ring. Claire looked between them carefully. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “Lucas…”He answered without taking his eyes off the screen. “If I pick up, I might say something I can’t take back.”Marcus muttered quietly, “Pretty sure we crossed that bridge three scandals ago.”Nobody laughed. Lucas finally swiped the call open. Slowly. Then lifted the phone to his ear. Everyone held still, watching him. Even the nurses who had stepped back near the door stayed quiet.“Yeah.”His voice sounded flat now. He stood straight with his shoulders squared, but his free hand stayed clenched at his side.We couldn’t hear Victor clearly from the other side, only
Isabella’s POV “He brought lawyers.”The words landed like a gunshot.Lucas’s shoulders straightened and his eyes narrowed slightly as he stood near the bed.Claire looked exhausted already. She rubbed a hand over her face, her shoulders slumping. “Of course he did.”Marcus frowned sharply. “Why would Richard bring lawyers to a hospital?”Ethan shut the door behind him harder than necessary. The sound echoed in the small space. “Because reporters are everywhere downstairs and apparently somebody leaked enough documents to turn this into a legal issue.”Mom went pale again. Her face lost what little color it had left. “What documents?”Ethan looked directly at her. “Adoption records.”Lucas laughed softly under his breath. Not amused. Not sane either. The sound came out rough and tired.“Fantastic.”Claire stepped toward Ethan quickly. “Did you see Richard?”“Yeah.”“And?”Ethan hesitated. That hesitation pulled everybody tighter. The tension in the room grew thicker. My stomach felt







