Chapter 9

Lyon’s gaze settled on the recorder.

He had not moved. Gianna stood behind him. Her face changed.

Her voice trembled with sobs. Tears streamed down her face. “Donna Melville, do you really hate me this much? Ruining my reputation wasn’t enough? Are you going to use a fabricated recording to accuse me of trying to hurt Isabella?”

She pressed a hand over her belly. Her body curled slightly. “Don Melville cares so much about Isabella. I see her as my own child. How could I ever harm her?”

The uncertainty on Lyon’s face disappeared. His face turned completely dark. He looked down at Gianna in his arms. She cried so hard that she seemed close to fainting. Then, he lifted his gaze and looked at Cecilia. She looked calm.

“Cecilia, you’re willing to frame Gianna and put our daughter’s life at risk for this?”

Cecilia looked at him in silence. It was as if she wanted to see through the face she had once loved and understand everything about him. After a while, she let out a soft laugh. Even that sounded empty of emotion.

“Lyon, you really are blind.”

She did not wait for an answer. She turned, pushed open the hospital room door, and walked inside.

The hospital room was quiet. Isabella was sleeping. Her face looked pale, but her breath was steady.

Cecilia walked to the bed and sat down at the edge. Her fingers touched Isabella’s soft hair.

A strange calm filled her. The earlier scene had drained all emotion from her.

She stayed in that room for a long time. Sunlight filtered through the window and spilled across the floor.

Her phone screen lit up. Three new texts appeared.

The first two were from Lyon.

[Gianna’s emotionally unstable, and the baby’s at risk. The doctors say she shouldn’t be put through stress.]

[No matter what, the child’s still part of the Melville bloodline. To keep her calm, I might give her a title. Behave yourself. It won’t affect your position.]

Every word showed his bias clearly.

He did not ask whether the recording was real or fake. In his mind, Gianna and the child in her belly mattered far more than the truth.

Cecilia read the messages without any reaction. She replied to him.

[Do as you wish.]

The third text was from Margaret.

[Cecilia, all the paperwork is finished and has been sent to the airport. Isabella’s custody documents are included. Take care.]

Cecilia breathed deeply. The knot in her chest loosened. She sent a simple reply.

[Thank you.]

Cecilia finished the paperwork to discharge Isabella. The little girl leaned on her for comfort and whispered, “Mamma, are we going home?”

“Yes, we’re going home.” Cecilia kissed Isabella’s forehead and carried her to the car.

They returned to the villa. This place was full of too many memories. Cecilia did not pause.

She went straight upstairs, entered the dressing room, and took out a suitcase. She began to pack.

Her movements were quick and decisive. She showed no hesitation.

She packed only the things she and Isabella would need. She also packed some of Isabella’s handmade crafts.

The expensive jewelry and fancy clothes stayed untouched.

All those things she had gained as Donna Melville no longer mattered.

When she looked around the place that had once been her home, her heart remained calm and steady.

There was no warmth here anymore. It was only an elegant and empty shell.

Cecilia picked up Isabella, grabbed the suitcase, and walked out the door without looking back. They got into the car and drove straight to the airport.

As the plane rose into the sky, a blanket of clouds stretched beneath the window.

Isabella slept in her arms and breathed evenly.

Cecilia watched the ground disappear farther and farther away until it vanished completely.

The plane would land in Ros Angeles. There would be no Lyon, no Melville family, no suffocating entanglements.

Her new life with Isabella was just beginning.