Lahat ng Kabanata ng ISABELLA (The Night that ruined me): Kabanata 91 - Kabanata 100

ISABELLA'S POVThe morning sunlight crept in through the sheer curtains, brushing warm golden streaks across the bed. I stirred slowly, expecting to feel the weight of Xavier's arm draped across me, the way he always held on through the night. But the space beside me was cold. Empty.I blinked.He wasn't there.A knot pulled tight in my chest as I sat up, brushing my hair back. The sheets were still rumpled, but his scent was fading. My thoughts drifted to the argument from last night…the tension, the yelling, the way Eva had stood in the doorway with wide, confused eyes.I remembered kneeling before her afterward, brushing away the tears that silently spilled down her cheeks as I tucked her into bed. She didn’t say much. Just hugged me tightly and whispered, “I want Daddy.”And my heart broke.I slipped out of bed and walked quietly to the second bedroom where Eva had fallen asleep. My fingers wrapped around the doorknob, slowly twisting.The room was empty.My heart dropped.The cov

DRAKE’S POVShe took her.Right in front of me.I stood there, frozen, surrounded by stares and whispers, while the only person I wanted to hold was being carried away from me…again.Eva’s tiny fingers had slipped out of mine so fast. My hand still hovered above the table, the warmth of her touch lingering like a phantom.Caroline cleared her throat. “Drake, maybe we should…”“Don’t,” I said flatly.My voice came out rough, barely controlled. She flinched but said nothing else.Phones were still pointed in my direction. One girl zoomed in on my face, whispering something to her friend with a wicked little grin. I could already imagine the headlines:“Broken Family? Island Breakfast Drama: Drake Confronted by Ex-Lover”I didn’t care.I didn’t care about the cameras, or the damn media, or the staged smiles.All I cared about was the way Eva looked at me.Like she was begging me not to let go.And I did.I let her go.***************************The hallway felt like a tunnel, blurry and

DRAKE’S POVI sat on the edge of the hotel bed, my knees trembling, laptop perched before me like a loaded weapon.My finger hovered over the spacebar.The flash drive Liam gave me blinked softly…one small light in the dim room.I took a breath.Then I pressed play.The screen flickered.Static. Then darkness. A faint hum of old security footage, and then…Laughter.Cold, cracked, animalistic.I flinched.There he was.Xavier.His face distorted slightly by the grainy feed, but that smirk was unmistakable. His hair was wet, slicked back. Shirtless. A long whip dangled from his hand, the end stained with something dark.He paced slowly in a dimly lit room..basement, maybe? Or a cellar? Stone walls lined with iron hooks and rusted chains.And on the floor…A woman.Naked.Her back was arched in pain, blood dripping down her spine in red rivulets. Her mouth opened and closed, trying to scream, but only a faint gurgle came out.Her lips were torn.Her body was covered in bruises, old and

Xavier’s POVThe house was quiet. Too quiet.That kind of silence that wraps itself around your neck like a noose, tightening with every breath you take.I sat alone in the balcony, surrounded by shadows and whispers. The lights were dimmed, barely a flicker of warmth against the cold tension thick in the air. The breeze from the open window stirred the curtains gently, like ghosts passing through, brushing against the back of my neck like forgotten memories trying to crawl their way back into my head.On the table in front of me, my phone vibrated.A single message from Liam:“He’s seen the footage. He knows. I warned you”I didn’t move.Didn’t blink.Didn’t breathe.A hollow sensation opened up in my chest, swallowing everything. Slowly, deliberately, I leaned back into the chair and closed my eyes for a second, letting the truth sink in like poison.Damn it. Damn LiamThe video.That cursed footage.The one I thought I buried years ago.No..paid to have buried. Destroyed. Disintegr

Xavier’s POVThe morning breeze drifted in, light and useless against the fire boiling in my chest.I sat on the balcony, twirling the flash drive between my fingers, a smirk stretching across my face.So small. So pathetic. And Drake thought this would destroy me?I had watched him last night..desperate, limping, bleeding. He crept through the resort like a wounded animal, dropping this at the receptionist's desk like some noble hero in a final act of courage.He had no idea I was there. Watching. In the dark. Exactly where men like him never think to look.“What a fool,” I muttered, shaking my head.I chuckled, then let it rise into a laugh. Not amused. Mocking.“You really thought this was your weapon, didn’t you, Drake?”I’d already gone through the contents. Useless. The footage was corrupted..faces smeared, voices distorted. Whatever he had once captured was no longer evidence.It was trash.I stood, sliding the drive into my pocket, the smirk on my lips now colder, sharper.And