Semua Bab Two Years Gone, Mercy Gone With It: Bab 1 - Bab 10

"Calista Stone, you're free to go," a prison warden said tersely from the entrance of Calista's unlocked cell.Calista stared at her in astonishment before stepping forward. "Has my request for medical parole been approved?"She had submitted several requests, but each one had been rejected without a valid reason.The prison warden said, "Just get going like I told you to. No questions allowed!"Calista was left without an answer. She cleaned up a little and left after collecting her phone and a diamond necklace, both of which had been confiscated when she'd first been imprisoned.The central diamond on the pendant carried a trace of blood that seemed to have seeped into the gemstone. Her grandmother, Elizabeth Monroe, had given it to her on the day everything had gone wrong. It seemed the blood that had splattered everywhere from Elizabeth's head injury after falling down the stairs had gotten on it.Calista had been having an argument with Caroline Lynch when things had gone aw

Calista hadn't received a divorce certificate when she was serving her prison sentence, but she figured that she and Isaac had probably officially divorced a year ago.Still, she thought that he had immediately married Caroline after she had set him free. So, why was he saying that he could live at the Halston residence or the Stone residence with her? Why did he make it sound like he was still her husband?He and Caroline had sat together earlier, looking like an old married couple. Their body language showed that they were intimate and even carried hints of flirtation.Calista was still trying to figure out what exactly Isaac meant when Caroline approached while holding Anthony's hand.Caroline smiled gently and squatted slightly, saying to Anthony, "Tony, look. It's your mom."Calista couldn't stop her eyes from prickling as she looked at Anthony. He was her flesh and blood, after all. She hurried forward, wanting to hold him.However, as soon as she stretched out her arms to

Calista turned back to look at Isaac again. This time, she saw urgency in his eyes. How was that possible?Even when they were married, he'd never been desperate to fall into bed with her. Besides, she'd signed the divorce papers a year ago.She believed he would have been over the moon upon receiving the documents, especially after seeing that she'd agreed to leave without a penny. Knowing how much he loved Caroline, she figured that he must have finalized the divorce immediately after signing the papers.She didn't know what he was playing at, now that they were divorced. What did he mean by saying that they could have another daughter? Hadn't he seen how Anthony had turned out?Calista had raised Anthony as if he were a treasure, yet the young boy now only had eyes for Isaac. After the incident two years ago, he'd refused to call her "Mom", even to this day. He even made it clear that he didn't want her as his mother. He wanted Caroline, a homewrecker, to play that role!Calist

The Halstons and the Stones didn't know that Calista's situation was dire. They were also unaware that she'd still gone to the hospital to do the necessary checks, and that she'd insisted on trying whatever she could. She didn't want to give up any sliver of hope.Back at the Halston residence, Anthony burst into tears when he heard that Calista had stormed out of the house after refusing to have a child so their umbilical cord blood could save him."I don't want a mom like her! She's a bad woman! Dad, divorce her and marry Aunt Caroline! I want Aunt Caroline to be my mom! Aunt Caroline can give me a brother or sister! I don't want the mom that I have!" he screamed.Caroline looked troubled, but she still tried to console Isaac. "Isaac, does she have the wrong idea about me? I can speak to her. Anthony is what matters now."Isaac said, "Tony, you can't say things like that. Your mother is still your mother, and she loves you very much. She's just not used to things around here beca

As Caroline's influence in both the Halston and Stone families grew, Calista would only become more sidelined. Caleb could imagine how Calista would feel about that.She was the youngest child and the only daughter in their family. Martin, Caleb, and Connor had doted on her, and when the Stone family was thriving, Calista had been the apple of everyone's eye and a pampered princess.No matter what she liked or wanted to do, everyone would go along with her.When she said she wanted to continue studying, Martin had secretly thought of a way to get her accepted into the program beforehand, afraid that she would be upset if she didn't get in.And when she said she wanted to marry Isaac, everyone had thought of ways to set them up. Naturally, the Stone men had long noticed that Isaac was capable. They figured that even if Calista couldn't achieve much, Isaac would at least be able to provide her with a comfortable life.Back then, the whole family had looked out for Calista and planne