All Chapters of The Rise Of The Betrayed Wife: Chapter 111 - Chapter 120

Isla's POV:Security called Monday afternoon while I was reviewing quarterly reports and the interruption made me look up from my computer with annoyance."Ms. Thorne, we have Margot Brennan in the lobby requesting to see you," James said and his voice was careful like he knew this would be unwelcome news.The surprise was profound and completely unwelcome, after everything that had happened Margot had the audacity to show up at my workplace like she had any right to see me."Tell her I'm not available," I said immediately."She says it's urgent and relates to your father's legal situation," James continued. "She's been waiting for twenty minutes."Part of me wanted to refuse and have security escort her out but curiosity won over better judgment, I wanted to know what Margot thought she could possibly accomplish by coming here."I'll see her for five minutes in conference room B," I said. "Have security present and make sure the cameras are recording, whatever she wants I'm document

Isla's POV:Patricia called Thursday morning while I was getting ready for work and her voice had that careful tone she used when delivering bad news."Arthur's legal team filed a motion yesterday," she said. "I'm sending you the document number now, read it carefully before you panic.""I'm not going to panic," I said and meant it.I pulled up the court filing on my phone while Patricia stayed on the line and read through the motion with growing irritation rather than fear.The motion argued that I had material knowledge of business practices within Brennan Industries and that my status as an abuse survivor did not exempt me from the legal obligation to testify in Arthur's fraud trial.It was aggressive language dressed up in procedural logic and I recognized the strategy immediately because I'd spent enough time around Arthur to understand how he used process as a weapon."They're trying to compel your testimony," Patricia said. "Force you into the courtroom with him.""I see that,"

Isla's POV:The competency hearing was scheduled for Tuesday morning and I woke up early to prepare myself mentally for seeing Arthur in a courtroom.I wore the grey suit because it was the one that made me feel most like myself and least like someone who could be rattled by lawyers asking aggressive questions.Callum drove us to the courthouse and we met Margaret and David in the lobby where they walked us through what to expect during the hearing."Arthur's attorney is going to argue that you have material knowledge relevant to the fraud case," Margaret explained. "He'll try to paint you as strategically motivated to avoid testifying rather than as someone with legitimate protections.""I understand," I said calmly."Our argument is simple," David added. "You had no formal role in Brennan Industries, no access to financial records, no standing as a material witness to business operations."We entered the courtroom and I saw Arthur sitting at the defense table with his legal team and

Isla's POV:I woke up Wednesday morning feeling like the room had shifted slightly from where I'd left it the night before and the sensation was disorienting in a way that made me lie still for a moment trying to identify what felt wrong.The nausea was low and persistent and I'd been attributing it to stress for four days now because Arthur's trial and the incident at Rosie's school had given me plenty to be stressed about.But as I lay there in bed with Callum still sleeping beside me I started doing calculations in my head that I'd been avoiding for the past week.I was late, not by a day or two but by enough that I couldn't pretend it was just irregular timing or stress-related disruption.The realization made my heart start racing and I got out of bed carefully so I wouldn't wake Callum and went to the bathroom.I stood in front of the mirror for a long moment looking at my reflection and thinking about the last time I'd been pregnant in another timeline and how different everyth

Isla's POV:The appointment was Thursday morning at a medical office that specialized in obstetrics and I felt nervous walking in even though I knew everything was probably fine.The doctor was a woman in her fifties named Dr. Sarah Martinez and she was calm and efficient in a way that immediately put me at ease.She asked the kind of questions that confirmed everything was progressing normally and I answered honestly about my last period and symptoms and medical history."Let's do an ultrasound to confirm dates and check on development," Dr. Martinez said.I lay back on the exam table and Callum sat beside me holding my hand while the doctor prepared the ultrasound equipment.The screen flickered to life and I saw the tiny shape of what would become our baby and my breath caught in my throat."There's the heartbeat," Dr. Martinez said and pointed to a rapid flickering on the screen. "Strong and steady, that's exactly what we want to see."I looked at Callum and saw tears in his eyes