All Chapters of The Secret Heir’s Return : Chapter 121 - Chapter 130

The morning after Helena's sentencing, the house was quiet.Isabella stood at the kitchen window, watching the sun rise over the ocean, a cup of coffee growing cold in her hands. The events of the past weeks weighed on her: the revelations, the betrayals, the ghosts of the past refusing to stay buried.She was tired.But she was also grateful. Grateful for her children, for Sebastian, for the family she had built from the ashes of so much pain."Isabella." Damien's voice came from behind her. "Can we talk?"She turned. He was standing in the doorway, his dark hair loose, his green eyes soft. He looked different this morning, lighter, somehow, as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders."Of course," she said. "What's on your mind?"He crossed the room, stopping a few feet away. "I've been thinking about the past. About the choices I made. About the person I used to be.""And?""And I want to apologize. For real this time. Not just for believing Jonathan's lies but for everything

The days after the confrontation were quiet.Isabella moved through the house like a ghost, careful not to disturb the fragile peace. Sebastian was distant, not cold, not angry, but guarded. He spoke to her politely, touched her carefully, and looked at her with eyes that held more questions than answers."I don't know how to fix this," she admitted to Eleanor, over coffee."Maybe you can't." Eleanor's voice was gentle. "Maybe you just have to wait.""Wait for what?""For him to trust you again." Eleanor took her hand. "For time to heal the wounds."Isabella nodded slowly. "I'm not good at waiting.""I know." Eleanor smiled. "That's what makes you human."Sebastian found her in the garden on Wednesday.She was kneeling by the roses, her hands in the dirt, her mind elsewhere. He stood at the edge of the path, his hands in his pockets, his face unreadable."Can we talk?" he asked.She stood, brushing dirt from her jeans. "Of course."They walked to the bench by the fountain, the one whe

The anonymous threat arrived on a Monday morning.Isabella found it taped to the front door of the shelter, a single sheet of paper, the words printed in bold black letters. Stop digging, or you'll regret it. She read it twice, her hands steady despite the fear coiling in her chest.She'd faced worse than anonymous threats. Much worse.She showed the note to Damien first. He read it, his jaw tightening, his green eyes darkening."This is a warning," he said. "They know we're getting close.""Then we're doing something right.""We're putting ourselves in danger."Isabella met his eyes. "Since when has that stopped us?"Sebastian found them in the garden an hour later.He'd heard about the note from Damien, his face pale with anger. He crossed the lawn, his strides long and purposeful."Isabella." His voice was tight. "We need to talk."She turned from the roses she'd been pruning. "I know what you're going to say.""I doubt it." He stopped a few feet away, his hands clenched at his sid

Isabella had never been jealous of Genevieve.Not when she was married to Damien. Not when she was carrying his child. Not when she was standing in the courthouse, confessing her sins, asking for forgiveness.Isabella had always believed in second chances. In redemption. In the possibility that people could change.She was wrong.The afternoon had started like any other. Sebastian had been working late at the office, preparing for a charity event. Lucas was with Damien at the park. Lily was napping. Isabella had decided to stop by to surprise him with coffee and a rare moment alone.The door to his office was slightly ajar.She heard the murmur of voices first low, intimate, familiar. She reached for the handle, ready to push it open, to announce her presence with a smile.Then she saw them.Sebastian and Genevieve, tangled together, their lips locked in a passionate embrace. His hands were in her hair, her fingers clutching his shirt, their bodies pressed together with a familiarity

The peace that settled over the house in the days after Isabella's return was fragile, like glass.Sebastian was too careful with her, she thought, as if she might shatter at any moment. He brought her coffee in the morning, left notes on her pillow, and held her hand in the dark. He was trying so hard to prove himself, to earn back the trust he'd broken.But trust, once shattered, was slow to mend."I can see you thinking," Sebastian said one evening, finding her on the porch."I can't help it.""Then let me help." He sat beside her. "Talk to me.""I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.""It won't.""How do you know?""Because I'm not going to let it." He took her hand. "I know I've given you every reason to doubt me. But I'm going to spend the rest of my life proving that I'm worth trusting."Isabella looked at him, the man who had broken her heart, who was trying so hard to put it back together."I want to believe you," she said."Then let me show you."The visitor arrived on a