Chapter 432
Irene's body went rigid, as if she'd seen a ghost.
Her lips trembled. "You... you..."
She remembered?
She remembered the kidnapping?!
Then...
Irene didn't dare think further.
Isabella saw the fear in her eyes and offered a bleak smile. "So you made that noise on purpose. You deliberately drew the kidnappers' attention. You intentionally got me caught."
That year, the two girls had gone out shopping and were kidnapped.
They were bound and taken to an abandoned factory on the outskirts of the city.
The kidnappers acted on impulse, motivated by lust.
Several of them moved toward Irene. Isabella stepped in front of her.
She revealed her family background, producing a black card, cash, and her ID.
All to convince them her family was wealthy.
As for Irene...
"Her clothes are all my hand-me-downs. She's just here today to carry my bags. Bothering her is useless. If you have the guts, demand a ransom from my family! Three to five million? Twenty to thirty million? Name your price!"
Isabella spoke with her chin slightly raised, a look of disdain in her eyes.
She perfectly embodied the spoiled heiress.
The kidnappers bought it.
Isabella breathed a sigh of relief, but missed the flash of humiliation and venom in Irene's eyes.
A servant?
So that's all she was in her eyes? A servant?
Ha...
While the kidnappers discussed the ransom, Isabella used a hidden shard of glass to cut her ropes.
Late at night, when the kidnappers were asleep, she quietly freed herself.
She woke Irene and untied her.
The two sisters fled the warehouse under cover of darkness.
But the kidnappers discovered their escape soon after.
The men gave chase.
Isabella pulled Irene along as they ran, asking for her phone to call the police.
Her own phone had been confiscated.
But she remembered Irene had a backup phone.
Irene claimed she hadn't brought it.
Isabella didn't give up, leading her into the hills.
She knew it was hard to get help in the suburbs at night.
Even if people were around, they wouldn't dare intervene.
Hiding in the deep mountains was their best bet.
The kidnappers were few and couldn't search the entire area.
If they hid well for a day or two, the men would likely give up.
Then it would be safe to come out.
Everything was going according to plan.
Near dawn, she found a small animal den for Irene.
It was only big enough for one person to lie on their side.
Irene asked anxiously, "What about you, Isabella?"
Isabella pointed to a narrow gap between two large rocks nearby.
She was thin enough to squeeze in.
From that distance, the sisters could still keep an eye on each other.
The kidnappers searched the area but found nothing. Cursing, they prepared to leave.
Just as Isabella began to relax, a faint noise caught the kidnappers' attention.
They turned back and found Isabella.
Terrified, she tried to run.
But they caught her and slapped her hard across the face.
Her ears rang. Her mind went blank.
The world spun as she was thrown over a shoulder and carried away.
Before they left, she locked eyes with the den's opening.
Their gazes met. She saw the panic, fear, and tears in Irene's eyes.
In that moment, she didn't overthink it. She trusted her instinctively.
She mouthed words silently, unsure if Irene could see them.
She said: Get out. Call the police.
The kidnappers were also talking.
"We only got one. What if the other one calls the cops? We're finished."
"She must be hiding nearby! Should we keep looking?"
"No! If the police are called, we need to move now. No time to waste."
"Lucky we got the rich girl. That servant is worthless."
"True..."
But the leader wasn't so easily fooled.
He put Isabella down, grabbed her hair, and demanded to know where Irene was.
Isabella screamed curses. "That bitch! She ran off and stole my diamond necklace and bracelet! I'll have my father fire her when I get back! That bitch! I'll kill her!"
The kidnappers roared with laughter.
Go back?
Did she really think she was going back?
If the servant had run off with stolen goods, she definitely wouldn't dare call the police.
They were completely reassured.
They didn't return to the warehouse. They got a truck and eventually boarded a ship.
Afraid Isabella might try to escape again, they drugged her.
The drugs left her limbs weak, her body limp. She could barely stand.
She spent most days in a drowsy state, losing track of time.
But she never gave up hope.
"I thought my sister must have called the police. They would start investigating from the warehouse, track the kidnappers' route. My rescue was just a matter of time."
Isabella stood under the falling snow.
The light illuminated her pale, nearly translucent face.
But her eyes were startlingly bright.
She moved closer again, staring directly at Irene, like a detective interrogating a suspect. "Sister, after you escaped, did you call the police?!"
Irene backed away step by step until her back hit the cold wall.
She trembled all over, her eyes wide with terror. She couldn't speak.
"I guess not." Isabella sighed softly.
"I even suspect you made that noise on purpose, so the kidnappers would find me!"
"Of course you knew the risk. They might find me, or you, or even catch us both! But that didn't stop you from taking that gamble, did it?"
"Sister, what deep hatred exists between us? What made you hate me so much you wished for my death?!"
Irene met her accusing gaze.
At first, she was flustered, panicked, terrified.
But slowly, she calmed down.
"So you never lost your memory!"
Yinian stared at her intently.
"Liar! You've been lying this whole time!"
Isabella met her gaze calmly. "I did lose my memory. I've only recently started to remember."
Some details were still hazy.
She could only probe Yinian.
She never expected…
The result of her probing was shocking.
"You… what do you want?"
"So, you admit to everything I just said?"
Yinian averted her eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about…"
Her earlier aggression had vanished, replaced by evasion.
Isabella wasn't angry.
She smiled faintly.
"You just said I was doted on since childhood, while you were like an ugly duckling. That Mom and Dad loved me, and that Theodore also liked me. Do you know why?"
When she mentioned "Theodore also liked me," a flash of resentment crossed Yinian's eyes.
"First, regarding our parents. I was their biological child. You were adopted. They never mistreated you. They gave you a privileged life. Everything I had, you had too. You received far more than the average person."
"Of course, people are always greedy. The more they get, the more they want."
Yinian snapped, "What do you know?! They didn't mistreat me, but they loved you more!"
The problem isn't scarcity, but inequality.
"Why shouldn't they love me more?" Isabella countered. "I'm their biological daughter!"
Yinian was speechless.
While both the palm and the back of the hand are flesh, people instinctively protect the palm more.
It's human nature.
Isabella enunciated each word clearly. "That is not a reason for you to resent them and hurt me!"
Yinian sneered.
Isabella continued, "Let me give you an example. Between Sebastian and an adopted child, who would you favor more? Could you treat them completely equally?"
Yinian froze.
"Since even you can't do it, what right do you have to demand our parents do?"
People often fail to recognize their own place.
"You're right, I'm not the biological one…" Yinian began to laugh. "I'm not biological… So many times I've wondered, why was I the one who was adopted, and you were the biological one? Why was your fate so blessed, and mine so cheap?"
Isabella hit the nail on the head. "You're not complaining about an unfair fate. You're jealous that someone has more than you. And that person happens to be so close to you, close enough for you to see the disparity everywhere. That's why it sticks in your craw."
"You're not overthinking it, nor are you just temporarily confused. You are purely malicious!"
This sentence completely shattered Yinian.
Her eyes widened in fury. "What do you know?! You got everything, so it's easy for you to talk! I'm bad? It was you who made me this way!"
"So, you harmed me?"
"Yes," she admitted. "I couldn't stand you, so spoiled and willful, yet doted on by everyone. I disliked even more how Theodore orbited around you. People shouldn't have smooth sailing all their lives. They need to suffer a little."
"Wouldn't it be interesting to let the little princess of the Sullivan family taste the bitterness of being trampled underfoot, ground into the mud, and experience a life of displacement?"
Isabella's eyes turned icy. "So, that time when we were running away, and you said you didn't have a backup phone… that was also a lie?"
"Yes, I had it. I just didn't want to take it out."
"You—"
Even after all these years, Isabella was still infuriated by her.
"You look furious. But what right do you have to be angry? You escaped in the end, didn't you? You got married, had a daughter, lived a good life for over twenty years."
"Actually, I did think you might still be alive. Maybe crippled, sold into some remote mountain, or became a beggar… I just never imagined you could live so comfortably."
"Isabella, why is your luck always so good?"
Isabella said, "It seems you really do envy me."
Yinian sneered. "Yes, I envy you. But I hate you even more!"
Suddenly, footsteps approached.
Sophia's voice rang out—
"Mom?"
Isabella gave her a deep look, then turned and walked inside. "I'm here, sweetie—"
"Grandma was asking where you were. She's been looking for you everywhere."
"Just finished checking the inventory. Coming now!"
Yinian stood rooted to the spot, not moving for a long time.
Snowflakes landed on her shoulders, melting into her hair. The chill seeped from her scalp into her heart.
…
When Theodore and Sebastian Evans came out of the study, the old lady wasn't there. Only Isabella remained in the living room.
Yinian had left at some point, unnoticed.
Theodore didn't ask a single question about her.
"Dad, I'm going out for a smoke."
With that, he strode out the door.
Theodore looked at Isabella, walked over, and stopped in front of her. His heartbeat quickened.
"Happy New Year, Isabella."
"Happy New Year." Isabella smiled.
Their eyes met. One was deep and abyssal, the other calm and unruffled.
"Finished talking with Dad?"
"Yes." Theodore nodded. "We're getting ready to leave."
"Alright." Isabella called toward the kitchen, "David, leave that for now. Come out. Let's see brother-in-law off together."
The word "brother-in-law" pierced his heart like ten thousand arrows.
Theodore lowered his gaze, concealing the pain in his eyes.
"Coming!" David Sullivan hurried out from the kitchen, his hands still wet.
Isabella handed him a tissue. "Dry your hands."
"Okay." David took it. "The soy milk is blending. It'll be ready in a moment."
Earlier, Isabella had gone to the garden and came back saying she was cold and wanted something warm to drink.
The old lady had gone upstairs to get a heating pad, and David had gone into the kitchen to make soy milk.
That's why only Isabella was in the living room when Theodore came out.
Isabella said, "Let's go. We'll see brother-in-law off."
"Sure." David nodded with a cheerful smile.
Theodore: "…"
At the doorway, seeing Sebastian smoking outside, he suddenly felt like having a cigarette too.
"Sebastian."
Sebastian turned around. "Dad, leaving already?"
"Yes."
He stubbed out his cigarette, ready to go together.
Isabella called her daughter over. "Sophia, come here too. See your brother and uncle off."
Sebastian's gaze faltered. He wanted to reach for another cigarette.
Father and son's eyes met, seeing the same loneliness reflected in each other.
…
Under the watchful eyes of Isabella and her family of three, Theodore and Sebastian each drove away.
Sebastian was returning to his apartment, in the opposite direction from Theodore.
The father and son parted ways at the intersection.
Suddenly, Theodore's phone rang. He pulled over and answered—
"What is it?"
Yinian's stiff voice came through. "I saw your car. I'm in the coffee shop next to you."
He hung up. Shortly after, Yinian got into the car.
The door opened, letting in a blast of cold wind.
Theodore started the engine and drove straight towards their villa.
Arriving home, they had just stepped inside when Yinian turned on the light, spun around, and—
Smack!
A sharp crack echoed.
Her head was snapped to the side from the force.
"Theodore, have you lost your mind?!" she shrieked, her expression one of utter disbelief.
"I heard everything."
Yinian froze.
What had he heard?