Chapter 1241
No.1
Nathaniel remained silent. His back was a cold, unreadable wall.
Her voice grew hoarse with emotion. "I planned to never return. To stay away forever. But my grandmother passed five years ago... Her final wish was to be buried in her homeland. She didn't want to rest in a foreign place. She begged me every day to bring her home. I couldn't let her soul be restless. I had to bring her ashes back to Westchester."
"I know you've built a new life. I never intended to disrupt it. I never meant to break my promise to Ms. Delacroix or your mother. But... you know my history. I was an orphan. My parents abandoned me as a child. My grandmother raised me alone. When I returned with her ashes, I found them. My parents. They had come back. It turns out they were captured. Forced into slave labor at illegal brick kilns. Their captors only released them when they were completely broken. Used up..."
Tears welled in Sophia's red-rimmed eyes. "After Grandma died, they were all I had left. I couldn't just leave them here. But the five million... it was all spent on her medical bills. I had nothing left to take them away, to start over somewhere else. So I had to stay. I've been here in Westchester for the past five years."
Nathaniel's expression darkened with each word she spoke. A jolt went through him at the phrase 'five years ago'. His hand clenched inside his pocket. Five years. She returned five years ago. The timeline aligned perfectly. Was it true, then? Was she the one? Was Oliver truly her son? His son? Was Sophia Whitmore the woman from that fateful night?
“You worked at The Grand Monarch to earn money?” Nathaniel’s voice came out low and gravelly. “I…”
Sophia lowered her head, guilt washing over her. “Back then, I had just returned to Westchester. Finding a job was nearly impossible without a university degree. When I saw The Grand Monarch was hiring and the position was out of sight in the kitchen, I took it. I wasn’t thinking of anything else. I just wanted to wash dishes in the back. I never went anywhere else in that place, but…” Her mind drifted back to that night five years ago. Her gaze grew distant, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. “A friend of mine got terrible food poisoning on Valentine’s Day. She begged me to deliver a room service order to the penthouse. I tried to refuse, but she said the guest was demanding it urgently. If it was late, her pay would be docked. So…”
“I planned to leave immediately after dropping off the food, but the suite door was slightly ajar. I had no idea it was you inside. I only meant to pull it closed. But when I reached for the handle, you…” Sophia’s words trailed off. She kept her head down, shame and guilt burning on her face.
Nathaniel’s eyes darkened to obsidian. That night, he had been drugged. The woman he had dragged into that room was…
No.2
Could it truly have been Sophia all along?
Sophia was Oliver’s biological mother?
The woman he had spent five years searching for was right here.
Seeing his stormy expression, Sophia grew anxious. She had always been afraid of him. “Mr. Blackwood, I’m not asking for anything. I know my place. I quit that job and left Westchester right after it happened. I thought I would never trouble you again. I never wanted to be connected to you. But then… I discovered I was pregnant.” Her voice cracked. “I didn’t even know until he was already five months along…”
She continued, the words thick with shame and regret. “No one would have believed I was innocent. My body has always been weak. My cycles were irregular. My family was poor. I couldn’t afford proper medical care in Westchester. For the first five months, I thought I was just sick. I never imagined… It wasn’t until I felt movement that I realized…”
She paused, her hand instinctively moving to her lower abdomen. “I considered an abortion. I didn’t want to cause you more trouble. But the doctor said the fetus was fully formed. He was five months old. He was moving…”
“I genuinely… I truly grew to love him. He was innocent. So I was selfish. I decided to keep him. I wanted to raise him on my own. I never intended to bother you, but…” Her voice broke completely.
Nathaniel’s expression was impenetrable, darker than a moonless night.
Sophia’s voice became a ragged, hoarse whisper. “I never expected… the baby would be stillborn. The doctor told me he was already gone when he was delivered…”
No.3
“I only saw him once before they took him away. He was so tiny. So pitiful. Like a little kitten. My heart shattered… I wanted to save him… But I couldn’t…” A sob ripped from her throat.
Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably. Her shoulders shook with the force of her breathless, gut-wrenching sobs.
Nathaniel remained with his back to her. He hadn’t turned around once. He couldn’t begin to fathom what she had endured. Giving birth alone. A difficult labor. The death of her child. While he felt no love for her, he was undeniably the cause of all her suffering.
After several minutes, Sophia’s sobs subsided. She wiped her tears away, her movements shaky. “Mr. Blackwood, I’m not telling you this to get anything from you. I’ve survived the hardest part of my life. I never wanted to cause you more trouble. The only reason I’m here today is that I have no other choice. I’m begging for your help.”
She took a shaky breath. “Vivienne found out. She made me tell you everything. She wants to destroy your relationship with Isabella. I didn’t want to do it. All I want is to live a peaceful life with my parents. But she forced me. She made me take a drug. She said she’d never give me the antidote if I told you the truth…”
Isabella froze mid-step.
Her knees hit the marble floor with a sharp crack.
"Mr. Blackwood," she whispered, voice trembling. "Please...I want to live. I'm not ready to die." Her hands clenched into fists on her thighs. "I only reconciled with my parents five years ago. They have no other children. I can't leave them like this."
Nathaniel turned at the sound of her collapse.
No.4
His eyes narrowed as he took in her crumpled form kneeling before him. He reached down, fingers closing around her arm to pull her up.
"Vivienne drugged you?"
"Yes." The word came out choked. "This afternoon. She gave me your address. Helped me get past Rosewood Manor's security." Her gaze dropped, unable to meet his. "She said...she said no one could develop an antidote. That I'd need monthly doses to survive. If I told you, the worst you'd do is kill her...but I'd suffer forever."
Nathaniel's expression darkened.
His jaw tightened. Not only had Vivienne targeted Isabella, but she'd dragged this innocent woman into her schemes? "Go home," he commanded, voice low. "I'll handle this."
"Thank you." Relief washed over her features. "Thank you so much." She bowed deeply before turning to leave.
Nathaniel watched her retreating figure, his gaze heavy with unspoken thoughts. This woman had endured so much pain...and he was the unwitting cause of it all.
"Dominic," he said without turning. "Watch her. And dig deeper into her situation."
"Yes, sir."
No.5
Meanwhile, inside the manor...
After Nathaniel and Sophia left for the gardens, Oliver tugged Isabella toward the window.
He pressed a pair of sleek, high-tech earbuds into her palm. "Put these on, Mommy. They'll pick up their conversation from here."
Isabella shook her head. "Oliver, we can't. This is an invasion of privacy."
"But Daddy's family!" Oliver insisted, his small face serious. "We have a right to know what's happening. You're his wife. This isn't spying—it's understanding him better. How can we be a happy family if we don't understand each other?"
Before she could protest further, he slipped the earbuds into her ears.
Isabella tried to remove them, but Oliver held her hands firmly in his.
She had no choice but to listen.
The voices came through crisp and clear.
No.6
But then Oliver heard something he shouldn't have.
His eyes widened. "Mommy, take them off! Now!" He released her hands, suddenly frantic.
But it was too late.
Isabella had heard everything.
Every devastating word.
Her world tilted.
An invisible hand seemed to squeeze her heart, stealing her breath.
That fragile, gentle woman...was the one Nathaniel had slept with?
Oliver's biological mother?
No.7
Isabella had considered countless scenarios. She believed someone had schemed against Nathaniel.
She assumed the woman who slept with him was malicious and cunning. She was prepared to face any challenge alongside Nathaniel.
She never expected the woman would be fragile, innocent, and harmless. A woman who endured immense suffering because of Nathaniel... As Christopher pulled Isabella toward the window, she watched Nathaniel extend his hand to help Sophia up. Throughout their entire relationship, Isabella never witnessed Nathaniel touch another woman. Yet he protected Sophia. He treated her differently...
If Isabella wasn't present, Nathaniel would have reunited with Sophia. Christopher would have found his real mother...
Seeing Isabella's expression shift, Christopher tugged her hand urgently. "Don't overthink, Mommy. Daddy only loves you! This mommy is from the past. And I only like you! I only want you as my mommy! Even though she seems nice, I don't like her. I feel nothing for her. Momo only loves you!"
Christopher spoke with complete sincerity. He truly felt no connection to Sophia, while he adored Isabella instantly upon meeting her. Being with Isabella felt warm and secure, as if she was his real mother.
Isabella removed the earbuds and ruffled his small head. "Don't worry, Momo. Mommy isn't overthinking. I'm just..."
She just found it difficult to accept. The situation felt increasingly complicated.
The door opened suddenly. Nathaniel's tall, imposing figure entered. He saw Isabella and Christopher by the window, holding the high-tech earbuds. He frowned.