Chapter 1984
No.1
Isabella’s mind raced. He couldn’t die. Not like this. Victoria Kensington had manipulated him his entire life. He had only just begun to see the truth. He deserved a chance to live it.
And Theodore Montgomery… How could she ever tell that gentle old man he had lost his grandson?
Her will became a tangible force. She poured every ounce of her focus into the fight for his life.
Nearly an hour later, a miracle. Benjamin’s index finger twitched.
“He’s back!” Maxwell exclaimed, relief washing over his face. “Vitals are stabilizing!”
Isabella’s breath hitched. She checked for a pulse. Faint, but there. Steadying.
She immediately shut down all the devices, removing the pads and clips. She leaned close to his ear, her voice low and fierce.
“Fight, Benjamin. Do you hear me? Your grandfather is waiting. Everyone is waiting. Victoria needs to be exposed. You can’t leave this unfinished. You will not drag me down with your failure. Stay. Alive.”
He remained unconscious, unresponsive, trapped in a fragile state between life and death.
No.2
It was a critical situation.
The jet finally touched down at the Westchester private terminal. Maxwell’s team was already waiting on the tarmac with a stretcher. They carefully transferred Benjamin’s still form.
Isabella never left his side. She slid into the back of the waiting SUV beside the stretcher.
“Grace Memorial Hospital. Now,” she instructed the driver. It was the largest, most secure private hospital in the city, located mercifully close to the airport. Their exorbitant fees guaranteed immediate, discreet, and top-tier medical attention. It was his best chance.
The helicopter blades sliced through the air as Dominic Sterling and his team returned. Through the window, Dominic spotted Isabella Montgomery and her security detail rushing away in vehicles. He immediately pulled out his phone to contact Nathaniel Blackwood.
The call jolted Nathaniel awake. “Sir, Benjamin appears to have lost consciousness. They are currently en route to the hospital with great urgency.” Nathaniel’s voice was sharp with command. “Contact Grace Memorial Hospital. Instruct them to prepare a full medical team and a trauma bay immediately. Now.”
Across the city, at Montgomery Manor, Victoria Kensington’s phone lit up with a message from Takashi Yamamoto. (Beautiful, I’ve expended significant effort on your behalf. You owe me a visit. Make it soon. A compensation is in order. Yes, Isabella retrieved Benjamin, but he has been poisoned. He is essentially a corpse at this point.)
Victoria’s heart hammered against her ribs. A cold dread washed over her. He had been saved? She had anticipated this possibility, but not so quickly. The timeline was accelerated. If Takashi confirmed the poison, then Benjamin should already be dead. Deceased. Gone.
A wave of nausea hit her. She had never been responsible for a death before. Her hands trembled. It took several minutes of controlled breathing to steady her nerves. She then placed a call to a contact she knew only as ‘Rex’. “I require visual confirmation. Photographs of Benjamin Kensington in critical condition. Send them to me.”
No.3
Minutes later, her phone chimed with several images. They showed a gurney being rushed into an emergency room. Victoria’s brow furrowed in confusion and rising panic. Why was he still alive? The poison should have been fatal. Why was he in the ER? A new text from Rex appeared. (Rex: My sources indicate Isabella performed emergency resuscitation on site. She stabilized him enough for transport. He remains unconscious. His survival is not guaranteed.)
Unconscious. Not dead. That meant he could potentially wake up. If he regained consciousness, everything would unravel. Her entire scheme would collapse. A desperate, calculated idea flashed in her mind. She sprang from her bed and ran into the hallway.
She rushed toward Theodore Montgomery’s private wing. Her frantic knocking echoed in the quiet corridor. “Grandfather! Wake up! It’s a catastrophe!” she cried, her voice cracking with manufactured hysteria.
The door was opened by the head butler, Reginald Thornton. “Ms. Kensington? What is the meaning of this disturbance?”
“I must see my grandfather! Immediately!” she sobbed, pushing past him. “Grandfather! Please!”
The commotion drew Theodore from his bedroom. He emerged, concern etched on his aged face. Seeing him, Victoria threw herself forward. Her knees hit the polished floor with a sharp thud. She clutched at the fabric of his pajamas, her body wracked with theatrical sobs.
“Grandfather, it’s horrible! Isabella… she… she has harmed Benjamin! She did it to frame me! To turn everyone against me! She… she has killed him! Oh, God!” she wailed, her performance flawless.
Theodore recoiled as if struck. “What? What are you saying? What has happened to Benjamin?!”
“My… my friend just called me!” she choked out between sobs. “Benjamin has been taken to the emergency room at Grace Memorial! He’s unconscious! The doctors say he might not… he might never wake up!” Her cries were raw and desperate.
No.4
The color drained from Theodore’s face. He staggered backward, his legs buckling. Reginald lunged forward, catching the old man before he could fall. Theodore’s lips trembled. His grandson. His only grandson. Harmed.
The noise had alerted others. Eleanor Kensington and Richard Montgomery rushed into the room. “Benjamin? What’s wrong with Benjamin?” Eleanor demanded, her voice shrill with fear.
“It’s my fault! All my fault!” Victoria cried, kneeling on the cold floor, her head bowed in a show of utter remorse. “The pressure… everyone in this family looks down on me! I made a terrible mistake! I lied to Grandfather! I told him I had kidnapped Benjamin to force him to transfer thirty percent of the family shares to me!”
Gasps filled the room. The shocking admission hung in the air. The motive for the sudden share transfer was now horrifyingly clear.
Victoria sobbed uncontrollably as she explained. “Everything was fabricated—I deceived Grandfather. I never abducted Benjamin. I merely assisted Benjamin in connecting with Takashi Yamamoto to train together in Westhaven. Benjamin had developed a passion for competitive gaming, and I only wanted to support his ambitions. The photographs I showed Grandfather were taken when he was instructed to remain in the basement. Takashi was helping him cultivate greater patience and focus…”
She pulled out her mobile device, displaying her message history with Takashi Yamamoto. The exchange was clearly visible: [Takashi Yamamoto: Ms. Kensington, please do not worry; I will ensure your brother's well-being. He is adjusting, though still acclimating to the new regimen.] Several images of the basement were attached. The space did indeed contain two high-end gaming computers. One photo showed Benjamin seated before a monitor, wearing headphones. Theodore Montgomery’s expression turned stormy. So Victoria had manipulated him? There had never been an actual kidnapping?
Benjamin was never abducted… It was all an elaborate scheme for Victoria to acquire the company shares? Eleanor didn’t immediately challenge the deception regarding the shares. Instead, she pressed, “You claimed Benjamin was in poor condition? Explain what happened.” “Waa…! It’s Isabella! She’s still not satisfied after publicly ruining my reputation! Now that all of you have transferred your shares to me, she’s consumed by fury! Last night, she went to Takashi Yamamoto’s residence and forcibly took Benjamin! He was perfectly fine when she took him, but after they returned to Westchester, Benjamin was rushed to the emergency room…”
Victoria wore a mask of profound worry and guilt, her body shaking with sobs. “She wants all of you to despise me! To blame me for abducting Benjamin and causing him harm! Waa… Benjamin is so young! How could she possibly injure him? He’s completely innocent!” She broke down into tears once more.
Eleanor and Richard were visibly stunned. True, Benjamin had been a profound disappointment to the family, but he was still their blood relative. They never wished any actual physical harm upon him.
No.5
Who could have imagined Isabella was capable of such a monstrous, inhuman act!
Richard’s voice was icy with contempt. “Prepare a car for Grace Memorial Hospital immediately! Ensure that ungrateful wretch Isabella is still there when we arrive!” Theodore followed them, his anxiety palpable. He had not seen the message Isabella had sent him.
At Grace Memorial Hospital.
After over an hour in the emergency room, Benjamin was finally transferred to a private ward. The lead physician approached Isabella, his tone deeply apologetic. “Ms. Montgomery, I regret to inform you that we have exhausted all immediate options. We have been unable to identify the specific toxin administered to Mr. Kensington. Based on his current vitals and neurological responses, it is highly probable he will not regain consciousness.”
Never wake up? A permanent vegetative state? Isabella’s brow furrowed deeply. “Explain. You cannot even trace the origin of the poison?” “We have drawn extensive blood samples for comprehensive analysis, but the results will require a minimum of seventy-two hours. This toxin is exceptionally complex. It appears to induce acute neurological death, directly attacking the central nervous system and cognitive functions. He is fortunate you initiated resuscitation procedures so promptly. Otherwise… Well.” He sighed heavily.
Isabella’s eyes darkened. Acute death? When she had boarded the private jet with Benjamin, there had been no signs of poisoning… Their environment had been secure.
At that moment, the rapid, heavy sound of approaching footsteps echoed down the corridor. Isabella turned. Theodore Montgomery, Richard, Eleanor, and Victoria were striding toward her, their faces contorted with pure, undiluted rage. They had evidently heard the doctor’s grave prognosis.
Isabella’s eyes narrowed as Eleanor stormed toward her, hand raised high. The slap never landed—Isabella caught her wrist mid-air, grip firm and unyielding.
“Explain yourself,” Isabella demanded, voice cold as steel.
No.6
“Explain? You want an explanation?” Eleanor’s voice trembled with rage. “Why is Benjamin in the hospital? Who poisoned him?”
A bitter laugh escaped Isabella’s lips. “You should be asking your precious daughter, Victoria. Ask her why she arranged his kidnapping. Ask her why he was poisoned.”
The accusation hung heavy in the air, met with scornful glares. Even Theodore’s expression darkened with disapproval. Victoria’s lies had taken root—they believed Isabella was the one framing her.
“How dare you!” Eleanor snarled, wrenching her hand free. “After what happened five years ago, you’d stoop this low? Using an innocent boy to destroy Victoria’s reputation?”
Isabella’s jaw tightened. Frame her? What twisted story had Victoria fed them?
Tears welled in Victoria’s eyes as she stepped forward, playing the victim perfectly. “Isabella, I know you hate me. I understand if you want revenge—but leave Benjamin out of this! He’s done nothing wrong!”
Her voice broke, each word dripping with false sincerity. “Do you think poisoning him will make everyone blame me? I’ve already told Grandpa and our parents everything—they won’t be fooled by your schemes!”
She clutched Isabella’s arm, sobbing dramatically. “Please, just admit what you’ve done. Give him the antidote. I’ll beg them to forgive you—I promise!”
Isabella’s patience snapped. She shoved Victoria away, disgusted. “If you’ve already decided to believe her lies, I have nothing more to say. The blood test results will reveal the truth in three days.”
No.7
She turned to leave, but Victoria lunged again, desperate. “Three days is too long! He’ll die because of you! Fine—let’s say it was me! I poisoned him! I’ll take the blame! I’ll even give you my sixty percent shares—just save him!”
Eleanor yanked Victoria back, shielding her. “Don’t you dare! She doesn’t deserve a single share! After everything we’ve done for you—this is how you repay us? Bringing you into this family was our biggest mistake!”
Richard turned to Theodore, voice firm. “Father, strip her of the Montgomery name. Revoke her twenty-five percent share. She is no longer one of us.”
The room fell silent, awaiting Theodore’s verdict.
If he agreed, Isabella would lose everything—her name, her inheritance, her place in the family.
Theodore Montgomery stared at Isabella, his expression deeply troubled. He wanted to believe her. He truly did. But every single piece of evidence pointed directly at her. It was a devastating blow. Her continued silence, her refusal to answer his calls, only made everything appear worse.
For years, Victoria had been the dependable one. She always answered, no matter the time or place. She checked in, she reassured him. She made him feel cared for.
Isabella was different. Since her return, she was a ghost in the manor. Rare visits. Even rarer calls. He was an old man. His heart craved simple respect and affection from his grandchildren. If Isabella truly held such malice for the Montgomerys… if she felt nothing for them… the thought shattered him.
Isabella met his gaze, her own solemn. She was not like Victoria. She didn't deal in pretty words and empty promises. Her proof was always in her actions. She had given her word she would save Benjamin. She intended to keep it.