Chapter 167

Sebastian took the cake without a word but didn't eat a bite.

The others dug in, especially Matthew, who devoured more than half.

Soon, Matthew's face twisted in pain; the cake plate slipped from his hand, and he clutched his stomach, squatting down in agony.

The ambulance arrived. Charles, Emma, and Matthew were all loaded in one by one.

The ambulance sped off, sirens blaring.

Once the sound of the ambulance faded, everything went eerily quiet again.

Isabella turned and saw Sebastian standing in the shadows, his face cold, a faint, indifferent smile on his lips.

Isabella jolted awake from the nightmare, drenched in cold sweat.

It was already dark; she had slept for hours.

The wind had started to pick up.

Isabella grabbed her phone and saw several missed calls from Nina.

She went back inside, closed the balcony door, and called Nina back.

The phone rang for a long time before someone answered.

"Nina," Isabella said.

A familiar, greasy voice came from the other end. "Bella, it's me."

Isabella froze, a chill running through her. "Charlie?"

Charlie laughed. Isabella could picture his disgusting face.

"Where's Nina?" she demanded. "Give her the phone!"

"Looking for Nina?" Charlie's voice was slow and mocking. "She's asleep. If it's not urgent, I'll have her call you back when she wakes up."

Nina's asleep?

Isabella glanced outside; it was just getting dark, the sunset still faintly visible.

Nina would never go to bed this early; she had been busy selling things lately!

Plus, Nina was in the middle of a divorce with Charlie; she wouldn't be with him!

Isabella started to panic. "Charlie, what did you do to my sister?"

Charlie replied, "Bella, I'm her husband; what could I possibly do to her?"

"Where are you?" Isabella asked.

"At home, where else?" Charlie said.

Isabella hung up, grabbed her car keys, and headed straight for the Wilsons' house.

Before getting out of the car, she took a small knife from the glove compartment and held it tightly.

Deborah opened the door. "Bella, what brings you here?"

Isabella gripped the knife tightly and eyed Deborah warily. "I'm here to see my sister."

"Nina's in the bedroom." Deborah stepped aside. "Come in."

Deborah even got her some shoes.

As Isabella changed her shoes, Deborah closed the door.

"Why are you closing the door?" Isabella stood up and moved to open it.

Deborah grabbed her. "Bella, you hardly ever come by. Come in and sit down."

Isabella snapped, "Don't touch me!"

"Alright, alright!" Deborah raised her hands, startled. "I won't touch you. Don't get excited; be careful."

Isabella glared at Deborah and went to open the door.

At that moment, a hand grabbed Isabella's arm, and a cloth with a strange smell was pressed over her nose and mouth.

The pungent smell overwhelmed her. Isabella's mind went blank, and her body went limp.

In a daze, she heard Deborah's voice. "Hurry, get her to the bed! Your brother is right; once it's done, Isabella will have no choice but to accept it!"

Then, Isabella felt someone tugging at her clothes.

Isabella tried to fight back, but her limbs were weak and unresponsive. In her panic, she blacked out completely.

She didn't know how long she had been unconscious when she woke up.

She heard Nina's sobbing voice. "Bella." She fell into a warm embrace.

Isabella was momentarily stunned. Although she was awake, the sense of weakness still lingered. Her head felt heavy and painful.

She tried to rub her temples, but when she raised her hand, she realized her clothes had been removed. She was only covered by a thin blanket. She froze.

Nina hugged her tighter. "Bella, don't be afraid; I'm here."

Isabella's mind finally cleared. She looked around and realized she was in the guest room of Nina's house.

It used to be her room, then Raymond's.

What happened after she passed out was obvious.

The door was tightly closed; there were sounds outside.

Suddenly, someone burst through the door. Isabella saw several police officers, as well as Zaire and Leo outside.

The door was kicked open by Raymond, who was holding a knife, disheveled, and waving it around. "Stay back, all of you, stay back!"

Deborah screamed in terror.

Charlie said, "Raymond, put the knife down; don't hurt yourself!"

Raymond fell to his knees, crying loudly, "Charlie, I really love Isabella. I will treat her well. Just give me a chance!"

"Yes, give him a chance!" Deborah echoed, running to the door and looking at Nina. "Nina, after all, this is a family matter. Since things have come to this, and Isabella is a girl, can you give Raymond a chance?"

Nina put Isabella down and walked over.

Deborah smiled ingratiatingly at her.

The next second, Nina raised her hand and slapped Deborah hard.

Deborah yelped and fell to the ground.

Before she could cry out, Nina grabbed something from a nearby cabinet and started hitting Deborah with all her might.

"Are you even human? You beast!" Nina, like a madwoman, smashed the stone-carved ashtray onto Deborah's head and body repeatedly.

The room was filled with dull thuds; within a minute, Deborah was bleeding from her head, lying unconscious on the floor.

The police officers in the living room reacted and rushed over to stop her.

They called an ambulance and sent Deborah to the hospital.

Then the police took Raymond and Charlie back to the station.

The station needed someone, so Zaire went along.

On the way, he called Sebastian.

When the call connected, he said gravely, "Sebastian, you need to come back quickly. Something has happened."

Isabella's phone kept ringing.

The call was from Sebastian, but she didn't answer.

She didn't even look at it. She hugged her knees, staring blankly, trembling all over.

Nina helped her get dressed, her voice choked. "Bella, I'll take you home."

Leo came in from outside, smelling of smoke.

He said nothing, walked over, and picked Isabella up in his arms, carrying her out.

Nina wiped her tears and followed.

As they neared home, Isabella suddenly spoke, "I don't want to go home!"

Nina held her. "Bella, what did you say?"

"Don't take me back!" Isabella said.

Leo glanced at her through the rearview mirror. "Okay."

At the hotel, Leo booked a suite.

This time, Isabella didn't let him carry her. She got out of the car and walked into the elevator.

In the suite, Isabella said, "Nina, I want to take a bath."

"Okay." Nina quickly went to run the water.

Leo stopped at the door, closed it, and had the hotel prepare two sets of clean clothes for Isabella.

Then he stood by the window, unknowingly smoking an entire pack of cigarettes.