"Your father's company. Your father's money. Your father's name. Everything in your life always belongs to your father."
"That doesn't give you the right to steal from him."
"Steal?"
He took another step forward.
"Do you have any idea how hard I've worked for this family?"
"Then why would you hide these papers?"
"Because you wouldn't understand."
Isabella felt tears gathering in her eyes.
"Please tell me this isn't true."
Richard looked at her without sympathy.
For the first time, he made no attempt to pretend.
"You want the truth?"
She nodded.
"The truth is that I married into a family that promised opportunity, and your father has spent five years treating me like an outsider."
"My father gave you every opportunity."
"He gave me scraps!"
His voice echoed through the room.
Isabella flinched.
Richard continued.
"He never trusted me. Never let me make the important decisions. Never believed I was good enough."
"He was trying to protect his company."
"From me?"
She could not answer.
Richard smiled without warmth.
"Well, perhaps he had good reason."
Something inside Isabella broke.
Not because she was hearing him confess.
But because he sounded proud.
Proud of deceiving her.
Proud of betraying her father.
Proud of manipulating the people who had welcomed him into their family.
She placed the folder on the desk and reached for her phone.
"I'm calling my father."
Richard moved quickly and blocked the doorway.
"No, you're not."
"Move."
"We are going to settle this privately."
"There is nothing to settle."
His voice hardened.
"If you walk out of this room, don't expect to come back."
Isabella looked at him.
Then she looked down at her stomach.
Their unborn child moved gently beneath her hand.
And she knew that the decision she made in the next few minutes could shape the rest of her son's life.
"I'm leaving," she said.
Richard stared at her.
"Then leave with nothing."
Chapter Five: The Fall
Isabella had reached the grand staircase when Richard followed her.
The house was painfully quiet.
Every step she took seemed to echo against the polished marble.
She was frightened, exhausted, and increasingly aware of the tightness in her abdomen.
"Isabella!"
She stopped.
Richard stood at the top of the stairs.
"You think your father will protect you forever?"
She turned to face him.
"He doesn't need to protect me from everyone."
Her voice trembled.
"Only from men like you."
Richard's jaw tightened.
"Careful."
"No."
For the first time in years, Isabella did not lower her eyes.
"No more threats. No more lies. I know what you did."
Richard came closer.
"Give me your phone."
She held it against her chest.
"No."
"Give it to me!"
He reached toward her.
Isabella stumbled backward in fear.
Her heel slipped against the edge of a step.
For one terrifying second, she lost her balance.
She caught the iron railing, but the sudden movement sent pain through her abdomen.
"Ah!"
Her scream filled the entrance hall.
She sank toward the floor, instinctively shielding her stomach with both arms.
Richard froze.
For a moment, Isabella hoped he would help her.
Instead, his eyes moved toward the phone lying near her feet.
He reached down.
But before he could pick it up, the main doors opened.
"ISABELLA!"
A powerful voice thundered through the hall.
Alexander Bennett stood in the doorway.
His silver hair was disheveled, and his usually composed face was filled with horror.
He had come to the mansion after receiving a short message from his daughter.
"Dad, I need you. Please come."
He had called her six times on the way.
She had not answered.
Now he understood why.
His daughter was on the marble floor, crying and holding her unborn child.
And the man who had promised to protect her stood above her.
Alexander rushed forward.
"My God. Isabella!"
He knelt beside her.
"Daddy," she sobbed.
The word broke his heart.
It had been years since she had called him Daddy.
She had been an independent woman for so long that he had almost forgotten the sound of the frightened little girl who used to run into his arms during thunderstorms.
But that little girl was still there.
And now she was terrified.
"I'm here," Alexander whispered.
He took her trembling hands.
"Look at me, sweetheart. I'm here."
"My baby..."
Her voice cracked.
"Dad, I'm scared something happened to my baby."
Alexander's expression changed.
He placed one arm around her shoulders and took out his phone.
Richard finally spoke.
"Alexander, this is a misunderstanding."
Alexander looked up.
"Do not speak to me."
"You need to hear my side."
"I said do not speak."
There was something in the old man's voice that made Richard fall silent.