Chapter 624

Margaret slammed Victoria onto the marble floor, her fists raining down merciless blows.

Victoria's body trembled violently as she gasped between sobs. "Please... no more... I can't take it!"

Henry Lancaster's icy command sliced through the chaos. "Remove her."

Black-clad security personnel materialized instantly, dragging the battered woman away as she screamed incoherent pleas.

Margaret collapsed beside Theodore's lifeless form, her anguished wails echoing through the grand hall. "Theodore! How could you leave me like this? I can't go on without you..."

The Lancaster estate buzzed with funeral preparations while Isabella paced her chambers, nails biting into her palms. Victoria's capture by Henry's men sent waves of terror through her. That loose tongue could ruin everything.

Slipping through shadowed corridors, Isabella found Henry deep in conversation with the head butler. She pressed against the mahogany doorframe, straining to catch their hushed exchange.

"Has she talked?" Henry's voice carried an edge Isabella had never heard before.

The butler's response came in a whisper. "Not a word, sir. But forensic analysis confirms her fingerprints on the weapon. The murder charge will hold."

A weighted pause followed before the butler continued, "Do you suspect... complications?"

Henry's silhouette moved toward the floor-to-ceiling windows. "I'm certain she's protecting someone. And I believe that someone is Isabella."

"Isabella?" The butler's shock was palpable even through the door.

"Consider her behavior since the poisoning incident," Henry continued. "We all know she orchestrated it to frame Harrison."

The butler nodded slowly. "In my decades of service, sir, I've never seen such duplicity. Miss Harrison, by contrast, possesses remarkable integrity and intellect."

A ghost of a smile touched Henry's lips. "Nathaniel always did have impeccable judgment."

Isabella's vision blurred with rage as her manicured nails drew blood from her palms. Henry's growing favor toward Harrison was bad enough. Now he questioned her very character?

She'd clawed her way to this position through blood and sacrifice, while Harrison waltzed in and stole everything. The injustice burned like acid in her veins.

Henry's next words turned her blood to ice. "Make Victoria talk. I want full disclosure."

The butler bowed. "It will be done."

Isabella retreated on silent feet, her mind racing. Her entire legacy as the Lancaster heiress hung by a thread. Only Victoria stood between her and ruin.

Some problems required permanent solutions.

The damp cellar reeked of mildew and despair. Victoria huddled in a corner, her once-elegant gown now torn and stained. Each breath sent sharp pains through her bruised ribs, but she held her silence. Speaking meant death. Silence might yet bring salvation.

The rusty hinges screamed as the heavy door swung open. Victoria didn't bother looking up. "I told you, I won't—"

The familiar scent of Chanel No. 5 made her head snap up. Her swollen eyes widened at the elegant figure standing before her.

"Isabella!" Hope surged through her battered body. "You came! I knew my daughter wouldn't abandon me!"