Chapter 237 The Investigation Results
What if Sebastian and Lynda were in love? The other woman would still be the other woman, and affairs were still affairs. Moreover, wasn't it Sebastian that gave Lynda the label? She wasn't involved in it at all.
With this thought, Isabella felt a much better.
She turned and walked out of that painful place, the servant staring at her in shock.
After leaving, Isabella got a cab to go see her grandma at the rehab center.
Her grandmother's condition was getting better every day, and she had just been transferred to a more ideal facility with fresh air and tranquility provided by the flowers and birds.
Upon arriving at the hospital, Isabella saw her grandma being wheeled across the garden by a nurse for a stroll.
From a distance, she was observed by the caretaker, who had keen eyes.
Isabella signaled to the caretaker to act as though she wasn't there, and then she stealthily sat down on a bench close to her grandmother.
The garden was serene.
Isabella buried her chin in her palm and remembered that proud voice all too well.
"Our Isabella, I don't mean to brag, but she's quite the gem – beautiful, sensible, never seeking conflict, and everyone adores her."
The elderly woman went on, "She's had her fair share of struggles. I frequently question whether she's getting along well with her new family."
"I do know of the Lawrences' well-educated upbringing, them being sensible, and understanding. They wouldn't harm my Isabella, but concern is natural as I grow old..."
Her voice went softer with slight sadness, "I'm old and just a burden to her. I wonder how much longer I'll be around to burden her like this."
As Isabella listened, she felt her eyes tearing up. Her grandmother's brief remarks were enough to move her, even though Sebastian and Lynda never could make her cry.
"Grandma!" she gave a little grin as she got up and yelled out.
"Huh? Am I hearing things? Why do I hear my Isabella's voice?" Grandma Isabella said, looking about her bewildered.
The old woman needed a wheelchair to go around because she had difficulty walking after her recent sickness.
Suppressing her laughter, Isabella sent the caregiver away and slipped behind the wheelchair.
Grandma Isabella turned around upon hearing the sound and grinned while giving Isabella a light hit on the head. "You naughty girl, still playing hide-and-seek with Grandma at your age?" she said.
"I'll always be a kid in front of grandma," Isabella said, smiling as she walked over and knelt down in front of her, placing her head on her lap.
Gently stroking Isabella's hair, the elderly woman said, "You're always so sweet with grandma."
Playfully wrinkling her nose, Isabella said, "It's because Grandma loves that."
"You're right," the elderly woman replied while beaming.
Grinning mischievously, Isabella stood up, stretched, and continued pushing her grandmother's wheelchair while taking in the scenery and the flowers.
When they had enough of the garden, they went to lunch together. Before leaving, she waited till her grandma had gone to sleep.
Isabella was filled with joy when she was with her grandma, but as soon as she left the room, the pain resurfaced.
While standing in the lobby, she realized that she had no idea where to go next.
The Lawrence home was welcoming, but it wasn't Isabella's home. On the other hand, the Willowbrook Estate's coldness mirrored the Wallaces' apathy.
She was struck with sadness as she realized that, apart from her grandmother's hospital room, she had no place to call "home" in this big world.
Excluding her grandma, the fact that no one in her family truly cared for her made the situation more heartbreaking.
Her husband and her dad? Neither of them was suitable.
Isabella closed her eyes, rubbed her belly softly, and sat on a bench in the hospital's waiting room.
It was still early. Her abdomen was flat, showing no signs of the life developing within. Of course, she couldn't feel her child's presence yet.
However, the baby inside her somewhat lightened the burden.
Even after all that, she still had family.
Smiling as she took in the sunlight, Isabella smile. However, the moment she did, her eyes jerked open from deep-seated panic.
It dawned on her that this child wasn't really hers; Sebastian would take the baby and give it to Lynda.
She would become the child's stepmother.
A rebellious thought instantly sprang into Isabella's head.
She wanted... this child for herself.
Isabella shook her head at the absurdity of the idea.
How was she, alone, going to compete with Sebastian for their child?
Isabella deflated, her mood souring.
However, the idea was like a seed sown in her mind, meant to take root and blossom into a massive tree.
She picked up her bag and walked out, rubbing her nose bitterly.
She had no idea that just as she was leaving, a familiar figure came around the corner in a wheelchair.
That person was... Jarod!
He observed with contemplation as Isabella's figure receded into the distance.
He returned to the Lawrence residence and called Peter.
Peter walked into Jarod's room with familiar ease. As expected, Jarod was staring at a picture of Joyce, lost in thought.
He looked so soft that it gave Peter chills.
All Peter could do was sigh. Words and actions wouldn't work in front of such emotion.
Peter sighed and threw a leather satchel at Jarod's feet after standing for a solid five minutes without a response.
Jarod remarked, "I thought you'd gone mute."
Peter tightened his mouth. "Can I cuss now?"
Jarod shook his head, "This isn't the time to discuss this. Joyce could hear us."
Peter slid onto the couch, his index finger pressing his temple with a heavy heart. "I found what you were looking for. Take a look."
Jarod nodded, picking up the leather folder and opening it, going through the number of pictures within.
He looked over them one-by-one; varying in content, the pictures consisted from Sebastian going into the Wallaces' estate to him talking to Mr. Wallace.
Peter shook his head. "You shouldn't ever underestimate your brother. I admit that I didn't give him enough credit."
He looked at Jarod, who encouraged him to continue.
"The week before he married Mrs. Lawrence, Sebastian collected a list of excellent women, meticulously and seriously."
"He's like an emperor selecting a consort, no?" Peter joked, hesitating for a while before he let out a chuckle. "I must say congratulations to Ms. Isabella. She was chosen because, well, she stood out."
Jarod gently tapped a picture of Sebastian and Mr. Cooper that he had slid forward, remarking, "The Coopers were forced to comply with threats regarding their inheritance. They weren't allowed to help the Wallaces."
Peter responded with rare seriousness, "Moreover, that wasn't the only thing your dear brother did. Wallace Group's bankruptcy was unavoidable, but he quickened the process and made it happen a year earlier."
"From start to end, the bankruptcy that brought Isabella's grandma's sickness and inability to pay hospital care, to Isabella asking help from the Coopers and being refused, to finally Sebastian coming in and forcing a marriage—it was all your brother's work."
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