Chapter 109: For the Sake of the Child?
"How do you know?" Isabella was taken aback. "Were you there too?"
"Yes, I happened to be there. What were you doing at the casino?"
"It's a long story, but I was there to save someone, not to gamble," Isabella quickly explained.
"You didn't run into any trouble, did you? Do you need help?"
"No, it's all sorted out." Isabella reassured him, then asked with concern, "Mr. Jack, you weren't there to gamble, were you?"
Jack was a good man, earning a handsome salary at the Landon Group, a position many envied. He couldn't fall into the trap of gambling like Charlie. Because even the best of men could be ruined by it.
"No, I was there for business."
"Oh, that's good," Isabella replied and felt relieved. "Mr. Jack, why did you suddenly call me? Is there something you need?"
"Nothing special, really. I just happened to see you there and wanted to check on you." Jack's voice was somewhat hesitant, unlike his usual fluent manner at the company.
Isabella seemed to hear the faint sound of a pen scratching on paper and asked, "Is Mr. Landon with you?"
As soon as she spoke, the scratching sound abruptly stopped.
Then it resumed for a couple of seconds.
Jack immediately replied, "No."
The scratching sound started again. Jack asked, "Have you found a new job?"
"Yes, I have." Isabella instinctively felt that if Jack knew, then Seb would know too. But She didn't want Seb to know, so she lied.
The scratching stopped. After a short silence, Jack said, "Congratulations. If you run into any trouble you can't solve, feel free to call me. Mr. Landon has instructed me to look out for you."
Seb had said the same thing before at the hospital.
"Thank you," Isabella whispered her gratitude.
The scratching sound resumed.
Jack asked, "Is there anything else you want to say ?"
Isabella was silent for a moment.
She actually wanted to ask how Seb was doing.
But she felt it wasn't appropriate to ask.
"No, nothing else."
"Shall I hang up then?"
"Yes. Goodbye, Mr. Jack."
After the call ended, Isabella leaned against the car window and watched the street scenes pass by, her eyes filled with confusion.
Meanwhile, Jack looked across the table at Seb and said, "Mr. Landon, I've found out that Isabella went to Casino No. 1 tonight because her brother-in-law owed four hundred thousand dollars. She went to save him."
"Four hundred thousand?" Seb frowned and asked, "Where did she get that much money?"
"It was Mr. Landon who went with her, and he paid with a check."
Seb pondered for a couple of seconds and said, "Charles Landon wouldn't pay that money for nothing. He must want something from Isabella."
Seb thought, 'What could it be? Isabella has almost nothing except herself.'
Jack hesitated and said, "Could it be for the child?"
Seb's lips pressed into a thin line.
Though he didn't want to admit it, this seemed the most reasonable explanation.
Jack observed Seb's reaction and said, "The Landon family seems to have a lot going on recently, but none of it involves Isabella. Should I look into it?"
Seb was silent for a while, then lowered his eyes and said calmly, "No need."
Just then, his phone rang.
After seeing the name ,Vanessa, Seb's recently relaxed brow furrowed again.
The next day, Isabella went to the Landon family early.
The servant led her to the door and then left.
Isabella raised her hand and knocked on the door. She asked, "May I come in?"
There was no response from inside.
She waited for a moment and raised her voice. "I'm coming in, okay?"
But there was still no response.
Isabella took a deep breath, reached out, turned the doorknob, and pushed the door open.
The room was dim, with the curtains tightly drawn to keep out any light. Books and various miscellaneous items were scattered on the floor, making the place look chaotic. In the midst of the chaos, Isabella saw Matthew huddled in a corner.
"Matthew Landon?" she called softly.
Matthew slowly regained a bit of life upon hearing her voice.
He lifted his head slowly and looked at Isabella. His desolate eyes became brighter.
Matthew opened his mouth but made no sound.
His voice was already ruined.
The dimness of the room made Isabella feel suffocated.
She put down her bag and walked over to pull open the curtains, letting the sunlight pour in.
Matthew did not stop her but shrank further into the dark corner as the light flooded in.
Isabella did not deliberately try to talk to him. Instead, she began tidying up the room.
Soon, the room was clean and bright.
She turned around to find that Matthew was still sitting there, staring at her intently.
Isabella bent down to pick up the dirty bed sheets and said, "I'm going downstairs to put these in the washing machine. After they're washed, I'll hang them out to dry. Do you want to come?"
Matthew stared at her but did not respond, like a puppet.
"Then I'll go," Isabella said, not coaxing him, and walked away with the sheets.
As she reached downstairs, a few servants gasped at the sight of her.
Isabella noticed they were looking behind her and stopped to turn around.
She saw Matthew had followed her down. When she stopped, he stopped too.
Ignoring him, Isabella asked the servants, "Excuse me, where is the laundry room?"
A servant pointed in a certain direction.
Isabella walked in that direction with the sheets.
As she moved, Matthew followed.
The commotion in the living room attracted Emma and Charles, who came out from the dining room.
Upon seeing this scene, Emma's eyes immediately reddened.
Charles put an arm around her shoulders and comforted her, "With Isabella here, Matthew will get better. Don't worry too much."
In the following days, Isabella made time every day to visit the Landon family and accompany Matthew.
She didn't talk much and just helped with cleaning and did whatever she could.
After all, it was four hundred thousand dollars. She couldn't feel at ease without doing something in return.
At first, Matthew just followed her around dumbly.
Gradually, as Isabella worked, he began to help a little.
But Matthew's eyes always had a shadow over them, as if he could never return to his former image.
One day, after hanging out the bedding to dry, Isabella sat on the grass to read a book.
The sunlight was warm on her.
Before long, she felt drowsy and fell asleep.
When Isabella woke up, she found her head resting on Matthew's leg.
Matthew raised his hand, shading her face from the glaring sun.
Isabella was stunned for a second, then quickly sat up. "Did I sleep for long?"
She hadn't even woken up when he moved her head onto his leg.
Matthew took out his phone and typed a few words: [Not long.]
Isabella glanced at the time and stood up. "I should go."
But Matthew grabbed her hand and handed her the phone. [I had the servant make some nutritious soup for your pregnancy. Drink it before you go.]"
Isabella shook her head and said, "No, thank you. I'm not used to it."
[It's for the baby. You're too thin and need the nutrition.]
At that moment, a servant brought over the soup.
Matthew picked it up and scooped some with a spoon, gently bringing it to Isabella's lips.
Isabella stepped back a few paces. For some reason, it reminded her of the day he fed milk to Samantha, which made her feel scared.
"I really don't like it. I'll go now."
As soon as Isabella turned around, she heard the sound of something breaking behind her, followed by the servant's scream.
