Chapter 5

Ava had goosebumps upon seeing Isla’s glance. She had the feeling that she knew something, which made her uncomfortable. She even had the urge to stop Lucy. She clenched her fists to suppress the uneasiness she was feeling as she watched her mother follow Isla up the spiral stairs. There were two floors in the ballroom, and there was a powder room and a lounge upstairs. They would get there by walking up the stairs. Isla looked all over the ballroom and did not see Noah. She could not help but sigh. It seemed like he would not come tonight. However… She glanced at Lucy out of the side of her eyes. No matter how calm she pretended to be, her stiff expression betrayed her. She did not expose her. She took her to the lounge instead. In order to take care of the pregnant lady, the Bennetts even brought two maids with them. They quickly helped her change as soon as they saw her. A couple of minutes later, she came out of the changing room. She smiled when she realized that Isla was still there. “I’m done, Isla. Shall we go downstairs?” She took a step forward with care, attempting to hold Isla’s hand. The latter retracted her hand instantly and glanced at her coldly. She walked out of the lounge first. Something sinister flashed through Lucy’s eyes, and she signaled to the maid and went after her. Seeing that she had almost reached the stairs, she caught up to her and said in a panic, “Isla, don’t take what happened this morning personally. We’re a family no matter what.” Isla stopped and looked at her in an unfathomable manner. Upon seeing her stop, Lucy smiled with her eyes. She lifted her hand to caress her belly, feeling arrogant now. “Your mom died too soon. Your father has been wanting a son, and all his hopes have been planted in my belly. Even if you’re mad, you can only tolerate it.” Her mother’s death had always been a taboo. Lucy knew very well how to trigger her. “Repeat what you said if you dare!” Isla stared at her, her eyes cold. Seeing that she had fallen into her trap, Lucy inched closer intentionally. She stopped pretending and provoked her directly. “What could you do to me even if I repeated myself? Your mom died a young b*tch anyway. So what if she came from a great family? Your father doesn’t like her at all, which is why he didn’t save her. He watched her die in pain!” Isla clenched her fists tightly while suppressing the resentment that was rumbling inside of her. She kept reminding herself that this was Lucy’s trap and she should not fall for it. She took a deep breath and looked up. She smirked sarcastically at her. “Even if you gave my father a son, you’d still be a b*tch for the rest of your life!” She turned around to go downstairs as soon as she was done speaking. Lucy was stunned. Given her character, she would definitely have hit her if she had heard her humiliate her mother. Why was this different from what she’d expected? No! She could no longer wait, she could no longer hide… She bit the bullet and shut her eyes. She leaned forward the moment Isla started stepping down and fell straight down the stairs. Almost at the same time, the maid screamed behind her. “Oh no, Ms. Isla pushed madam down the stairs!” The ballroom, which had initially been lively, instantly fell deadly silent. Lucy lay on the carpet, a big patch of blood flowing beneath her. She held her belly and moaned in pain. She then cried, “My child! Please save my child!” Ava rushed over almost immediately. She questioned Isla, who was standing on the stairs, as she held her mother. “Why did you do that, sis? Couldn’t you just accept your brother by blood?” The others realized what was happening as soon as she said that. They were all shocked. It was common for such a thing to happen among the upper class. However, Isla was the first one to push a pregnant stepmother in front of so many people. They surrounded them, worried that they would miss a thing. Isla walked over to Ava step by step. Before she could speak, Harry walked over and raised his hand in front of her cheek. “Your damned girl, how dare you–” She was agile enough to grab his hand. She then looked at him coldly. “Dad, we haven’t found out the truth yet, but you’re declaring that I’m guilty?” Her eyes were clear. There was no guilt or terror in them at all. “What else would you say?” Harry, who did not believe her, said coldly, “Could she have fallen on her own to frame you?” Isla scoffed and looked at Ava with grim eyes. “Why not? She’s not–” Ava panicked as she watched. She immediately interrupted her by speaking loudly. “Sis, no matter what, he’s your brother by blood. He’s innocent! How could you do that? “I know that you hate us. You think that we took your father and you’re scared that my mom will give birth to a brother who will fight with you over the family assets. But we’ve never thought about fighting over anything with you. If you don’t believe me, I can sign an agreement and leave the Bennetts… But how could you do something so evil?” Ava was emotional. She stared at Isla with bloodshot eyes filled with resentment and despair. Isla suddenly thought it was a pity that she had not become an actor. She would have believed her if she had been an outsider. “Do you have any proof that I pushed her?” There was no panic in her face at all. One could even say that she was brave. That made Ava feel even more terrified. The uneasiness that she was feeling was growing, and she quickly signaled at the maid. The maid stood up fast when she saw her signal. She pointed at Isla and said emotionally, “I can be a witness! I saw her push madam just now with my own eyes. She even said that madam is pregnant with a b*stard. If he lives, he’ll fight with her over the family assets, so he should die instead. “Ms. Isla, although madam isn’t your mother, she has been treating you as her own. She has never mistreated you. She’s three months pregnant now, so how could you do that? This is a life that we’re talking about!” What the maid said undoubtedly proved Isla’s accusation, as well as what Ava had said. At that moment, all sorts of disdain and disgust were evident in their eyes as they looked at Isla. The ballroom became noisy. “I didn’t expect that girl Isla to be so evil. She tried to kill her own brother and she’s not afraid of karma!” “Isn’t she just evil? She’s pretty, but I can’t believe that her heart is so evil. She hurt her pregnant stepmother for the family assets, so maybe she’d even hurt her own father in the future.”