Chapter 267: Not Wanting to Owe Anyone

Chapter 267: Not Wanting to Owe Anyone

Sophia's face remained perfectly composed, without a trace of panic.

"I could tell even before she divorced William—she's lazy. She only managed to live a life of luxury because she married William!"

Sophia accused Isabella of being a slacker.

During their first year of marriage, Sophia had ordered Isabella to hand-wash all the curtains, scrub every floor and railing before the Christmas holidays, and polish every window to spotless perfection.

Tasks that should have been divided among several housekeepers were piled entirely onto Isabella by Sophia's exacting demands.

She'd only been three months postpartum at the time. After a full week of backbreaking work, her back ached for half a year before finally recovering.

From Isabella's perspective, anyone had the right to say such things.

Anyone except Sophia.

"Congratulations on finding someone new to wash your curtains. I hope you enjoy Laura's handiwork!" Isabella's voice dripped with cold sarcasm.

Sophia faltered, momentarily speechless under Isabella's sharp retort.

Having dealt with one problem, Isabella turned her attention to the other—Laura.

"Since you claim you were here caring for him all night, let me ask you this: how many times did they change William's dressing last night? How many times did they call the nurse in?" Isabella's smile didn't reach her eyes.

Laura had jumped to claim credit so quickly that she hadn't thought to check with the nurses' station for details.

She could only improvise: "I think it was three times. The last time I was so exhausted I didn't wake up."

She even threw in a yawn for good measure, as if terrified no one would believe she'd stayed up all night.

Unfortunately, lies remained lies no matter how convincing the performance.

"The nurses didn't come in once last night. Before William was moved to this room, they specifically informed me that last night was a critical observation period. If he didn't develop a fever during that time, he could recover normally."

In other words, they needed to give the wound time to see if any inflammation or fever would develop.

Disturbing the wound unnecessarily during that window would have been asking for trouble.

A mocking smile curved Isabella's lips. "Next time you lie, think it through first. Makes it harder to get caught."

Even Sophia looked embarrassed.

She'd genuinely believed Laura had been here all night.

Laura's expression shifted rapidly as she tried to explain herself, but couldn't find the words.

The entire hospital lacked a single shred of evidence in her favor.

After seeing Sophia and Henry off yesterday, she hadn't returned until this morning's early arrival.

To claim she wasn't deliberately showing off in front of others would convince no one.

"Enough! This is a hospital room, not a stage for your performance. What's the point of competing over who spent more time here?" Sophia snapped.

Isabella's eyes widened. "Weren't you just accusing me of not staying to care for William?"

"You all can keep playing your pathetic little games. I'm going home to rest."

Last night's sleep had been abysmal. Isabella's neck was so stiff she could barely turn her head, and she couldn't stop yawning.

She desperately needed to go home and get proper sleep to salvage what was left of her well-being.

"Where do you think you're going? You rested just fine here last night, didn't you?" Sophia's eyebrows shot up in displeasure.

Isabella thought she deserved credit for not actually hitting someone.

"I have my own life and career. Objectively speaking, William and I are divorced—we've simply delayed the paperwork because of his interference." She paused, meeting Sophia's gaze with unwavering resolve. "I admit William's injury is connected to me, but I refuse to believe that atoning requires me to surrender my freedom and autonomy."

Sophia's demands were clearly designed to torment her.

"If you can't even handle this small request, who would trust you to care for children? We certainly can't give you custody of Olivia."

Sophia's words froze Isabella in place.

"Furthermore, the man in that hospital bed isn't just my son—he's your husband, Nathan and Olivia's father. How dare you abandon them?"

There it was again—moral blackmail.

Yet Isabella found herself unable to take another step forward.

She could endure losing everything else, but Sophia was now holding Olivia's custody over her head.

A triumphant smile spread across Sophia's face.

"Mom!" William stared at Sophia in disbelief, the oxygen mask now removed from his face.

This was the first time he'd directly witnessed the hell Isabella had endured in his family.

The suffocating feeling wrapped around William like a rising tide.

If watching from the sidelines caused him this much pain, how had Isabella survived living through it?

The question tangled through his mind like spiderwebs.

"She owes you this! If you hadn't taken that pitchfork for her, she'd be the one in that hospital bed!"

Sophia spoke with complete conviction, utterly immune to William's pressure.

William's breathing quickened in frustration, leaving him speechless.

After standing motionless in the center of the room for several seconds, Isabella finally understood—Sophia would never let her leave.

Rather than continue fighting, she might as well accept it.

At least, it would save her breath and time.

Besides, she didn't want to owe anyone anything. She could use this to repay William's life debt.

Isabella pulled out her phone and called Emily, asking her to bring her laptop from the office to the hospital.

"Isabella, are you sick? Is it serious? We'll come see you right away!" Emily's voice rang with concern.

Warmth flooded Isabella's chest at her friend's care. "I'm not sick, just keeping someone company. Don't worry."

Having someone in the workplace who genuinely cared meant everything to Isabella.

At least someone was willing to help her.

Emily quickly delivered Isabella's laptop along with all her recent data files, making it possible for her to work remotely.