Chapter 133
The phone rang.
Immediately after, a desperate voice came through from the other end.
"Please, just let those people go. Do you know what's happening? Your brother has been taken now. Are you trying to get our whole family killed?"
In an instant, Stella's mind went blank.
The sobbing on the other end of the line continued.
Soon Isabella figured out what was going on.
Those people saw that there would be no settlement, and with the situation blowing up all over the internet, they knew they had no way to force Stella anymore, so they went after her family instead.
They had actually sent people to kidnap Stella's brother.
Seeing Stella trembling all over, Isabella took the phone from her, "Where are you? I'm coming over now."
After hanging up, Isabella gripped Stella's hand tightly, "I know you're really confused right now, but you absolutely cannot give in. You need to understand—if you compromise once, it means you have no bottom line, and from then on you'll keep backing down endlessly. Do you want to be controlled by those people for the rest of your life?"
She knew clearly that neither the family nor those persecutors cared about Stella at all—they only cared about the final outcome.
So what if she compromised for her family this time?
Stella's family wouldn't be grateful. They'd even think they'd found a way to control her, and if something happened again in the future, they'd use the same trick.
Some things—once there's a first time, there'll be a second.
Once a boundary is crossed, there's no boundary left.
After calming Stella down, Isabella went to the hotel.
Entering the room, Isabella looked around, her face full of coldness, "Your son has been kidnapped, yet you seem to be living quite comfortably."
With their financial situation, they couldn't possibly afford a five-star hotel.
Which meant they'd already been bought off—someone was taking care of all their food and lodging.
The sarcasm in Isabella's tone was undisguised.
The people across from her were also full of anger.
Especially Kieran Hall and Celestia Hall.
When they saw Isabella arrive alone, their fury could no longer be contained.
"Where is that bitch? Why didn't she come herself? That's her own brother!"
The two of them took turns dragging Stella through the mud, seemingly not caring at all about how her injuries were.
But Isabella wasn't surprised by their behavior.
After sitting down, Isabella got straight to the point, "If I'm not mistaken, you cooperated with them and handed over your son, right? Quickly tell me where he is, and I'll rescue him for you. Otherwise, you'll face the consequences."
"Don't try to be clever, thinking you can use those people and get a big payout. Rich people's money isn't that easy to take. You only get one chance. Think it through."
With that, she threw a document over to them.
"Take a look at this. These are all cases of people who thought they were clever and got into disputes with wealthy families. See for yourselves what happened to them in the end."
On the way over, Isabella had still been somewhat uncertain, but seeing how unconcerned Kieran and Celestia looked, she knew they had cooperated with the people behind this.
In that case, as long as she made them understand the seriousness of the situation, everything would be resolved.
The envelope opened, and Kieran and Celestia glanced at it, their whole bodies trembling.
"That can't be right. Those people dress so expensively—one meal for them costs more than our annual salary. How could they trick us?"
"Yeah, so what if there's a problem? We've already gotten a sum of money."
In their fear, the two actually told the truth.
Isabella laughed sarcastically, "No rush. Think it over carefully. Contact me again when you've figured it out."
With that, without even glancing at them again, Isabella turned and left. But she never expected to run into Luna at the hotel entrance.
When Luna saw Isabella now, it was like seeing her father's killer. Her eyes were bloodshot, "What are you doing here? I get it—you're here to meddle, right? I don't understand. You and Stella are friends, but what are you doing now? Sacrificing everything for a friend?"
In Luna's world, friends were for using.
So she couldn't understand at all what Isabella was doing.
Isabella sneered and stepped closer. Due to their height difference, she looked down at Luna, "In your eyes, what should I be doing now? Should I be negotiating with you all, then convincing my good friend to sign a settlement agreement together?"
The sudden closeness made Luna uncomfortable. She stepped back twice, "Enough with playing the moral model. You'd better take care of yourself. You have to come to work tomorrow, or I'll sue you."
She showed the electronic contract on her phone.
Isabella's eyes narrowed, "Aren't you afraid?"
"Afraid of what?"
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend. You've provoked me again and again—aren't you worried I'll retaliate?"
Looking at Luna, who didn't know the dangers of the world, Isabella suddenly thought of her former self.
She had been like that too back then.
Never seeing the true nature of things, which was why she ended up in such a state.
Even knowing the person in front of her was no good, she couldn't help but warn her.
"If I were you, I'd get a prenuptial agreement sorted out right now, then make sure all pre-marriage accounts are crystal clear and not mixed up with post-marriage assets. Have you thought this through?"
"Why are you reminding me of these things?"
Luna looked confused, only feeling that Isabella was trying to harm her.
Isabella laughed coldly, "You're right, I shouldn't be reminding you of these things. My mistake."
What she shouldn't do most was argue with stupid people. No matter what she did or said, they wouldn't listen, and would instead think she was trying to harm them.
Isabella took a deep breath, "I don't know how much you're getting out of this, but I advise you not to get involved anymore."
It was getting later and later. Isabella didn't return to the hospital, but went home instead.
What she didn't expect was that Michael still wasn't asleep. He was sitting on the sofa right now—though even at home, couldn't he put on some clothes?
Looking at the half-naked man sitting there wearing only underwear, Isabella instinctively looked away.
"What? Just getting back?"
Michael put down his laptop and looked over with displeasure, "Don't forget about the agreement. You're caring less and less about me these days."