Chapter 419: Four Hundred And Nineteen

Ella’s POV

The day had dragged on with a peculiar heaviness. After unpacking the last of our things that had been shipped here from Paris and rearranging Cecilia’s room and my studio, I thought I could finally breathe. Cecilia’s laughter echoed from the garden, her little hands clapping as Pax chased after her. For a moment, I let myself relax, thinking the simple joy of our daughter was enough to make the day bearable.

Yet, as I turned toward the stairs to put away the last of the boxes from my studio, I froze. There she was.

Victoria.

In the center of the living room, surrounded by her small mountain of luggage, looking perfectly poised and absurdly at ease, as though she belonged here. I blinked, hoping my mind was playing tricks on me. But no, James had, in his infinite wisdom or insanity, allowed her to move in. My stomach turned.

My mother-in-law surprisingly offered me courtesy by saying Victoria was going through a rough patch and she would be moving just for a few days until she had the penthouse James had given her renovated and refurbished.

My stomach tightened, a twist of disbelief and fury knotting within me. James had actually allowed her to move in. I stared at her, hoping she would vanish into thin air. But no, she was real, standing there, the woman who had caused so much chaos in my life, and now, James had opened the door for her.

I rolled my eyes so hard it was practically audible. I could almost hear the sarcasm dripping from the motion: Of course, James still loves her. Of course, he’s doing this. Why wouldn’t he? Even after what has happened between us over the last few days. Maybe this is why he has been trying his best to avoid me.

Cecilia rushed into the house she didn’t notice. She was too absorbed in showing Pax a new trick she’d invented, her tiny hands clapping in delight. But I felt my chest tighten, a knot of unease forming. I wanted to storm into James’s study and demand, no, plead, for him to undo this madness, but I forced myself to breathe instead. He was upstairs, probably smugly thinking he had everything under control. Maybe he did. Maybe I didn’t matter enough anymore for him to notice my outrage.

The evening passed in tense silence. Cecilia, oblivious to the storm brewing in my chest, played with her dolls, her laughter a thin shield against the anxiety tightening around me. I tried to focus on her, on the mundane tasks of dinner and tidying up, but my thoughts kept returning to Victoria. What was she planning? What had James been thinking?

That night, sleep didn’t come easily. I lay in the dark, the thin moonlight spilling across our bedroom floor, listening to the faint sounds of the estate settling. Cecilia was finally asleep, curled into the blankets with Pax at her feet. She insisted on sleeping in my room. The house was quiet, too quiet. My thoughts, however, refused to quiet down. Victoria. Why had James let her move in? Did he still care about her? Was this some kind of… test? Or punishment?

Every scenario I imagined ended with trouble, Cecilia caught in the crossfire, James blindsided by some scheme, and me forced to act without knowing all the facts.

Because sleep offered no relief. I decided to step outside. The garden was cool and shadowed, the scent of jasmine and wet earth filling my senses. It was the only place I could think clearly. I walked along the stone pathway, hands buried in my robe pockets, trying to untangle the jumble of anger, jealousy, and fear that churned inside me.

I rounded a corner near the main gate, and something caught my eye. A shadow moving quickly down the long driveway, deliberate and secretive. My stomach lurched. Victoria. Where was she going?

I froze for a second, my mind racing. What could she possibly be doing out here at this hour? Curiosity and dread twisted together, and before I could stop myself, I found my feet moving after her. I kept to the shadows, careful to remain unseen, my pulse hammering in my ears. I saw her give a few banknotes to the guard at the gate and he opened it for her. Once the guard left to put the money away I snuck out the closing gate.

The street was eerily quiet, the dim lamplight casting long, distorted shadows. I followed her down a series of side streets until I saw her stop at the corner, where a short, chubby man was waiting. My heart sank immediately. The way he smiled at her, the familiarity in their movements, the whisper of his voice, it all screamed danger.

Unable to bear the weight of the quiet, I rose, careful not to wake Cecilia, and stepped outside. The garden was cool, shadows stretching long and dark under the moonlight. I walked along the stone path, letting the night air fill my lungs and steady my racing thoughts. Then I saw her—a figure moving stealthily down the street. Victoria.

My heart lurched. She had left. I froze for a moment, the panic rising in my chest. Why would she leave in the dead of night? What could she possibly be doing out there? And more importantly… why had James allowed this?

Instinct took over. My feet moved before my mind caught up, following her silently, keeping to the shadows, my pulse hammering. The street was deserted, the dim lamplight casting distorted shadows across the pavement. Every step felt like trespassing into a world I wasn’t supposed to see.

She stopped at a corner, and a man appeared—short, stocky, his posture casual but with an air of calculated intent. My stomach twisted. I crouched behind a low wall, my heart racing as I watched. Victoria leaned toward him, speaking softly. He reached out, grabbing her arm, trying to pull her closer, his intentions unmistakable. My breath caught in my throat.

Victoria reacted instantly, slapping his hand and stepping back, her calm demeanor barely betraying the tension of the moment. I could hear fragments of their exchange: “I’ll get you the money, and after that you never contact me again understand?” she said, the words deliberate and sharp. My stomach sank. Money? What money? And why was this man pressing her like this?

I stayed there, frozen, until I saw her step back and finally disappear into the night, moving with an ease that belied the confrontation that had just happened. I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding, my hands shaking. Who was that man? And what money was he talking about? My mind raced through possibilities, each more alarming than the last. Blackmail? Extortion? Some debt she had incurred while she had been gone all those years? I didn’t know, and the uncertainty gnawed at me.

When I returned to my room, my thoughts refused to quiet down. I watched Victoria’s figure in my mind, the subtle confidence in her posture, the ease with which she had dealt with the man. James had let her move in, and now she was out there in the night, engaged in some secretive business that I couldn’t track. I wanted to scream, to storm through the house and demand answers from her, but I knew I couldn’t.

I lay down, staring at the ceiling, my mind unwilling to rest. Questions churned endlessly: Who was that man? What was Victoria planning? Why did James let her into our home? Does he still care about her? The tension in my chest grew, a heavy, suffocating weight. And yet, underneath it all, a smaller, quieter feeling persisted: concern. Not for Victoria, not even entirely for myself, but for Cecilia. Victoria was capable of manipulating or dragging anyone into danger, and I couldn’t let my daughter be involved.

Sleep finally claimed me in fits and starts, each dream disturbed by flashes of that man’s face, Victoria’s cool smile, the whispered words about money. Even in the darkness, I couldn’t stop thinking, couldn’t stop planning. I would find out who that man was. I would understand Victoria’s schemes. I would protect my daughter, and I would ensure that James, saw her for exactly what she was, no illusions, no doubts.

As dawn began to touch the edges of the estate, casting pale light across the gardens, I forced myself to rise. The day ahead would require vigilance, cunning, and courage. Victoria had moved in, and with her came the storm I had tried to avoid for years. But I would not be cowed. I would not be sidelined. For Cecilia and for myself, I would uncover every secret, see through every lie,

And yet, even as I made these resolutions, I could feel the gnawing fear at the back of my mind: the man, the money, Victoria’s secretive movements, what did she have planned? And more importantly… what would she do next?