Chapter 214 Crushed by Gold
A strong sense of foreboding welled up inside Isabella.
Belatedly, she felt a chill and fear wash over her.
Alexander's appearance at this moment undoubtedly meant he was here to take her life.
"You... how did you get in?! Guards! Where are the guards?!" Isabella's voice was shrill and urgent. "Bodyguards? Where are the bodyguards?!"
The bodyguards who had been dismissed by the butler not long ago gave no response. Only a few servants poked their heads out from behind Alexander, looking at Isabella with terrified expressions.
Looking closer, some of them had bloodstains on their clothes.
In that instant, Isabella was consumed by despair.
It was over.
Her people had been killed, and Alexander had taken them out silently.
Her body went limp, and she collapsed into the chair.
Alexander approached her slowly, stopping a few paces away. He leaned in slightly, staring at her with cold eyes.
"Last time in Grandhaven, I did not touch you because Damon spoke up for you. I gave him face."
"Now, no one is here to help you. Do you have any power left to shield you, Mrs. Neville?"
Isabella's body trembled uncontrollably.
She forced herself to stay calm and shouted with false bravado, "Alexander! What do you want?! This is Ashbourne, not Grandhaven! You dare to make trouble here?!"
"This indeed is not my territory," Alexander sneered.
"But is it your sanctuary then? As for the police..."
He raised his hand and waved it lightly.
Several muffled thuds came from outside the door, followed by silence.
Clearly, the people he brought had dealt with anyone who might call the police.
Isabella's last shred of hope vanished.
Looking into Alexander's unfathomable eyes, she suddenly remembered something and shouted with a trembling voice, "It was that bitch Caroline who killed Edith—she deserved it! I wanted to kill her for my beloved daughter! You cannot kill me, or Edith will not forgive you! She was the person you loved most! Look at me, I am Edith's mother!"
She still hoped to use Alexander's feelings for Edith to make him spare her.
However, she did not anticipate that when she screamed out Edith's name, Alexander's cold expression instantly darkened.
"Caroline..." he murmured softly. "Is already dead."
Dead?!
Isabella's eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at Alexander.
Had he not fallen for Caroline? Had he not almost killed her for Caroline's sake?
So how could Caroline be dead?
After the shock, Isabella's first reaction was intense satisfaction.
"She is finally dead!" Isabella let out a maniacal laugh.
"She killed my beloved Edith, and now she is finally dead! This is karma!"
Mark, standing behind Alexander, closed his eyes.
As one of those in the know, he understood better than anyone that Isabella's words were sealing her own fate.
Did she think that by showing her love for Edith in front of Alexander, he would spare her?
No, the person Alexander hated most now was Edith.
Alexander had come to kill her in the first place, and this time he probably would not let her die so easily.
"Do you really hate her so much, wishing her dead, because Caroline killed Edith?" Alexander asked suddenly.
Isabella was caught off guard, a flash of guilt crossing her eyes.
Then she forced herself to appear composed and puffed out her chest.
"Of course! Edith was my most precious daughter! It was that jinx Caroline who killed her! I hate her to the bone!"
"Is that so?" Alexander stepped forward, leaning down to stare into Isabella's eyes.
"All these years, pretending to be tormented by Edith's memory and the loss of your daughter must have been exhausting, right? Isabella, using this grief, how many benefits did you get from Damon, from those who sympathized with you? How many connections did you build? And you used this grief to cover up your cruelty and scheming toward Caroline, to hide your real purpose of bringing Celeste, that illegitimate daughter, back as a backup pawn?"
Hearing Alexander's words, Isabella's face turned pale.
She stared at him in disbelief, her lips quivering. "You... what do you know? Who told you? Was it that woman Celeste? Or..."
"It does not matter anymore," Alexander interrupted her.
He was too tired to waste more words on Isabella.
He was exhausted and just wanted to get this over with quickly.
"Your whole life, you have schemed against your husband, your daughters, everyone. For money, status, vanity—you could use all three of your daughters as bargaining chips and tools. Edith was your pawn to climb up to the Hamilton family, Caroline was your sacrifice to make Edith look better and take the fall when needed, and Celeste was your backup plan and spare chip. You only care about profit, not family."
He paused, watching the growing terror in Isabella's eyes, and pronounced his final judgment word by word.
"Then one day, you will die because of the wealth you value more than life itself."
With that, he waved his hand and ordered the bodyguards behind him, "Tie her up."
Two bodyguards stepped forward and, ignoring Isabella's screams and struggles, tied her firmly to the chair.
Then two bodyguards carried in a heavy box, opened it, and it was full of gleaming gold bars.
The servants standing at the door widened their eyes, and even Isabella was blinded by the golden light.
Alexander leaned down, casually picked up one bar, weighed it in his hand, then turned to look at Isabella, who was tied to the chair and trembling.
"Hit her with these," Alexander said to the servants.
The servants froze, too scared to move.
"However many you hit her with, you can take that many. Cash on the spot," Alexander added.
The lure of money was powerful in the face of fear and survival instinct.
After a brief silence, one bold male servant's eyes turned red.
He rushed into the study, grabbed a heavy gold bar from the safe, weighed it in his hand, then under Isabella's horrified gaze, smashed it down hard.
"Ah!" Isabella screamed.
The male servant used all his strength, and the gold bar hit her shoulder, breaking her collarbone.
Alexander nodded with satisfaction and had the bodyguard pick up that gold bar and place it at the male servant's feet.
"This gold bar is yours now."