Chapter 121 Turning the Blame on Her
The thought of what might happen when Isla woke chilled Benjamin to the bone. He had no idea how to face her.
He knew better than anyone how deeply Isla hated Isabella. She had sworn she would rather die than let him contact her. How could she possibly accept her daughter's kidney?
He had thought they could keep this secret buried forever. He had never imagined it would come out like this.
Seeing the hatred carved into Isla's pale features, Benjamin had never felt more helpless.
Juniper pressed on with feigned concern. "Godfather, what happened? You look terrified."
Benjamin let out a heavy breath. "Isla knows. She knows Isabella donated the kidney. She collapsed when she found out."
"How is that possible?" Juniper's eyes widened in perfectly calibrated shock. "What are we going to do? Godmother still can't accept Isabella—when she wakes up, she's going to lose it. How did she even find out?"
Benjamin rubbed his temples and drew in a long breath.
"Just… bad timing. Bad luck."
He could not bring himself to blame Isabella. He could only hate himself for failing, after all these years, to help Isla move past the loss of Beatrice.
"What about Isabella? Does she know what happened?"
Benjamin nodded grimly. "This is a disaster. I need to figure out how to keep Isla from spiraling when she wakes up."
Juniper jumped in quickly. "Godfather, don't panic. Maybe it's not as bad as you think. You stay here with Godmother. I'll go check on Isabella—she must be scared out of her mind."
Benjamin felt a flicker of gratitude hearing her show concern for Isabella at a time like this.
"Thank you, Juniper. I appreciate it."
Juniper gave his shoulder a reassuring pat, then hurried out of the room.
This was too good not to share with William. She pulled out her phone and dialed, letting urgency bleed into her voice.
The moment he picked up, she launched in. "William, something terrible happened. Godmother found out Isabella donated the kidney. She passed out from the shock."
There was a beat of stunned silence on the other end. "How the hell did Ms. York find out?"
"I have no idea. I'm going to talk to Isabella now and find out what happened." She let the implication linger—that Isabella was to blame.
The second William heard that name, he connected the dots. Anger surged through him, hot and immediate.
"I'm downstairs. I'll be right there."
Juniper heard the ice in his voice and smiled to herself.
She walked into Isabella's room and found her sitting on the bed, worry carved into every line of her face.
Isabella turned at the sound of footsteps. When she saw who it was, fury flashed in her eyes. "You. This was you. You set this up."
The moment she'd returned to her room, Isabella had pieced it together. Juniper had orchestrated the whole thing. First, she'd lied to Isabella about the surgery failing, sending her running to the doctor's office in a panic.
Then she'd lured Isla to that exact spot at that exact time.
She had engineered the "coincidence" so that Isla would overhear the truth herself. That way, no one would ever suspect Juniper's involvement.
"You're sick. How could you do this to someone who just had surgery?"
Juniper's smile was cool and unbothered. "Do what? Even if you told people, who would believe you?"
Isabella's chest heaved. "I'll tell William. I'll tell my father. I'll tell them you tricked me into going there. That you planned all of this."
Juniper moved closer, leaning in until her lips were almost brushing Isabella's ear. Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"Go ahead. Tell them. See if they believe you."
She paused, then added, "And if they do believe you? I'll make sure your mother dies. She's so weak right now. It wouldn't take much."
The blood drained from Isabella's face. From the moment she'd agreed to donate her kidney, Juniper had been planning this. Laying traps.
If Isabella said one wrong word now, Isla could die.
Juniper caught movement in the hallway out of the corner of her eye. She straightened and patted Isabella's shoulder gently, raising her voice just enough to carry.
"Isabella, I know this wasn't your fault. But you shouldn't have gone to the doctor's office right now. People might think you wanted Godmother to find out."
William arrived just in time to hear that line. It confirmed everything he'd already assumed.
Isabella had done this on purpose.
She thought donating a kidney would make Isla forgive her. She thought it would erase everything. Like she deserved that kind of redemption.
"Isabella!" William's voice sliced through the room. "You haven't changed at all. You're still the same selfish, manipulative—" He stopped himself, jaw clenched. "You knew Ms. York hated you. Why the hell would you tell her?"
Isabella looked at him, too exhausted to defend herself.
Juniper stepped between them, hands raised. "William, calm down. She didn't mean for this to happen."
That only made him angrier. "Not meaning to doesn't make it okay! I warned her. I told her Ms. York could never find out. And she couldn't even keep it quiet for one day. She did this on purpose."
Isabella said nothing. All she could think about was what would happen when Isla woke up.
Juniper took William's hand, her voice soft and soothing. "Come on. Isabella just had surgery—she needs to rest. Let's go check on Godmother. Maybe you can help calm her down when she wakes up. It might not be as bad as we think."
She tugged him toward the door, glancing back at Isabella with a look of practiced sympathy. "Don't worry too much. Get some rest. We'll handle this."
Isabella stared at that false, saccharine smile and wondered how someone could wear two faces so seamlessly. How someone could be so convincing.
William looked back at Isabella one more time, his expression hard. He turned to Juniper. "Don't come see her alone anymore. I don't trust her not to hurt you."
Juniper's voice was gentle. "I just worry about her. We're family, after all."
William studied her face—so kind, so selfless—and felt something shift in his chest.
He'd brought up marriage before, and she hadn't pushed. Hadn't demanded anything. She'd stayed calm, patient. It made him feel guilty. And something else he couldn't quite name.
Juniper noticed the change in the way he looked at her.
If she kept this up, kept playing the part, she'd win him over eventually.
They returned to Isla's room together. She was still unconscious, Benjamin sitting at her bedside, clutching her hand like a lifeline.
"Godfather, how is she? When will she wake up?"
Benjamin opened his mouth to answer, but Isla's eyelids fluttered. Her fingers twitched.
He leaned in immediately, his voice soft. "Isla. You're awake."
Isla's eyes opened slowly. The moment she saw Benjamin, her expression twisted with rage. She looked at him as if he were a stranger. An enemy.
She shoved him away with what little strength she had. It wasn't much—she'd just come out of surgery—but it was enough to make him stumble back a step.
"Get out, Benjamin. I don't want to see you."
Benjamin's face creased with pain. He had no idea how to reach her.
"Are you trying to kill me? Is that what you want? I asked you one thing. One thing. Don't go to her. I told you I would rather die than let her save me. Why didn't you listen?"