Chapter 122 The Breaking Point
Isla slammed her fist against her chest, her voice raw with fury. "I'd rather rip that vile woman's kidney out of my body right now than let it stay inside me. I told you—I would rather die than accept anything from her."
Benjamin watched her hand slam dangerously close to the incision. He lunged forward and grabbed her, pinning her arms against her sides.
"Isla, stop. You're going to tear your stitches open."
"Good! Let them tear. I want this thing out of me. I want to give it back to her. I would rather die than have her kidney inside me."
"Isabella is our daughter too. She was trying to save you."
Isla thrashed against his grip, her eyes blazing with hatred. "She is NOT my daughter! She's a murderer. She killed my Beatrice. I will never forgive her. Not in this lifetime."
Benjamin felt something crack inside his chest. He didn't recognize this woman anymore.
When Isla couldn't break free, she dropped her head and sank her teeth into his forearm.
Juniper gasped, feigning shock. "Godmother, please—you just had surgery. You can't get worked up like this. Just… pretend nothing happened, okay? I just want you to get better."
Isla ignored her completely. Her gaze stayed fixed on Benjamin as she bit down harder.
Benjamin gritted his teeth and held on until blood filled Isla's mouth. Only then did she release him.
William stood frozen, unsure how to intervene.
Juniper's eyes welled with tears. "Godfather, you're bleeding."
Benjamin waved her off. He didn't care about the blood. He only wanted Isla to calm down.
Isla finally stopped struggling. When she spoke, her voice was cold and sharp. "Bring Isabella here. I want that woman in front of me right now. She donated her precious kidney to me—the least I can do is thank her properly."
The sarcasm dripped from every word. William caught Dylan's eye and jerked his head toward the door. Dylan disappeared immediately.
Isla's impatience crackled through the room. "Where is she? Tell her to get in here. Now."
"Godmother, please—you're scaring me." Juniper had never seen Isla like this. It was even better than she'd hoped.
Isla was beyond hearing anyone. All she wanted was to see Isabella.
When Dylan came to get her, Isabella followed him with dread pooling in her stomach. "How is she? Is she… okay?"
Dylan's expression was grim. "Not really."
Isabella had expected as much. She didn't care what Isla said to her—she just hoped this wouldn't damage her mother's recovery.
The moment she stepped into the room, Isla's gaze sliced into her like shards of glass.
Isla's voice was acid. "Well, look who's here. Our hero. I should thank you, shouldn't I? For forcing me toward death in the most creative way possible."
Isabella shook her head. She'd never wanted that.
"You knew how much I despise you. And you gave me your kidney anyway. Were you trying to make me sick? Did you think I'd be grateful? That I'd forgive you for killing Beatrice?
"Let me make this crystal clear—I will never forgive you. Not ever."
Isla's rage spilled out like venom.
"I regret it. I regret giving birth to you. You should have died in my womb. Or better yet—I should have strangled you the moment you were born. Then you never would have killed my precious Beatrice."
Tears streamed down Isabella's face. "Mom, I'm your daughter too."
"SHUT UP!" Isla's voice was a roar. "You are not my daughter. Beatrice was my daughter. You're a curse. I should never have let you come back. You should have died out there in the cold."
Isabella had known Isla hated her. But she'd never imagined it ran this deep.
Isla's hands clenched into fists. She looked like she wanted to tear Isabella apart with her bare hands.
"Listen to me, Isabella. You gave me your kidney? Fine. I'm giving you my life back. We're even. I'm telling you right now—I would rather die than let you save me."
Before anyone could react, she shoved Benjamin aside and threw herself toward the wall.
She moved so fast Benjamin couldn't catch her. Her head was inches from the concrete when William grabbed her and yanked her back.
"Ms. York, stop!"
Isla fought against him like a wild animal. The thought of Isabella's kidney inside her body made her want to claw her own skin off.
"Let me go! Let me die! I will not accept this—I won't!"
Benjamin wrapped his arms around her. "Isla, please. If something happens to you, what am I supposed to do?"
Isla's hand cracked across his face.
"You bastard! This is your fault! If you hadn't gone behind my back and brought her here, I wouldn't be doing this. Get out of my way. I'm going to throw myself at that wall and die right in front of her. I won't give her the satisfaction."
Isabella watched her mother spiral, tears blurring her vision. She'd only wanted to save her. How had it come to this?
Isla had a fresh surgical wound, so Benjamin couldn't hold her too tightly. She wrenched herself free and bolted for the window. Before anyone could stop her, she was climbing onto the ledge with a strength that shouldn't have been possible.
"Isla, don't do this!"
"Godmother, get down!"
"Ms. York, it's not safe!"
All three of them shouted at once. None of them had expected her to go this far.
Isla's eyes were bloodshot, consumed by rage. She glared at Isabella with pure venom. "I would rather die than accept anything from you. I'm giving you back your precious gift right now."
That was when Isabella finally understood. Her mother truly would rather die than live with her kidney.
Benjamin's eyes were wet. "Isla, I already lost Beatrice. Are you going to make me lose you too?"
Isla pointed at Isabella. "She's the one forcing me to do this. After Beatrice died, I didn't want to live anymore anyway. Now I can finally join her."
"Then jump!" Isabella's voice cut through the room like a whip.
Everyone froze. Even Isla turned to stare at her.
Isabella's voice was ice. "If you want to die so badly, then do it. Jump."
Benjamin's face went white. "Isabella, what the hell are you saying?"
William looked like he wanted to strangle her. "Have you lost your mind? How can you say that to her?"
Juniper wiped at her tears, her voice trembling. "Isabella, how could you? Are you trying to kill her?"
Isabella laughed—a cold, bitter sound. "Yes. That's exactly what I'm trying to do. I knew she'd never accept my kidney. So I gave it to her anyway. And I made sure she found out. Because I wanted her to die."
The room went silent. Everyone stared at her with disgust.
Isabella's voice was flat and merciless. "Isla, I'm done with you. So what if I killed Beatrice? So what if I slept with William? What are you going to do about it?"