Chapter 125 Mad Pursuit
Isabella finally caught her breath, but her chest burned with a thousand pinpricks of pain.
She looked down at her palms, at the angry red burns marking her skin. Compared to the agony tearing through her heart, the physical pain barely registered.
Her grandmother's letter had been reduced to ash. The watch thrown out the window. Every fragile thing that had kept her alive through the darkest nights—William had destroyed them all with his own hands.
She sank back onto the hospital bed and stared at the ceiling, her vision blurring.
The nurse saw that dead look in her eyes and sighed. "Ms. Tudor, if there's anything you want to eat, or drink, or anyone you want me to call, just let me know."
Isabella's expression remained hollow. She didn't respond.
Who could she call?
Her mother wanted her dead. William couldn't stand the sight of her.
There was no one.
Evening came. The door to her room eased open.
Isabella assumed it was the nurse. She didn't even lift her eyelids until a hesitant male voice spoke. "Isabella."
Her head whipped around. Benjamin stood in the doorway, holding a thermal food container.
Isabella's throat tightened, but no words came out.
After everything she'd said yesterday, she'd been certain her father would hate her. That he'd never come back. But here he was, standing in her doorway.
Benjamin crossed to the bed and set the container on the nightstand. When he opened it, steam rose from the broth inside.
"I asked the nurse what you could eat. You're on liquids only right now. I was making some for your mother anyway, so I brought you some too."
His voice was soft, careful, like he was afraid of disturbing something fragile.
He feared Isla would find out he'd come to see Isabella.
Isla had been watching him like a hawk all day. This was the only window he'd had to slip away.
"Isabella, I understand what you were trying to do. And I'm grateful. Don't take what your mother said to heart. I'm apologizing on her behalf."
Isabella's eyes burned. "Dad, you don't need to apologize. I don't blame Mom. I just want her to live."
Benjamin patted her shoulder gently. "Silly girl. You need to live too. I believe your mother will accept you someday."
Tears spilled down Isabella's cheeks.
"Make sure you eat. I need to get back before your mother notices I'm gone and worries."
"Dad. Thank you."
Benjamin gave her a reassuring smile and gestured toward the food, reminding her to eat. He looked at her one more time before reluctantly leaving.
Isabella watched his retreating figure. For the first time, something flickered to life in her empty eyes.
At least Benjamin still cared. He still loved her.
When the nurse came in, she found Isabella eating—the first time she'd touched food since being admitted.
"Ms. Tudor, you seem to be feeling better. Let me turn on the TV for you. A little background noise makes meals more enjoyable."
The nurse thought she looked too isolated in this room by herself. Maybe the sound of the television would distract her, make the pain less sharp.
Isabella nodded. The nurse smiled and switched on the TV.
The moment the screen lit up, Isabella went rigid.
"Wait!" Isabella stopped the nurse before she could change the channel. "Turn it up. Please."
The nurse glanced at the screen—footage of a small house being demolished. She didn't understand why Isabella was reacting so strongly.
Isabella's pupils contracted to pinpoints. That courtyard covered in climbing roses. That garden her grandmother had tended with her own hands. It was being torn apart.
The entire property had been leveled. The excavator's metal arm was still swinging, clouds of dust rolling through the air. The rose bushes had been ripped out by the roots. The two magnolia trees her grandmother had planted herself had been cut down and left lying by the roadside.
The news anchor was reporting that the Spencer Group had begun demolition today on an old estate in the suburbs. They planned to build a resort on the site.
William.
He'd actually done it. He'd bulldozed her grandmother's house. His threats hadn't been empty. Without warning, without mercy, he'd destroyed the place where she'd lived for over ten years.
That was her grandmother's house. That was where all her memories lived. It was the only place on earth that had ever been hers, and he'd ripped it away.
A sound tore from her throat—raw, animal.
Isabella ripped the IV from her hand. The nurse tried to stop her, but Isabella was already gone, bolting from the room like a wild, hunted animal.
The hallway air hit her face like a slap. She didn't care. Her mind held only one thought—get back there. Even if there was nothing left but rubble, she had to go back.
William had just reached her room when he saw Isabella tearing down the corridor. She was barefoot, running like a creature that had lost all reason.
"Isabella, stop!"
She didn't hear him. She kept running.
"Stop her!"
His command cut through the air like ice. The bodyguards moved immediately.
William didn't know what had set her off. Then he heard the television in her room. He strode inside and saw the demolition footage on the screen.
He'd come here to tell her himself. He hadn't expected her to be watching TV today.
He stepped back into the hall and barked at his men. "Grab her!"
The bodyguards swarmed forward. Hands like ice clamped around Isabella's arms. She was like a cornered animal, throwing herself forward with everything she had. There was no sign she was injured at all.
Isabella ran faster than she'd ever run in her life. Every ounce of strength she had left went into her legs.
The cold tile floor bit into her bare feet. She didn't dare stop.
The more they chased her, the more desperately she ran.
William's brow furrowed. The woman had lost her mind. Even he might not be able to catch her at this speed.
She recalled a quiet service road behind the hospital that led to the suburbs. If she could just get outside and find a car, she could get home.
She had to get back.
But the bodyguards' footsteps were getting closer. They were almost on her.
Panic drove her sideways. She saw a door standing ajar and threw herself through it without thinking.
Behind the door was a laboratory.
The sharp smell of chemicals hit her immediately. Shelves lined the walls, crowded with bottles and beakers. A Bunsen burner flickered on one of the benches.
She didn't register any of the danger. She only wanted to escape, to get out of this hospital.
She stumbled, barely catching herself. The bodyguards burst in behind her, then froze when they saw where they were.
"Ms. Tudor, please come back with us."
One of them reached for her. She threw up her arm to block him and slammed into the lab bench.
A dull thud—a bottle labeled "FLAMMABLE" toppled to the floor. Glass shattered. Liquid spread fast, evaporating in seconds. When the fumes hit the open flame of the Bunsen burner, blue fire erupted across the floor.
"Get out! Ms. Tudor, move!"