Chapter 33 Framed
Isabella’s POV
Before I could open my mouth to say anything more, Landon’s grip on my throat loosened instantly, and he dropped me.
My knees slammed against the cold stone floor, followed by my palms as I gasped desperately for air. Violent coughs wracked my body as I clutched my bruised neck, sucking in ragged breaths that burned all the way down.
Sarah rushed to my side in an instant, dropping to her knees beside me. “Isabella…breathe,” she held my shaking hand and squeezed it tightly, her voice soft but urgent. “Just breathe through it. I’m right here.”
“Is what she just said true?” Landon turned slowly toward his sister, his movements deliberate and terrifying. “Were you the last person to bring her the tea?”
For a moment, Clara couldn’t move, her face went pale for half a second before she quickly composed herself. Then, she took a slow, calculated step back, widening her eyes in innocence.
“Y…yes, I brought her the herbal drink, but I only prepared it specially for strength after her…not eating for days.” She paused for a second, stepping closer to Landon now. “Why would I ever want to eliminate my own brother’s child? That’s ridiculous. I would never do such a monstrous thing.”
“Of course you would, Clara!” The words ripped out of me before I could stop them as I lifted my head from the floor, still struggling to breathe properly. “You’ve always hated me since the day I set foot here. But what you hated most was the fact that I was carrying Landon’s child…”
“….I can’t think of someone else who would do such a thing to me except you!” The tears began to spill uncontrollably down my face, sorrow and rage colliding together.
Clara’s eyes filled with tears instantly, as if told to do so. She turned to Landon, her voice breaking in the most convincing display of heartbreak I had ever seen.
“Brother… you see? She’s accusing me. Your own sister, after everything I’ve done for you and this pack, after standing by you when Father died. Now…this filthy rogue dares to blame me for her tragedy?”
Her tears spilled over dramatically, rolling down her cheeks as she clutched at Landon’s arm with trembling fingers. “I only wanted to help her regain strength for the heir. How can she twist my kindness into poison? She hates you, Landon. She’s always hated you for turning her into a slave…this is her revenge — to turn you against your own blood and destroy the future of this pack.”
I wanted to open my mouth to argue, to convince Landon that she was nothing but a lying bitch. But instead, all I could do was stare at her in utter disbelief. The manipulation was so smooth, so expertly performed, that even I almost questioned my own memory for a split second.
Clara looked every bit the innocent sister that would never do such a thing, while I sat on the cold floor covered in my own blood, broken and grieving the loss of my child.
“Landon, listen to Isabella…” Sarah’s voice cut through the tension, her voice firm and steady. “Clara has been nothing but cruel to her since she arrived here…you of all people know that she even threatened the baby more than once. This isn’t—“
“Enough!”
Landon’s voice thundered across the room, his tone leaving no room for argument. His gaze flickered slowly between the two of us, then back to Clara.
His jaw was clenched so tightly I feared his teeth might shatter. Before she could utter any more words, he stepped closer to her, studying her tear-streaked face with careful intensity.
Then he turned back to me, the expression in his eyes hardening into something terrifyingly final and cold.
“I know my sister,” he said quietly, his voice drooping to a low, dangerous whisper. “Clara would never harm my child because she’s my blood…she’s family. She has stood beside me through every battle, every loss. You, however…”
His eyes darkened dangerously as they landed on me, still lying uselessly on the floor. “I know you despise me so much for forcefully taking you as mine. You’ve fought me at every single turn and made it painfully clear how much you hate being here, how much you resent me for claiming you. It makes perfect sense that you would do….such a thing to rid yourself of my child.”
My heart shattered all over again the instant he uttered those words, the pieces cutting deeper than any physical wound.
“No…” I whispered, shaking my head weakly, my voice barely audible through the sobs. “That’s not true, Landon. You of all people know that I wanted this baby even when you didn’t. I protected it with everything I had. Why would I kill my own child?!”
Landon paid no attention to my desperate pleas. If anything, he stepped even closer, towering over me as I remained broken on the floor. His hand shot out, forcing my chin up until I had no choice but to meet his eyes.
“You will face the consequences of your actions, Isabella.”
“What…what do you mean by consequences?” I asked, looking up at him through the blur of my tears, my voice trembling.
Landon didn’t utter a word in response, he just stared down at me with those cold, ruthless eyes. Clara stood silently beside him, tears still streaking down her cheeks like perfect diamonds.
But when she thought no one else was looking, I caught the faintest, cruelest smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth.
What the—!
She actually did it!
Sarah looked horrified, her hand still resting protectively on my shoulder as if she could shield me from Landon’s ruthless rage. Meanwhile, all I could do was wait, trembling violently on the cold floor, my body still aching from the miscarriage.
And I knew, deep in my broken soul, that whatever decision Landon was going to make tonight…
Would be much worse than anything I had endured.