Chapter 230
She gestured to the corner of her desk. There, sitting in a place of honor, was the blue and white porcelain vase — bearing a spiderweb of fine cracks, scars from its near-destruction, but whole, its beauty now carrying the weight of a survival story.
Arland sighed and pulled up a chair. “You need to file for a restraining order, Isolde. This is escalating.”
“Not until the divorce is finalized,” Isolde said firmly, her eyes on her laptop screen. “I won’t give them any ammunition to claim I’m trying to alienate the child before the settlement. Now — let’s talk about work.”
Before Arland could argue, the office door burst open. Harper rushed in clutching a tablet, her face flushed with urgency.
“Have you guys seen the news?” Harper asked, breathless. “Belle is back.”
Arland frowned. “What now?”
Harper tapped the wall-mounted screen, casting the live feed onto the display. “She’s at the airport.”
On the screen, Belle was surrounded by flashing cameras and microphones, looking radiant and basking in the attention, her smile practiced and sweet.
“Miss Escobar,” a reporter called out, thrusting a microphone forward. “That bracelet is unique! Is it a new release from a luxury brand?”
The camera zoomed in on Belle’s wrist. Strung on a crude wire was a chaotic assortment of glittering, multicolored crystals.
ѕ𝘩а𝘳𝖾 𝗒о𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝗵о𝘶g𝘩ts on 𝗴𝖺l𝗻o𝗏e𝗹𝘴.с𝗼𝘮
Belle laughed — a sound like tinkling bells. “Oh, this? No, it’s not a brand. My son Kaiden made it for me with his own hands.” She touched the beads with practiced tenderness. “It’s not expensive, just some old beads he found. But it’s full of love. That’s what matters, right?”
Isolde stared at the screen, her blood running cold. She recognized those beads instantly. They weren’t old beads. They were the salvaged remnants of the necklace Kaiden had cut apart — the very incident that had left her wrist bandaged.
“Not expensive,” Isolde whispered, a bitter smile touching her lips.
Arland stepped closer to the screen and squinted. Then his eyes widened. “Wait. Those aren’t just beads. That’s the necklace I gave you — the one with the rare tourmalines and sapphires.”
“Yes,” Isolde said, her voice devoid of emotion. “She’s calling a small fortune ‘not expensive.’ And she’s using my flesh and blood to perfect her persona of a loving mother.”
Arland slammed his hand on the conference table, the sound cracking through the room. “That is too much. She’s wearing the proceeds of an assault on national television. This is bullying, plain and simple.”
Isolde, however, didn’t look angry. A strange, calculating calm settled over her features. She leaned back in her chair, watching Belle’s performative humility.
“Don’t be upset, Arland,” she said softly. “This isn’t bullying. It’s evidence.”
“Evidence?”
“Belle just publicly confirmed that Kaiden made that bracelet,” Isolde explained, her mind moving three steps ahead. “If I report the necklace as stolen — which it was — and the stolen goods are currently on her wrist, being broadcast to the entire country…”
Arland’s eyes lit up. “You want to have her arrested for possession of stolen property?”
.