Chapter 241
“Hey!” Kaiden’s bratty voice blared out. “I want those chocolate chip cookies you make! Bring them to my house tomorrow!”
Isolde swiped to the next message. It was a photo — a picture of a rare, illustrated children’s book she had bought for him two years ago. The pages had been violently ripped out, the spine snapped in half. Beneath the photo was a single line of text: Trash! Just like you!
Isolde’s thumb hovered over the screen.
For five years, she had made excuses for him. She had told herself he was just a child, that he was acting out because Grayson was absent. But she saw the truth now. Kaiden was a perfect reflection of Belle’s rot, and her patience was only feeding his cruelty.
Isolde took a deep breath. She tapped his profile icon, scrolled to the bottom of the menu, and pressed Block Contact.
The screen flashed red for a moment. Then the chat thread vanished.
The digital silence that followed was absolute, and it felt like a heavy weight lifting from her chest.
She didn’t stop there. She opened her main contacts list, found Grayson’s personal cell phone number, and blocked that too — leaving only his assistant’s number unblocked for legal emergencies.
𝗙𝘪n𝖽 𝘯𝘰𝘃𝖾𝗅 𝖯𝘋Fs 𝗈𝗇 𝗴𝘢l𝘯𝗼𝘷𝗲𝗅𝘀.𝗰𝘰𝗆
Isolde stood and walked down the hall to Effie’s bedroom.
Effie was standing in front of her full-length mirror, wearing a brand-new miniature equestrian outfit: tan jodhpurs, a crisp white shirt, and tiny leather riding boots. She spun around, her face glowing with excitement.
“Mommy, do I look handsome?”
Isolde knelt down and gently adjusted the collar of Effie’s shirt. “You look like the most handsome rider in the whole world.”
Effie’s smile faltered slightly. She looked down at her boots. “Will Daddy be there? Kaiden told me Daddy is going to take him to ride the big horses.”
Isolde’s heart gave a painful squeeze. She reached out and cupped Effie’s soft cheek. “He might be,” she said, looking directly into her daughter’s eyes. “But Effie, listen to me. We do not need him there to have fun. We are going to be happy all by ourselves.”
Effie nodded slowly, her small face serious. “Okay. As long as you are there, Mommy, I am happy.”
Isolde pulled her into a tight hug and swore to herself, right then and there, that she would build a fortress around this child.
At that exact same moment, inside the Lancaster penthouse, Kaiden was sitting on the living room rug, violently tapping the screen of his iPad.
A red exclamation mark appeared next to his message. Message Not Delivered.
Kaiden’s face turned bright red. He hurled the iPad across the room. It bounced off the sofa and hit the floor with a dull thud.
“She blocked me!” Kaiden screamed, kicking his legs. “Dad! She blocked me!”
Grayson was sitting in his armchair, reviewing a quarterly report. He frowned and lowered the papers. “Who blocked you?”
“That bad woman!” Kaiden yelled, jabbing a finger at the iPad. “I told her to bring me cookies and she blocked me!”
.
.