Chapter 537

Chapter 537:

“Madam! Your pills!” Thomas shouted in alarm.

The foyer dissolved into chaos again. Grayson stood holding Isolde steady while his grandmother was collapsing. Genevieve and Victoria cried out at once.

Isolde pulled herself free from his supporting arms. “Go to your grandmother,” she said, her voice firm and even. “I can leave on my own p>

Grayson looked at her — at the resolve set into her pale face — and clenched his jaw. “Arthur is outside. Let the driver take you p>

Isolde gave a single, curt nod. She took Effie’s hand and walked swiftly away from the chaos without looking back.

Qu𝗮𝘭𝗂𝗍𝗒 t𝗋a𝗻sl𝗮𝗍𝘪𝗈𝘯𝘀 o𝘯

As she pushed through the heavy front door, she heard a thud and a collective gasp from behind her — the sound of Beatrice finally giving way.

Isolde pulled the door shut with a finality that rattled the windows. She knew with absolute clarity that the war inside the Lancaster family had only just begun.

Inside the cool leather interior of the waiting car, she let out a long, slow breath. The pain in her back pulsed with every heartbeat, deep and fiery.

Effie unbuckled herself from her booster seat and wrapped her small arms around her mother’s neck. She pressed her face into Isolde’s shoulder and whispered, her voice muffled but certain.

“Mommy, let’s never come here again p>

The car glided smoothly along the highway toward the city, morning sunlight spilling through the windows but failing to cut through the heavy silence inside. Arthur kept his eyes on the road, quiet and cautious, not daring to disturb the woman in the back seat.

Isolde leaned against the headrest, holding the still-sleeping Effie in her arms. The little girl had slept poorly through the night, her small face buried against Isolde’s shoulder, her fist clutching her mother’s shirt. Isolde stared at the blurred scenery rushing past outside, her chest tight with a tangled weight of exhaustion, anger, and quiet dread. Peace felt farther away than it ever had.

Her phone vibrated sharply, jolting her from her thoughts. She shifted carefully, trying not to wake Effie, and pulled it out. Her heart lurched when she saw the name on the screen.

Ellyn.

She answered in a low, steady voice. “Mom, what’s wrong p>

Her mother’s voice broke through the speaker — fractured, tear-choked, stripped of all composure. “Isolde, where are you? Your uncle Saul — he collapsed. He won’t wake up p>

The blood drained from Isolde’s face. “An ambulance — did you call an ambulance p>

Saul was her last steady anchor. The man who had protected and provided for their small family since her childhood. Without him, everything would unravel.

“He’s on his way to New York Presbyterian,” Ellyn sobbed. “The paramedics are saying acute lung infection from overwork, leading to multiple organ failure. It’s critical, Isolde p>

The car seemed to tilt. Isolde tightened her hold on Effie, who stirred faintly at her mother’s tension, and forced herself to focus.