His features were tight with anxiety, frustration carving deep lines around his mouth. The instant he spotted Isabella, he strode toward her.

Their gazes locked, and everything she had been holding back broke free. “Where is Liam?” she screamed, her voice cracking with terror. “Where is my son?!”

Ethan stopped short, an unidentifiable shadow passing through his eyes.

“I’m searching for him,” he said, his tone gravelly with exhaustion.

“Searching?” Isabella’s breath hitched, tears streaming down her face. “Was it because of Sophia?” Her voice turned razor-sharp, accusatory. “Because she got hurt, you just abandoned Liam?!” Her eyes burned into his, demanding the truth.

Ethan’s jaw clenched, his expression darkening. A heavy, suffocating silence fell between them.

“I didn’t abandon him,” he finally ground out. “Benjamin took him home. It’s just…”

“Just what?” Rage consumed her. She grabbed his collar, pulling him violently closer. “Just that you were too preoccupied with your girlfriend to care about us.”

Ethan’s face went stony. “Isabella…”

Isabella stumbled back, her legs buckling as she collapsed onto the floor. She buried her face in her hands, a raw sob tearing from her throat. “You don’t care about him at all,” she choked out, her voice shattered. “The only thing that matters to you is Sophia. Nothing we do, nothing Liam does, will ever mean as much to you as she does.”

All this time, she had clung to the fragile hope that somewhere in Ethan’s heart, there was a place for her and Liam, that he felt something real for them.

But she had been deluding herself. It was nothing but a cruel fantasy. The storm of emotions raging inside her meant nothing to him. Her lips trembled as she wept, the crushing weight of it all finally breaking her.

Ethan said nothing. He simply moved forward, his arms wrapping around her, lifting her from the cold floor and pulling her into a solid, unyielding embrace.

“Isabella, I will find him and bring him back to you,” his voice was low, unwavering. “I swear it.”

Isabella’s breath caught as she fought against his hold, pushing hard against his chest. “Let me go!” Her voice was ragged, thick with agony.

But he only held her tighter, his chin resting gently against the top of her head. “I won’t let go—not of either of you,” he whispered, as if it were the only truth left to hold onto.

Abruptly, a shrill ringtone cut through the tense atmosphere.

Ethan stiffened before answering his phone.

“Mr. Blackwood,” a hushed but urgent voice came from the other end. “Earlier this evening, Mrs. Victoria Blackwood arrived at the Hawthorne Residence, saw Liam, and took him with her.”

The words struck Isabella like a physical blow. Her head jerked up, eyes wide with shock and mounting fury.

“Victoria!” The name erupted from Isabella’s lips like a curse. She trembled with pure, unadulterated rage.