“Mom, are you all right? You’re frightening me.” Lucas had never witnessed his mother so distraught or emotionally exposed.

Daniel, visibly shaken, attempted to rouse Eleanor by gently patting her cheeks. His tone was sharp with worry. “Lucas, what should we do? Aunt Eleanor has collapsed.”

“We need to get her to a hospital immediately!” Lucas responded without hesitation, lifting Eleanor’s arms and moving swiftly toward the exit.

Before departing, he cast Isabella a long, deeply apologetic, and troubled glance. “Isabella, I am so sorry… You should go… I will handle everything here.”

With that, he hurried out, supporting Eleanor.

Isabella stood frozen, watching Lucas disappear, her emotions in complete disarray. She desperately wanted to follow him, to demand answers, but her feet felt rooted to the spot.

The surrounding crowd did not disperse following Eleanor’s collapse; instead, their murmuring grew more intense.

“Good heavens! Isn’t that the woman involved with Mr. Blackwood three years ago?”

“Yes, that’s her! I remember now. The newspapers published photos, accusing her of sabotaging Sophia and Mr. Blackwood’s relationship. They labeled her the homewrecker.”

“It’s shocking, really. She looks so innocent, yet she’s been at the center of such scandals.”

“Exactly! First Mr. Blackwood, and now Mr. Grant? She certainly gets around.”

“Women like her just have a certain hold over men, don’t they?”

“Tsk, tsk. How utterly shameless! And to have the audacity to show up here, acting as if she can manipulate the Grant family as she pleases.”

“I completely agree…”

Each cruel comment felt like a physical blow to Isabella.

She bit down hard on her lower lip.

She ached to refute the accusations, to shout to everyone that she was not the other woman. Yet, her throat constricted, rendering her silent. In such a venomous atmosphere, any defense seemed weak and pointless, likely only provoking further attacks.

Within the crowd, a woman in a sharp business suit observed Isabella with icy detachment. Her name was Charlotte Perry, a secretary in the CEO’s office at Grant Group and a secret admirer of Lucas. She was also an heiress of the Perry family, having concealed her true identity to work closely with Lucas.

Charlotte had watched silently as Lucas repeatedly encountered difficulties because of Isabella, fueling a fierce jealousy within her. Today, seeing Lucas defend Isabella against his own mother, resulting in Eleanor’s collapse, her jealousy erupted uncontrollably. She could not stand seeing the man she loved suffer for a woman she deemed utterly unworthy.

She refused to be defeated by someone she considered so far beneath her.

“What’s wrong, Charlotte? You seem terribly upset,” a colleague, aware of her feelings, asked with concern.

“It’s nothing,” Charlotte replied curtly, turning her back on the scene. Her eyes narrowed, her lips curling into a contemptuous sneer. “Isabella, you seem to crave the spotlight. Very well, I’ll make sure you get more attention than you can possibly handle. I will see to it that you are completely humiliated, unable to show your face in polite society again,” Charlotte vowed silently.

Isabella felt utterly abandoned, isolated amidst the throng. Her body trembled, her legs nearly buckling beneath her. She didn’t know how she managed to exit the Grant Group building. The cutting remarks followed her, offering no respite.

By the time she reached her studio, it was noon. The employees had left for lunch, leaving the space empty and silent. She stumbled to her desk and collapsed into her chair, completely overwhelmed.

Her mind was a chaotic whirlwind of thoughts, intensifying her pounding headache. She struggled to comprehend how everything had unraveled so catastrophically. Ethan… Lucas… These names pressed down on her heavily, suffocating her.