CHAPTER 78: "TAKING ADVANTAGE OF WEAKNESSES"A groan escaped from Sebastián as he opened his eyes, his temples throbbing from the intense headache. He looked around and found himself in his private room at the company. The room was dim, with the dawn light filtering through the blinds. Clothes were scattered on the floor, and the air was heavy with the scent of alcohol and perfume. The surprise was greater when he realized he was naked."What the hell...?" he murmured, hurriedly getting up and realizing he was alone. But everything indicated that he had been with someone, though the woman in question was not there.Suddenly, blurry images of the previous night began to appear in his mind. However, he couldn't see the woman's face."Fuck... Who was I with?" A brief memory of Isabella appeared, and his eyebrows furrowed. "Isabella?"For a moment, he contemplated the possibility but then dismissed it. He thought it was impossible given their current situation. He went to the bathroom to
CHAPTER 79: WRONG NUMBERIsabella swallowed and answered."Hello?"However, no one spoke from the other end of the line."Hello?"Elijah, who had seen Sebastián's name on the screen, decided to intervene on purpose."Honey, do you want to have lunch at the French restaurant? I still remember it was your favorite food when we were in college."Isabella turned and saw Elijah looking straight ahead while driving. On the other end of the line, Sebastián gripped the phone tightly. He had called because he wanted to know if she was the woman who had been in the office. Although Inesa told him it was her, something inside him refused to accept it as true. Instead, his heart screamed that it was Isabella.But now he realized they were just foolish longings because she had left him behind too easily. So, he hung up without saying anything.In the car, Isabella looked at the screen while her heart raced, unable to stop wondering about the reason for that call.Elijah noticed her unease and gave
CHAPTER 80: CONFRONTATIONThe trial began, and Sebastián's lawyer wasted no time attacking Isabella."Your Honor, my client, Sebastián, has been an exemplary father, while Mrs. Collins has proven to be completely unfit to care for the children." The lawyer paused, looking at Isabella with disdain. "Not only has she shown a lack of emotional stability, but she has also committed deplorable acts in the past."Isabella looked at the lawyer anxiously, shaking her head, but his words hit her like daggers."Six years ago, Mrs. Collins profited from Nicholas. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we are talking about an act that warrants a prison sentence." The lawyer raised a document. "Here I have proof of the emails sent to my client and the sum of money she received in payment for Nicholas ten years ago."Isabella felt her world collapse around her. Elijah took her hand and whispered in her ear."Calm down, Isabella. We are prepared for this."From the other side of the room, Sebastián watched the
CHAPTER 81: TRUTHThe atmosphere in the courtroom grew increasingly tense. Sebastián's lawyer, with an unrelenting expression, continued his verbal assault."Your Honor, it is evident that Mrs. Isabella pursued my client with the sole purpose of taking advantage of his vulnerability. She offered herself as a surrogate mother not out of altruism but to emotionally manipulate Sebastián and secure her position in his life. All this, under the pretext of saving Nicholas."The lawyer's words echoed in the room, causing a restless murmur among those present. Isabella, sitting in her chair, widened her eyes, unable to believe what she was hearing. Her hands trembled slightly as she tried to remain calm.Sebastián, for his part, furrowed his brow and looked at the lawyer with a mix of disbelief and anger. He was about to stand up and protest when Inesa, sitting next to him, grabbed his arm firmly."Don't do something stupid, Sebastián," she whispered, her eyes locked onto his with palpable in
CHAPTER 82: LOSING IT ALLThe judge struck his gavel, calling for order in the courtroom, which had descended into a chaos of murmurs and surprised exclamations."Order in the court!" he demanded, his voice resonating with authority.Sebastián, still stunned by the revelation, felt the force of his emotions leave him breathless. Inesa, beside him, looked at him with concern, aware of the impact this truth was having on him.Isabella's lawyer wasted no time and addressed Roberto again."Mr. Márquez, can you detail what kind of deal Mr. Becker made with Sebastián Ashford?"Roberto nodded slowly, his nervousness palpable."Mr. Becker... paid me to tell Sebastián Ashford that a woman he had spent the night with was willing to sell him the child. He assured me it was for the child's best interest and that the mother did not want to be involved."Isabella's lawyer turned to the judge."Your Honor, it is clear that my client, Mrs. Isabella Collins, has been a victim of manipulation by her ex
CHAPTER 83: THERE'S NOTHING BETWEEN USCoraline hurried to embrace her son; since he had become an adult, she had never seen him so defeated."We will find a way, you are..." Coraline began to say, but was interrupted by Isabella's appearance.Although her son and even she herself had judged Isabella wrongly at some point, asking the judge to keep her son from seeing the children was too much. She was about to say something when Roger took her hand and shook his head.Isabella wetted her lips and gathered the courage to speak."I... will speak with the judge. I think there was a mistake, maybe the lawyer misunderstood, I never..." her eyes tried not to look at Sebastián, but he had his eyes fixed on her, feeling an emptiness taking over him. "I never asked to keep the children away from Sebastián," she finished saying. "I will talk to the judge and let him know my decision. All I wanted was for..."She paused to control her heart. Deep down, she wanted to go to him, hug him, tell him
CHAPTER 84: PAYING FOR YOUR ACTIONSBecker MansionAmanda was finishing feeding her son when the doorbell rang. It rang incessantly."I'm coming! I'm coming!" she said, as she headed to the entrance.When she opened the door, several police officers quickly entered."You... what are you doing here? Why...?""Who is it?" Marcus was finishing buttoning his shirt cuffs and coming down the stairs. His eyebrows furrowed upon seeing the officers. "What are you doing in my house?""Mr. Becker, you are under arrest for charges of theft and child trafficking," one of the officers said seriously."What?! There must be a mistake, I am not guilty of anything!" Marcus exclaimed, his voice full of incredulity and desperation.Amanda's eyes widened, and she hurried to intervene."Who is accusing my husband? He hasn't done anything! Who...?""The evidence was presented in court," the officer responded firmly. "You stole and sold your ex-wife Isabella Collins' child."The officer's statement hit both
CHAPTER 85: WHAT'S THE POINT OF SELF-DESTRUCTION?"Where is he?" Mateo asked a worried Coraline."He's upstairs, he hasn't left his room in two weeks. We've tried talking to him, but..." she covered her mouth, stifling a sob, "...he refuses to listen. He hasn't even seen the kids since Isabella brought them."Mateo sighed and nodded, heading towards the stairs."I'll talk to him, he can't go on like this.""Please, Mateo, you're his best friend. I... I can't stand seeing my son in this state, he... he's not my Sebastián.""Don't worry, Coraline, he'll snap out of it today."Mateo gave her a small smile and went to see his friend. He climbed the stairs with determination. When he reached Sebastián's bedroom door, he took a deep breath and opened it slowly.The smell of alcohol hit him immediately, making him wrinkle his nose."Jesus, how long have you been drinking?" Mateo said, navigating through the bottles and approaching his friend.Sebastián was half-lying on the bed, with a beard