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
CHAPTER 86: DO YOU STILL LOVE HIM?When the lawyer left, Elijah paced back and forth like an enraged bull."I really don't understand you," he said with a hint of mockery. "I just offered to pay that money and you refuse? What's wrong with you, Isabella?"She turned around, clenching her hands, trying to contain her anger. Since the trial, Elijah had been making decisions in her life without consulting her, and she was no longer willing to tolerate it. After taking a deep breath, she turned to him and said calmly:"I don't want you to take on that debt because you've done enough already, understand? I... I'll find a way to solve it, you don't have to..."Suddenly, Elijah's amused laughter cut her off."Solve it? How? Do you have the five million? No, right? So, how are you going to do it? Eh, how?"She frowned, not liking Elijah's attitude."You know what? It's better if you leave, you're very angry and...""Yes, I am angry! I'm furious! And do you know why? Because I try every way to
"CHAPTER 87: COLD INDIFFERENCEOnce the meeting was over, the parents dispersed into small groups to chat. Sebastian, isolated at the other end of the school garden, hadn't stopped watching Isabella for a moment, attentive to her every gesture, wondering how he could be so foolish. He remembered the happy days with her, and each memory was a dagger in his heart."I'm going to make you forgive me, my love. I'm going to make you understand that I was an idiot, but I won't do it again," he thought.He noticed Elias's absence by his side, which increased the spark of hope in his chest. Mateo's words echoed in his mind as he gathered the courage to approach her."Isabella," he exclaimed in a low but firm voice, "can we talk for a moment?"Isabella turned slowly, her face a mask of indifference. A nearby mother murmured an apology before walking away, leaving them alone."Now is not a good time, Sebastian," she responded coldly, her voice dripping with disdain. "Besides, I don't see that we
CHAPTER 88: GIFT FOR WHOM?Lucy was finishing inflating the last balloon while Isabella grabbed another. They were in the living room decorated with bright colors and balloons everywhere. Nicholas, the little one, was in another room, excited about the party."So you're going to talk to him," she said, trying to sound casual.Isabella sighed deeply, feeling a knot in her stomach. The pressure in her chest increased every time she thought about facing Sebastián. Her thoughts were a whirlwind of conflicting emotions: love, pain, and a hint of hope."I have no other choice," she responded. "Our companies are linked, and if he's a bit smart, he'll agree to rescind and separate them."Lucy watched her friend with concern. She knew Isabella well enough to know that this whole situation was affecting her more than she let on. She approached and took her by the shoulders."Isabella... Why don't you try giving him a chance?" she suggested.Isabella looked at her in astonishment and touched her