Chapter 428

It just so happened to be an entry about Andrew Lane and Isabella Austin.
“Andrew Lane and Isabella Austin Dining with Family.”
The post hadn’t made it to the trending charts, but it was still drawing a fair amount of attention. Plenty of Isabella Austin’s fans had flocked to the comments, offering their congratulations and well-wishes.
Curious, Emily Blair clicked in for a closer look. As expected, it was nothing more than photos of Andrew Lane, Isabella Austin, and their families—the Lanes and the Austins-gathered for dinner, snapped candidly from behind and posted online, sparking a flurry of cheerful, giddy comments.
Over the years, Andrew Lane had always kept a low profile. There was barely any personal information about him online. But when it came to Isabella Austin, he seemed to toss his own rules aside, frequently making public appearances with her at high-profile events.
Everyone knew who Andrew Lane was; no media outlet would dare publish his photos or details without his say-so. Which meant that this round of rumors could only have been sanctioned by Andrew himself.
Emily mulled it over. Andrew’s motives probably had something to do with Isabella’s penchant for attention and self-promotion online or maybe he just wanted to smother the lingering buzz over the recent Starlight Piano Competition.
She tapped on the photos. The photographer had taken the shots from behind. Isabella and Andrew walked arm-in-arm, trailing just behind the older family members, their posture intimate.
In that moment, Isabella had turned slightly toward Andrew as she spoke, her eyes crinkling with happiness, her whole expression soft and content. Andrew,
meanwhile, had dipped his head, listening to her with an intent focus.
But that wasn’t what caught Emily’s attention.
She zoomed in on Isabella Austin’s stomach.
Because Isabella was angled to the side, and her dress was fitted, the gentle swell of her belly was even more noticeable.
By Emily’s count, Isabella’s baby should be about four months along by now— already showing.
No matter how much time had passed, Emily Blair could never let go of the reason her own daughter, Eliana Blair, had died. Nor could she suppress the burning resentment she harbored for Isabella’s unborn son.
She simply couldn’t forget. Isabella’s precious boy, who’d suffered nothing but a scraped knee, had been whisked away in the first, critical ambulance. Meanwhile, her own daughter-gravely injured had been left behind at the crash site, waiting for the next ambulance to arrive. When Eliana was finally taken to the hospital, the doctor came out and said:
“I’m sorry. Your daughter lost too much blood because she wasn’t treated in time. If she’d gotten here even half a minute earlier, maybe there would have been hope. But… I’m sorry, we did all we could.”
Fate had twisted the knife.
The first ambulance had reached the hospital just half a minute before Eliana’s.
If her daughter had only been in that first ambulance, gotten to the hospital first, maybe she wouldn’t have died for lack of timely care.
Emily had collapsed in despair. As she hit the ground, she saw Andrew Lane holding Isabella’s son, Isabella’s face bright with the joy of narrowly escaping disaster, while her son, energetic and lively, commanded Andrew to lift him higher.
The memory cut off abruptly. Emily’s gaze returned to the post, where a flood of Isabella’s fans were gushing over the hope that Isabella and Andrew’s child would grow up healthy and strong, some even fantasizing about grand engagement parties and lavish venues.
Emily squeezed her eyes shut.
Dark, ugly thoughts surged inside her, nearly drowning out every last shred of
reason.