Izabella kept her head down. A sudden urge to laugh bubbled up inside her.

After her mother passed away, she had considered telling Carson everything.

By then, Carson had fully taken over the family empire. In just two years, he elevated it to new heights and became the most sought-after new powerhouse in the city of Ellis.

If news broke of his entanglement with his own sister-in-law, the humiliating scandal would destroy everything he built with his own hands.

Carson's future shone brightly. It had no room for a stain like her.

She knelt until deep into the night before Madison allowed her back inside.

The moment she tried to stand, pain shot through her legs. She pitched forward and crashed heavily onto the gravel path.

Sharp stones pierced her skin and opened countless tiny cuts. The agony made dark spots dance across her vision.

She drew a shaky breath. Then she pushed against the ground, struggled several times, and finally managed to stand. She staggered back to her room.

Only then did she notice her palms were a bloody mess. Turned-over flesh held countless tiny stones embedded within.

Izabella cleaned the wounds simply and climbed into bed, exhausted.

In her drifting consciousness, she dreamed of two years earlier.

Even after waking in the hospital, Carson refused to give up. He waited for her in places she frequented. He found endless ways to reach her. Though she hung up on him countless times, he still left messages on her social pages in the middle of the night.

Everything ended on the day she married Richard.

Carson discovered that his brother's bride was the woman he loved most.

Izabella could never forget that day. In the dressing room, Carson pinned her against the wall with a hand around her throat. His bloodshot eyes held no trace of reason. "Why? Why did it have to be my brother?"

Her heart shattered into pieces. Yet she forced a cold smile. "Because your parents like him more. Marrying him gives me a better chance to become the real lady of the Gilbert Group."

She knew his deepest wound all too well.

Carson was brilliant and proud, a favored son of heaven. His only pain came from parents who always preferred his frail older brother. They even had Carson only to provide umbilical cord blood for Richard's surgery.

As expected, her words made him slam his fist into the wall.

He stared at her deeply. "Izabella, a cold-blooded person like you doesn't deserve love at all."

Even in the dream, tears soaked her pillow until dawn.

Margaret's parents arrived that evening. Though Izabella shared a father with Margaret, she cut ties completely after he used her mother's life to force the marriage.

So when the two families discussed the wedding date after dinner, Izabella made an excuse and hid in the kitchen to clean up.

"Izzy, why are you hiding in the kitchen alone? It's such a big event. I wanted your opinion too." Margaret leaned against the doorway and watched her with a half-smile.

Izabella kept her head down, washing dishes, and pretended not to hear.

Suddenly, Margaret stepped forward and swept an entire stack of plates to the floor.

Shards exploded across the tiles in an instant.

Izabella stared at her in shock. "Are you insane?"

Margaret closed in until only a hand's breadth separated them. "I'm warning you. Don't dream of taking Carson back. He's mine! Your mother was a useless failure, and you're destined to lose to me every time!"

Izabella's eyes widened. She opened her mouth to retort, but Margaret shoved her shoulders and forced her down into the pile of shards.

"What happened?" The noise drew everyone from the front room. They gasped at the scene in the kitchen.

Before Izabella could react, Margaret burst into tears first. "I... I just wanted to ask sister to join us for the wedding talk. But she warned me not to get cocky. She said she's Carson's sister-in-law and the true lady of the Gilbert Group. She told me to watch myself once I marry in!"

She held up her scratched hand and sobbed pitifully. "I only wanted to get along peacefully. But she said she needed to teach me a lesson and pushed me... pushed me into the shards..."

Izabella stared in shock as Margaret twisted the truth. She tried to explain instinctively. "I didn't say that!"

Slap! Madison raised her hand and struck her across the face. "As long as I'm here, you don't get to speak in this house!"

Margaret's mother rushed forward and slapped Izabella a dozen more times, sobbing and begging her not to hurt Margaret.

Izabella sat numbly in place. She watched Carson scoop Margaret into his arms and hurry out. At the doorway, his steps suddenly paused. "Bring Izabella too."

Izabella froze. A faint spark of hope flickered in her chest. "Her blood type matches Margaret's. She can serve as a blood donor!"

The light in Izabella's eyes died completely.

They dragged her to the hospital like a discarded rag doll and dumped her in the blood bank. They drew 1000cc of blood by force.

When Carson left, his gaze toward her was utterly cold. "Consider yourself lucky. Margaret came out of this with minor injuries. We're taking the blood now as backup, in case a vicious person like you tries something again."

Excessive blood loss left Izabella dizzy. She lacked even the strength to argue.

Carson reached the door but could not resist glancing back. Izabella leaned against the table. Her frail frame looked as if a breeze could carry her away.

He hesitated, wondering if he should return. Then his phone rang. He paused and answered it. "Good. I'm bringing the plasma now. Tell Margaret not to worry..."

The hospital staff seemed wary of complications and did not rush her out. By the time Izabella regained enough strength, it was already the middle of the night.

She staggered to the hospital entrance and pulled out her phone to call a ride. Suddenly, darkness swallowed her vision. She pitched forward uncontrollably.

A hand grabbed her arm the next instant and stopped her fall.

Izabella looked up. It was the doctor who had examined her last time.

He eyed her with concern. "Miss Dobson, your condition is serious. Haven't you told your family yet?"

Izabella pressed her lips together and stayed silent.

Seeing she did not want to answer, the doctor glanced at the ride app on her phone. He hesitated before speaking. "It's hard to get a car this late. Where are you headed? I'll drive you."

Izabella felt too ill to refuse his offer.

When they reached the villa, she stumbled out of the car. The doctor steadied her just in time. "You should come back to the hospital for a follow-up when you can. With your condition..."

He trailed off. Izabella only smiled faintly and said nothing.

The entire house stood dark when she returned.

She started toward her room in the shadows. Suddenly, someone yanked her arm and pulled her into a corner. "Who was the man who brought you home?"

Fury laced Carson's voice. "Izabella, how can you be so cheap? You can't live without a man, can you? My brother died, and you're already eager for the next one?"

Izabella looked at him in disbelief. "I didn't..."

"Liar!" Carson grew angrier. "I saw you hugging that man with my own eyes!"

He seized her and nearly lifted her off the ground. "Any man will do, right? Then why not me..."

He swallowed the rest of the words. Madness overtook him as he dragged her toward the stairs.

Cornered, Izabella sank her teeth into his arm with all her strength.

She bit hard enough to draw blood.

"You're insane!" Carson raged. He grabbed her collar and shoved her violently toward the staircase.

Her foot slipped. She tumbled down the entire flight.

Warm blood instantly flowed from between her legs and spread across the floor along her thighs.

Carson stood at the top. In the pitch black, he could only make out Izabella sitting at the bottom, unmoving for a long time.

Unexplained panic surged through him. He started down instinctively. Then the master bedroom door opened. Madison spoke coldly. "Carson, why aren't you sleeping? You have a board meeting tomorrow!"

Carson paused. In the end, he turned and went back to his room.

Izabella lay on the cold floor. In the now-silent villa, she laughed and cried at once.

Finally, the last thread tying her to this world had snapped completely...

Izabella cleaned the blood thoroughly, leaving no trace. At dawn, she went alone to the cemetery.

She knelt before her mother's grave, wiped the stone clean, and spoke softly.

"I'm leaving tomorrow. I've booked a hospice in Coastal Bay. The doctor said the miscarriage damaged me badly. I probably won't last a month."

Her fingers traced the photo on the stone. Her voice stayed gentle. "Mom, I'll join you soon. When you see me, please don't blame me for failing you."

After a few more quiet words, Izabella gathered her things to leave. Then a group of workers arrived with heavy tools and began smashing the grave without warning.

Izabella rushed forward. "What are you doing? This is illegal! I'm calling the police!"

"Izabella!" Margaret's voice cut in. She approached carrying a small box. "Sorry, I liked the spot for your mom. Great location. Perfect for burying my little dog. I already bought it through lawyers. All legal. Calling the police won't help."

Izabella's eyes widened in fury. "Margaret, aren't you afraid of karma for something so heartless?"

"Karma?" Margaret laughed as if she heard a joke. "Like your mom getting thrown out and dying sick? Or ending up like you? Who's really getting punished here?"

She glanced at the crew. "Hurry up and dig. Stay away from this lunatic!"

"No!" Izabella fought desperately to stop them. Several men held her back. She could only watch as they opened her mother's grave and scattered the ashes across the ground.

Once Margaret buried her dog's remains, she passed Izabella with a light laugh. "You know what? Carson personally approved everything—from buying the plot to paying for it!"

Izabella whipped her head around. She watched Margaret leave with a triumphant smile.

Izabella dropped to the earth and clawed at the scattered ashes, trying to gather them. Just as she collected a small pile, a gust of wind swept through and scattered them completely.

All strength drained from her body. She collapsed onto the ground and threw her head back in wild laughter.

It didn't matter anymore. Nothing mattered.

She was leaving anyway.

Izabella arrived at the Coastal Bay hospice. She had booked the bed under a false identity, so no one could trace her.

She spent the final stretch of her life in unexpected peace.

The bed next to hers belonged to a ten-year-old girl, bright and innocent despite her congenital leukemia. Doctors said without a matching bone marrow transplant soon, she had only months left.

The girl's parents had died years earlier in an accident. Her grandmother raised her but could afford neither the surgery nor the connections to find a donor.

The child shared her favorite snacks with Izabella. Every night before sleep, she read aloud from her storybook, eyes sparkling as she called out "Izzy."

Memories of her own childhood flooded back.

In secret, Izabella underwent marrow testing. By some mercy, she matched.

In her final days, Izabella made a bold choice.

She wrote a statement volunteering her bone marrow. She handed it to the doctor along with all her savings, instructing him to say an anonymous donor funded the girl's surgery after her death. He must never reveal her name.

Izabella passed away one afternoon. The television played the news in the background.

A gossip segment interrupted the broadcast. It showed live coverage of the Gilbert heir marrying the daughter of an obscure small businessman. The wedding was extravagant, attended by the elite.

Izabella watched Carson on screen in a crisp white suit, noble and handsome. Beside him, Margaret wore a custom couture gown, her face radiant with uncontainable joy.

The venue overflowed with fresh roses flown in from overseas, creating a scene of perfect romance.

This had once been the wedding Izabella dreamed of. "I love roses most. If our wedding were filled with them, it would be perfect!"

Back then, deep in love, Carson pinched her nose and promised indulgently. "Anything you want."

The happy memory swirled around her like a vortex. Izabella closed her eyes peacefully.

At last, she could rest forever in the past.