Isabella rolled her eyes in her mind. There was absolutely no way she and Ethan would ever have kids. Not in this lifetime.
But what she actually said was, “Mom, I really don’t have time to think about having a baby right now. Work’s just too busy.”
Cynthia sighed, her voice softening. “You’re right. Wait until your career is more settled.”
She didn’t push Isabella to give everything up for a baby. After all those years as a housewife, Cynthia knew better than anyone how tough it was to have no income of your own.
They ended up talking for more than an hour before Isabella finally headed out.
As soon as she left the neighborhood, Isabella noticed the car behind her. She drove for a bit, then pulled over. The car trailing her stopped abruptly too.
Isabella got out and waved at the driver. She’d picked up on the tail right after leaving Cynthia’s, but for all she knew, they’d been following her even earlier.
Her move made it obvious—she’d caught them in the act.
The man in the passenger seat was her uncle, Paul.
A while back, after Natalie leaked the news about Isabella marrying into money to the George family, they wasted no time in making their move.
When Cynthia married into a wealthy family, the Georges had nothing but jealousy. Still, they never dared ask her for money. They’d treated Cynthia so badly she’d never forgive them anyway. Plus, Dennis had been gone over twenty years. Cynthia marrying again made total sense. They had no reason to bother her for anything.
But Isabella? She was different.
Isabella was Paul’s own niece. Sure, she had a new last name—Lane—but she was still a George by blood.
He kept grinning. “But I recognized you right away. You look a lot like Dennis. You really took all the best genes from your parents.”
Back when Dennis was alive, he’d been the most handsome brother of them all. Paul thought he wasn’t too bad himself, either.
Cynthia was a beauty, no question, so Isabella had always been a pretty kid. People noticed.
Paul remembered the time he’d tried to sell Isabella. There were so many couples interested, all of them unable to have kids. Little Isabella was so cute that everyone adored her. She was a hot commodity.
One couple even offered him a hundred thousand to adopt Isabella as their daughter. Twenty years ago, a hundred thousand was a small fortune. Paul had been so tempted.
But in the end, it didn’t work out. Cynthia’s brother showed up, swinging a kitchen knife, and dragged Cynthia and Isabella away.

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