Never Again Yours (Isadora and Magnus) novel Chapter 153

Richard shook her hand off with a look of disgust, snapping, “Don’t call me Dad. I’m not your father.”

Pearl turned pleading eyes to Prescott, her voice trembling with desperation.

“Prescott, please… You promised you’d always be on my side.”

A storm of conflict flashed in Prescott’s eyes. He suddenly realized that he hadn’t actually seen Isadora push Pearl—he’d only heard Pearl’s scream and assumed the worst. Now, seeing Pearl like this, guilt gnawed at him. Prescott looked away, uneasy.

Eleanor took a shaky breath and glanced at Isadora, her eyes full of remorse. She stepped forward, reaching out to take Isadora’s hand, but before she could make contact, Isadora jerked away without hesitation.

Eleanor’s eyes grew wet as she looked at her daughter—so beautiful, so much like herself in her youth. Why hadn’t she ever seen it before?

She sniffled. “Isadora, I’m sorry. Your father and I were wrong about you.”

Isadora stared back, her face unreadable.

If the video hadn’t cleared her name today, she might have ended up in prison.

Victor’s lips curled into a sardonic smile, a mocking edge in his voice.

“Eleanor, maybe someone should throw you off a balcony and see if a simple ‘I’m sorry’ makes it all better?”

Eleanor fell silent, unable to answer.

Richard, standing nearby, caught the way Victor was shielding Isadora tonight, his eyes narrowing with a trace of wariness.

“Mr. Fitzgerald, this has all been a misunderstanding. We… it’s our adopted daughter who’s brought this trouble. But today is Isadora’s birthday. Why don’t we celebrate her turning twenty-four?”

Victor’s dark eyes glinted with scorn. He drawled, each word dripping with contempt.

“From the looks of it, she’d be lucky to get through her birthday in one piece. God knows how much more you’d take from her if we stuck around.”

Richard’s face tightened, his composure cracking.

“What’s this? Now that the drama’s over, you’re ready to toss me aside? Miss Vaughan, shouldn’t you at least say thank you for once?”

“I wasn’t—” she started, but he swept her out anyway.

She didn’t need to guess what tomorrow’s tabloids would make of this. But Victor, it seemed, couldn’t care less about anyone’s opinion.

Suddenly—

Boom!

Fireworks exploded across the night sky, painting the city in a cascade of dazzling colors.

The bursts bloomed like a thousand radiant flowers, brilliant and breathtaking.

Everyone turned to look: a tall, striking man cradling a stunning woman in his arms, striding into the heart of the fireworks’ glow—two figures silhouetted against a sky alive with celebration.