Never Again Yours (Isadora and Magnus) novel Chapter 279

The iron gates of the prison slid open from both sides.

Carla stepped out, her clothes threadbare, her face pale and drawn. Clutched in her hand was a canvas bag so worn it looked like it might fall apart at any moment.

Not far away, a car waited, its horn blaring impatiently.

A moment later, Pearl Vaughan pulled the car up right in front of her, lowered the window, and barked, “Get in.”

Carla’s eyes, dull with exhaustion, flickered with a brief spark when she recognized Pearl.

She rubbed her hands together nervously, then carefully opened the car door and climbed inside.

“Pearl, what are you doing here?”

As Carla settled in, Pearl caught a whiff of something unpleasant in the air. Maybe she was imagining it, but the stench seemed to grow stronger.

A look of distaste flashed across Pearl’s face. She couldn’t help herself. “Didn’t they let you shower in there?”

Carla flushed with embarrassment. “I did shower. I’m sorry, honey, I didn’t mean to. Let me clean up—” She started rummaging through her battered bag for a handkerchief.

Pearl cut her off with an exasperated sigh. “Forget it. Just stay still.”

The truth was, if she didn’t need Carla to get rid of Isadora, she would never have come to pick her up. The very idea of being near this woman made her skin crawl.

Not long ago, Pearl had gone to Prescott for her usual allowance, expecting things to go as they always had. But Prescott only handed her a measly thousand dollars.

She’d never had to survive on so little in her life. It wasn’t even enough to cover her gas for the month!

She broke down in tears, demanding to know if Prescott had stopped loving her, only to learn that Isadora had kicked both Prescott and Richard out. Now he was broke too.

Carla shook her head.

Suddenly, Pearl let out a wail, her voice thick with misery. “I wish I could take you to a five-star restaurant, put you up in a luxury hotel. But I don’t have anything left! I’m drowning in debt! Any day now, I might end up worse off than the people living under that bridge—those loan sharks might sell me off to God knows where!”

Pearl wasn’t just putting on an act—she was genuinely desperate. Still, growing up in the Vaughan family had taught her how to win people over, how to get what she wanted.

“You’re my mother. Doesn’t it break your heart to see me like this? If you hadn’t let Isadora live all those years ago, I wouldn’t be here now, unwanted and alone.”

Carla’s heart twisted painfully. Her Pearl should have been living like a princess, adored by everyone.

“Pearl, darling, just tell me what you need me to do. If it means getting our lives back, I’ll do anything.”

A cruel little smile curled at the edge of Pearl’s lips. She spoke each word with icy precision: “If you can help me get rid of Isadora, I’ll become the Pearl I used to be.”