The Tycoon's Secret Wife's Escape novel Chapter 54

Curiosity filled the room as everyone tried to piece together the events unfolding. After hearing our reasons, I was sure Charlotte was in an even worse situation than I was

“Mr. Prescott, you assured me there wouldn’t be any problems tonight!” Mr. Reed huffed, wincing from the pain in his ribs

Taking advantage of the moment, Dad interjected, “Everyone, please leave! This has all been a misunderstanding”

“Dad. Mr. Reed said he paid you for tonight’s event. Are you telling us you set Charlotte up so Mr. Reed could assault her?” I pressed, the sadness evident in my eyes.

Charlotte began to tremble, her face reddening with a rash. “It should be you, you idiot! They wanted you to marry that worthless piece of trash!”

“Charlotte!” Dad snapped, cutting her off

“Why not? It’s the truth!” she shot back. “Am I the target just because I’m only a niece?”

Lucas’s expression softened with pity for Charlone, remembering the tragedy of losing her parents and being left alone.

My eyes met my parents, and my father glared at me with an angry reprimand. “If you’d just married Mr. Reed, none of this would’ve happened! You’re impossible to control, Isabella! Now you’re ruining our reputation!”

The tension exploded when Mrs. Murphy burst up the stairs and shoved Charlotte away from Lucas. The sound of her slap against Charlotte’s cheek echoed through the room.

“Stay away from my son! I knew it! I’ve known all along that you can’t be trusted! Isabella should’ve been my daughter–in-

law!

“Mom, stop it!” Lucas cried out, rubbing his temples, clearly exhausted by the night’s drama.

“Look at this!” Mrs. Murphy thrust her phone at Lucas. “This bitch is secretly meeting that bastard!” She pointed at Jake. “She’s been having an affair behind your back!”

Lucas grabbed the phone, his face hardening as he saw the images of Charlotte and Jake together. Of course, I had instructed Grayson to handle this little task for me. To protect me, he had quietly attended the gathering, watching everything

My husband used a burner phone to send Mrs. Murphy the evidence at the perfect moment–photos and videos of Charlotte and Jake entering an apartment building, along with cheating evidence and an important medical record.

“Aren’t they cousins?” one guest exclaimed, her voice dripping with disgust.

“Shhh! They’re not actually related by blood.”

“That doesn’t mean they’re allowed to cheat!”

“Exactly! Doesn’t Jake have a wife!”

All eyes shifted to the silent figure who had been watching from the corner–Jake’s wife herself.

I felt sorry for her because I knew, and it seemed everyone else did, too, that Jake’s marriage to his submissive wife had been falling apart for a long time. She loved him deeply, and her wealth only seemed to keep her tied to him.

“T–that’s not true!” Charlotte’s voice cracked with desperation as she clutched Lucas’s arm. “They’re fake! Lucas, please, you have to believe me! This is a targeted attack!” Her glare burned through me. “You did this, didn’t you?! Isabella, you conniving bitch You’re just jealous that Lucas chose me instead of you! I’ll kill you!”

Chapter 51

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When Charlotte hinged at me, wild–eyed and unhinged, Mrs. Murphy intercepted her with another stinging slap

“I saw you, Charlotte! You went to the Obstetrics and Gynecology clinic last week! I thought you and Lucas planned to have a baby, and I was ready to welcome you into the family! But not I received proof of your affair with that man tonight?“.

Mrs. Murphy turned to her son, her voice trembling with anger.

“Lucas, look at this. She wasn’t there for a prenatal checkup. She went there to have an abortion! What kind of mother would do that? What kind of daughter–in–law are you bringing into our family? Is this the demure, obedient woman you’ve been boasting about? Wake us son!”

Lucas’s face dramed of color as his eyes widened in shock. He turned to Charlotte as if seeing her for the first time “Charlotte… tell me this isn’t true!”

Charlotte just shook her head frantically, tears streaming down her face, clearly unable to face the truth.

I seized my moment. “What if the baby isn’t even Lucas’s? Maybe that’s why Charlotte hid it.” I said, my tone casual, as if the revelation were nothing more than a passing thought.

Charlotte trembled at my words, her face betraying the truth she desperately tried to hide. I knew then that I had struck a

nerve.

“Shut up, Isabella! Admit it–you planned this, didn’t you?!”

Feigning terror. I clung to my cousin and aunt, my voice trembling with feigned innocence. “I was just trying to understand what happened, you know? Why you did what you did. And now it’s like it’s my fault? Everyone knows how much you wanted to have a family with Lucas. I understand if you thought there was no other choice if you had to kill another man’s baby.”

“Shut up!” Charlotte’s eyes burned with fury, her fingers twitching like she wanted to tear into me. The fire I had ignited was spreading fast, inching the guests closer to the damning truth she so desperately wanted to hide.

Jake stood motionless, the color draining from his face. “Charlotte, is it true? Did you terminate our baby?”

“Shut up, you idiot!” Charlotte snapped defensively, but Luca

bitter laugh sliced through the tension.