I Left With My Daughter

After Cecilia took Isabella back to the villa, she let her take a nap as she headed into the study.

The divorce procedures were almost finished. She did not want to waste any more energy on Lyon or Gianna.

Some people, however, seemed determined to push her to the edge.

In the late afternoon, the nanny came to the study door, almost in tears.

“Donna Melville! Isabella’s missing!”

Cecilia sprang to her feet. She knocked over the chair.

“What do you mean? Wasn’t she painting in the backyard?”

“I went to the kitchen to get her some juice. When I came back, she was gone!” The nanny’s hands shook as she handed Cecilia a voice recorder. “All I found by the lawn was this…”

Cecilia forced herself to stay calm and pressed play.

A woman’s voice came through. It was distorted but sharp and triumphant. “Cecilia, you tried to put an obstacle in my path, and your daughter’s going to be a problem for my child. If you won’t give up the spot, I’ll decide for you.”

Even with the distortion, the tone and the way the words were spoken left no doubt.

It was Gianna.

Luckily, the bracelet Isabella always wore had a tracking chip.

Her assistant quickly pinpointed the signal. The location was an old dockyard in Booklyn. It was a ship maintenance warehouse that had remained out of use for years.

Cecilia snatched her car keys and ran out the door.

She pressed the gas hard as she drove and gave orders over the phone. “Find everything on Gianna. Nightclub security footage, fake diplomas, bank transfers with producers, and any contracts showing that the company cleaned her records. I want it all released tonight.”

Her assistant replied, “Understood.”

By the time Cecilia reached the old dock, it was completely dark.

The warehouse area was a mess. Shipping containers were stacked like walls. Thick smoke poured from the farthest warehouse, and gasoline had been poured across its entrance. Flames crawled up the metal walls.

Inside, Isabella was locked in.

“Mamma!!!”

Isabella’s tearful cry hit Cecilia like a knife.

She ignored the danger. She grabbed a blanket from the ground, wrapped it around herself, and kicked the half-closed metal door open. She ran straight inside.

The warehouse was stacked with old ropes and wooden crates. The wiring was ancient, and the fire spread fast. Smoke filled the air, and it made Cecilia’s eyes sting.

At the far end, Isabella crouched under an old workbench. Her face was streaked with tears.

“It’s okay! I’m here.”

Cecilia grabbed Isabella and held her tight. She wrapped her in her soaked coat and whispered calming words as she pressed against the wall. She then ran toward the exit.

A sudden crash came from behind. A burned wooden beam fell and nearly hit her shoulder.

She did not look back. She kept her arms around Isabella and ran through the flames.

When they finally collapsed on the ground, Isabella coughed violently from the smoke. Her hands shook as she clutched Cecilia’s coat. She cried so hard that she could barely speak.

Cecilia held Isabella. Her body was trembling all over.

Fear, anger, and a fierce need for revenge boiled inside her.

After the ambulance took Isabella to the hospital, Cecilia finally freed a hand and checked her phone.

Within hours, Gianna’s name was on every major headline.

Leaked videos, old bills, nightclub photos, behind-the-scenes footage, and evidence of bribed doctors fabricating reports all came out.

Gianna’s careful “innocent rising star” image was shattered completely overnight.

Footsteps pounded down the hospital corridor.

Lyon arrived with his men. His expression was dark. Gianna followed behind him, and her face was wet with tears.

“Cecilia!” he demanded the moment he walked in. He held back his anger as he spoke. “Was this your doing? Gianna’s getting attacked all over the internet right now! Are you happy now?”

Cecilia slowly lifted her head to meet his gaze. Her eyes were icy.

He did not even ask about Isabella’s condition. Instead, the first thing he did was defend Gianna.

This was ridiculous!

Cecilia smiled and asked, “Lyon, do you know your daughter was almost burned alive at the docks tonight?”

His anger froze instantly.

Gianna, behind him, went pale.

He finally seemed to realize what had happened. His eyes moved past Cecilia toward the hospital room door. His voice grew tight. “Isabella… how…”

Cecilia said nothing. She tossed the voice recorder to him.

“If you want to know how, listen to it yourself.”

Lyon’s gaze settled on the recorder.

He had not moved. Gianna stood behind him. Her face changed.

Her voice trembled with sobs. Tears streamed down her face. “Donna Melville, do you really hate me this much? Ruining my reputation wasn’t enough? Are you going to use a fabricated recording to accuse me of trying to hurt Isabella?”

She pressed a hand over her belly. Her body curled slightly. “Don Melville cares so much about Isabella. I see her as my own child. How could I ever harm her?”

The uncertainty on Lyon’s face disappeared. His face turned completely dark. He looked down at Gianna in his arms. She cried so hard that she seemed close to fainting. Then, he lifted his gaze and looked at Cecilia. She looked calm.

“Cecilia, you’re willing to frame Gianna and put our daughter’s life at risk for this?”

Cecilia looked at him in silence. It was as if she wanted to see through the face she had once loved and understand everything about him. After a while, she let out a soft laugh. Even that sounded empty of emotion.

“Lyon, you really are blind.”

She did not wait for an answer. She turned, pushed open the hospital room door, and walked inside.

The hospital room was quiet. Isabella was sleeping. Her face looked pale, but her breath was steady.

Cecilia walked to the bed and sat down at the edge. Her fingers touched Isabella’s soft hair.

A strange calm filled her. The earlier scene had drained all emotion from her.

She stayed in that room for a long time. Sunlight filtered through the window and spilled across the floor.

Her phone screen lit up. Three new texts appeared.

The first two were from Lyon.

[Gianna’s emotionally unstable, and the baby’s at risk. The doctors say she shouldn’t be put through stress.]

[No matter what, the child’s still part of the Melville bloodline. To keep her calm, I might give her a title. Behave yourself. It won’t affect your position.]

Every word showed his bias clearly.

He did not ask whether the recording was real or fake. In his mind, Gianna and the child in her belly mattered far more than the truth.

Cecilia read the messages without any reaction. She replied to him.

[Do as you wish.]

The third text was from Margaret.

[Cecilia, all the paperwork is finished and has been sent to the airport. Isabella’s custody documents are included. Take care.]

Cecilia breathed deeply. The knot in her chest loosened. She sent a simple reply.

[Thank you.]

Cecilia finished the paperwork to discharge Isabella. The little girl leaned on her for comfort and whispered, “Mamma, are we going home?”

“Yes, we’re going home.” Cecilia kissed Isabella’s forehead and carried her to the car.

They returned to the villa. This place was full of too many memories. Cecilia did not pause.

She went straight upstairs, entered the dressing room, and took out a suitcase. She began to pack.

Her movements were quick and decisive. She showed no hesitation.

She packed only the things she and Isabella would need. She also packed some of Isabella’s handmade crafts.

The expensive jewelry and fancy clothes stayed untouched.

All those things she had gained as Donna Melville no longer mattered.

When she looked around the place that had once been her home, her heart remained calm and steady.

There was no warmth here anymore. It was only an elegant and empty shell.

Cecilia picked up Isabella, grabbed the suitcase, and walked out the door without looking back. They got into the car and drove straight to the airport.

As the plane rose into the sky, a blanket of clouds stretched beneath the window.

Isabella slept in her arms and breathed evenly.

Cecilia watched the ground disappear farther and farther away until it vanished completely.

The plane would land in Ros Angeles. There would be no Lyon, no Melville family, no suffocating entanglements.

Her new life with Isabella was just beginning.