Chapter 226:


    She set the ss down with a sharp click, pulled out her phone, and typed a message to Kaiden with trembling fingers.


    Stick to the n. Make her life a living hell.


    It was Saturday night in the penthouse — a space that had always felt more like a gallery than a home. Isolde stood in the kitchen, the hum of the refrigerator the only sound in the vast, cold room. She was tired, her movements mechanical as she spread mustard on a slice of rye bread, making a simple sandwich for a dinner she didn’t really want.


    The silence shattered with the thunder of small feet. Kaiden burst into the kitchen, his face flushed with manic pride. In his hands he clutched something that glittered aggressively under the recessed lighting.


    “Look!” He mmed the object onto the marble ind. “I made a bracelet for Mommy Belle! Isn’t it pretty?”


    Isolde nced down. It was a crude string of Swarovski crystal beads, held together by thick, uneven knots of fishing line. The craftsmanship was childish and messy, but the effort was unmistakable.


    “Oh,” Isolde said, her voice t. “Nice.”


    Kaiden puffed out his chest, a smirk crossing his face that mirrored his mother’s arrogance precisely. “I used those shiny beads from your jewelry box! You never wear them anyway, so Mommy Belle said they were going to waste.”


    Isolde’s hand froze on the knife. A cold prickle of dread climbed her spine. She kept a specific set of crystals in that box — a limited-edition ne And had given her for herst birthday. Not just expensive, but one of the few things she owned that didn’t feel tainted by the shadow of this house.


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    She dropped the sandwich and walked quickly to her bedroom.


    The sight that met her was worse than she had imagined. Her jewelry box had been pried open, the delicate wood splintered. The gold chain of the ney on the floor, snipped into a dozen useless pieces like a tiny, murdered snake. The remaining beads were scattered across the carpet like frozen tears.


    Isolde picked up the mangled chain and walked back to the kitchen, her footsteps heavy.


    “You cut my ne?” she asked, her voice dangerously quiet.


    Kaiden didn’t flinch. He looked at her with a sense of entitlement that was chilling. “Mommy Belle says everything you have was bought by Daddy. That means it’s ours. I can use it if I want.”


    A wave of nausea rolled over Isolde. This wasn’t just a child being naughty or seeking attention. This was the result of systematic poisoning — theft and destruction justified by a twisted sense of ownership.


    “This was not bought by your father,” Isolde said, her grip tightening on the broken gold. “This was a gift from And. It had nothing to do with this house.”


    Kaiden blinked, momentarily confused, before his face contorted into a mask of rage. “Liar! You’re a liar! That man is bad too! Everything is Daddy’s!”


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