Chapter 42

"Isabella! Isabella! Wake up!" Ethan grabbed Sophia's wrist to check her temperature, only to find her skin burning with fever.

Without hesitation, he scooped her into his arms and rushed to his car. The engine roared to life, tires screeching as black smoke billowed from the exhaust. Within seconds, the vehicle vanished down the street.

"Brother Ethan!" Isabella screamed after him, but it was too late.

Furious, she slammed her fist against the flower stand beside Ethan's building. Blood welled from her split knuckles as she collapsed to the ground, sobbing.

Tears streaked her face as she drove home, her expression twisted with resentment.

Meanwhile, Benjamin and Elizabeth Thornton waited eagerly in their living room. Too absorbed in their fantasies, they didn't notice their daughter's distress.

"How was your evening, darling? Did Ethan...?" Elizabeth began, then hesitated, glancing at her husband.

Benjamin cut in impatiently, "Tell me—did he stay with you last night? You must secure his heir quickly. Once you're carrying the Blackwood heir, your position will be unshakable."

Elizabeth swatted his arm. "Must you be so crude in front of our daughter?"

Isabella burst into tears. "Mom, Dad—Sophia has to die! She has to!"

The Thorntons froze, finally noticing her swollen eyes.

"What happened?" Elizabeth pulled her close. "Did that wretched girl hurt you again?"

"Ethan knows she's pregnant with some bastard's child, yet he still treats her like royalty!" Isabella wailed. "If he finds out the truth—that it's his—we're all dead! Do you understand? Dead!"

She clawed at her parents' sleeves. "Last night at the Blackwood dinner, I saw them—all those society women flocking to him. Every unmarried heiress in Harborview wants him! This was my chance, and now—"

Her voice broke.

Elizabeth's face hardened. "Benjamin. You brought this viper into our lives. Now you'll remove her."

Benjamin's expression darkened. He pulled out his phone. "Mr. Wilson? I need a discreet job done. Ten million. A woman in her forties, rural. Absolute confidentiality."

Elizabeth paled. "You're contacting her?"

"She won't be hard to find," Benjamin growled.

"But what about now?" Isabella hiccuped. "Ethan took Sophia to the hospital! He carried her like she was—"

Elizabeth's lips curled. "Perhaps he's humoring his dying mother. But we should verify."

Disguised as patients, the Thorntons slipped into Grandview Medical Center. Sophia, feverish from exposure, was in the emergency room. Ethan stood guard outside, his presence drawing every available doctor at dawn.

As a physician prepared to administer medication, Sophia's delirious murmurs stopped him cold.

"My baby... I'm sorry... So cold... Should we find Grandma? Living is too hard..." Tears slid down her cheeks.

The doctor hesitated, then approached Ethan. "Mr. Blackwood... your patient is pregnant. We can't administer strong antipyretics..."

Ethan's gaze turned glacial. The doctor shrank back.

Before he could retreat, Ethan seized his collar. "You're the doctor. Why are you asking me?"

From the shadows, Isabella stifled a laugh. "Look," she whispered. "He's furious. Even in a sham marriage, he won't tolerate betrayal. Sophia's finished."

Then Ethan spoke, his voice like steel.

"I'll lower her fever myself."