Chapter 518

Patriarch Sullivan leaned against the cold wall, his chest heaving violently.

He looked at Isabella Sullivan, his voice hoarse and weary. "Liam, leave me... This old body of mine won't last much longer. I can't drag you down anymore."

Isabella's hand holding the gun trembled slightly, but her eyes were bloodshot.

She stared fixedly at Patriarch Sullivan, suddenly letting out a sharp, hysterical laugh. "Old fool, what's the use of saying that now? When the Sullivan family drove me to the edge, who thought about sparing me?"

Liam Sullivan stood a few steps away, his gaze as calm and deep as a frozen pond.

He didn't look at Isabella, but his eyes subtly scanned the surrounding thugs—their attention was now completely captured by Isabella's失控的情绪.

"Snow." Liam suddenly spoke, his voice not loud but cutting clearly through the air. "Everything you've done, Leo saw it all."

Isabella whipped her head around.

Liam raised his phone, the screen facing her—on the video call interface, a young boy's pale face was clearly visible.

"Mom..."

Leo's voice came through the speaker, choked with suppressed sobs.

"Are you really my mom?"

Isabella's pupils contracted sharply. Her entire body stiffened as if struck by lightning.

Her lips trembled. She tried to say something, but no complete syllables came out.

"No... Leo, listen to Mom..." She shook her head frantically, the gun barrel unconsciously lowering a few inches. "They're the ones trying to hurt us. Mom just wanted to protect you, to give you a better life..."

"Protect me?" Leo's voice suddenly rose, sharp with the unique pain of youth. "You kidnapped Grandpa, pointed a gun at Uncle—is that protecting me? Mom, I saw everything! I've been watching since you tricked Grandpa into leaving the house!"

Isabella's face turned as pale as paper.

She staggered back half a step, her back hitting a cold metal rack.

"They're enemies..." she murmured, repeating it as if trying to convince herself. "The Sullivans are all our enemies... Leo, you don't understand how much suffering Mom has endured all these years..."

"I don't understand?" Tears rolled down Leo's face, splashing on the phone screen. "All I know is Grandpa secretly buys me candy. Uncle teaches me how to play ball—Mom, tell me, how have they wronged us?"

Isabella opened her mouth, but no sound emerged.

She looked at her son's red-rimmed eyes on the screen. Her heart felt clenched by an invisible hand.

"Mom, I'm begging you." Leo's voice softened, filled with desperate pleading. "Let it go... Don't make things worse. Even if you win, what's the point? I don't want to remember my mom in the future only as the woman holding a gun..."

Isabella's hand holding the gun began to tremble violently.

She looked at the phone screen, then at Patriarch Sullivan tied to the chair. Finally, her gaze landed on Liam's face—that older brother who had protected her since childhood was now quietly watching her. There was no hatred in his eyes, only a deep, bottomless sorrow.

"No..." she suddenly screamed, raising the gun barrel again. "If we let them go, we're finished! Today has to end this—"

"Mom!"

Leo's roar cut her off.

The young man stared fiercely into the camera, enunciating each word clearly. "If you kill them, I will never forgive you for the rest of my life."

Isabella froze completely.

Looking into her son's resolute eyes, she suddenly felt all strength drain from her body.

The gun slipped from her trembling hand.

It hit the ground with a loud clatter.