Chapter 231

"My grandfather!"

I am now the most cherished granddaughter of the Thornton patriarch.

Sophia, you wish for my demise, for the downfall of my family? Keep dreaming."

"Mr. Thornton? He's your grandfather?" Sophia's eyes widened in shock.

This revelation hit her like a thunderbolt.

Now she understood why Isabella had always carried herself with such arrogance.

She had powerful backing.

"Indeed. He's my grandfather." Isabella smirked, her gaze dripping with venomous triumph.

Six years ago, when Ethan called off their engagement and confined Isabella to the Thornton estate to carry her pregnancy to term, the entire family had been gripped by terror. Isabella knew the child she carried wasn't Ethan's. Once the truth came out, the Thorntons would face ruin.

Just as despair set in, Mr. Thornton arrived.

To this day, Isabella could still vividly recall the scene.

A fleet of over twenty luxury black cars had surrounded the Thornton residence. Mr. Thornton, flanked by four imposing bodyguards, strode in with an air of authority. Benjamin and Elizabeth had frozen in terror.

They assumed the Blackwoods had sent the Thornton patriarch to deliver their final blow. But after scrutinizing the family of three, Mr. Thornton asked gravely, "Benjamin, did you once have an ex-wife?"

Benjamin trembled. "Y-yes... but she... she wasn't truly my wife. Mr. Thornton, please, just tell me what you want."

"Is this her?" Mr. Thornton produced a faded photograph of his daughter in her youth.

Benjamin recognized the woman instantly. He didn't dare lie. "Yes. But... why do you ask?"

"This is my daughter." The old man's voice cracked with emotion. "Is she... still alive? Where is she now?"

Benjamin felt the ground sway beneath him.

The woman in the photo was Mr. Thornton's daughter?

God!

Was fate determined to annihilate the Thorntons? First Ethan, now this?

Just as Benjamin was about to collapse, Elizabeth suddenly gasped. "You... you're Yueyue's grandfather!"

Benjamin and Isabella stared.

Mr. Thornton turned sharply. "Yueyue? Who is Yueyue?"

Benjamin's mind raced. Wiping sweat from his brow, he dropped to his knees. "Father..."

Father?

Mr. Thornton was stunned.

Benjamin sobbed dramatically. "When I found Yueyue's mother, I was just a poor man. She wore rags, starving, barely surviving. I took her in. We... we even made wedding rings from straw. Then Yueyue was born, but we were so destitute... Her mother... she bled out after childbirth..."

Isabella, ever the actress, crawled forward, tears streaming. "Grandfather... it's really you?"

Mr. Thornton studied her. "Isabella... you're Yueyue? My daughter's child?"

Isabella wept harder. "All my life, they told me my mother was a beggar. But she had a father like you? Why... why was she left to suffer?"

She knew the truth.

Benjamin had taken in the woman, exploited her, then discarded her once he stole the few valuables she carried.

But now?

Isabella spun a tale of hardship, painting her mother as a tragic figure. Within minutes, Mr. Thornton was weeping.

As he bent to help her up, he noticed the blood.

"Why... why is there so much blood?" His face paled.

Isabella looked down. A crimson pool spread beneath her.

She'd been feeling abdominal pains for days. A secret visit to a private clinic had confirmed her worst fears—her body, ravaged by past abortions and untreated infections, was rejecting this pregnancy.

The doctor had warned her: bed rest, strict medication, no guarantees.

But she'd needed this child to trap Ethan.

Now, under the stress of confinement, she'd forgotten her medication. The strain had taken its toll.

As she knelt there, the life inside her slipped away.