Chapter 3
I had barely sent the butler away when my phone chimed with a new message a voice recording.
It was Ava’s voice.
“Donovan, what do I do?!”
“If the school finds out I hired someone to frame Professor Marco, they’ll definitely expel me.”
“I didn’t mean to. The professor threatened to cancel my grade, so I…”
“Help me, please? We can’t let Isabella win this lawsuit.”
The phone slipped from my fingers and hit the floor with a dull clatter.
I froze where I stood, my head buzzing.
In the next second, the recording went quiet.
Ava in the audio-and me in real life-seemed to be holding our breath.
It felt like a century passed.
Then Donovan finally spoke.
“Don’t worry. I’ll deal with Isabella’s lawyer.”
All the blood in my body seemed to freeze.
Donovan’s words were like an ice pick, smashing my heart into fragments.
After my father was arrested because of Ava’s testimony, I had screamed and cried, insisting on hiring the best lawyer in all of New York to defend him.
Donovan stopped me. He held me, his voice full of pain for me.
“Isabella, leave it to me!”
“I promise I’ll get your father out.”
I believed him.
My mother was bedridden from the shock and needed someone to care for her.
So I handed everything over to Donovan.
Until the day in court.
Under my father’s gaze and mine, the “best lawyer” Donovan had hired stood up and abandoned the defense on the spot.
“My client has no objections to the plaintiff’s allegations and will not pursue an appeal.”
Afterward, Donovan told me the lawyer had tried his best, and that single excuse was all he offered, brushing me off.
So it was true.
Back then, he had already betrayed me.
Back then, he and Ava were the ones who sent my father to prison.
The next day, I showed up at Ava’s PhD graduation ceremony, my eyes swollen.
Donovan stood in the crowd, looking at Ava with eyes full of warmth.
A handsome man and a beautiful woman stood together as if they were the real couple.
Plenty of my father’s colleagues and students were there. They recognized me and looked at me with nothing but ridicule and mockery.
When Donovan saw me, his face relaxed. He thought I’d come to apologize to Ava.
That was Donovan: he was always so sure I’d compromise.
Too bad. This time, he was going to be disappointed.
“Donovan,” I said, voice steady, “the person who framed my father back then was hired by Ava. And you instructed the lawyer to drop the defense, didn’t you?”
His face stiffened for an instant. Then he forced it back to normal.
“Isabella, what the hell is wrong with you?”
“Today is Ava’s graduation. You came here to cause trouble on purpose, didn’t you?”
My nails dug into my palm. I didn’t care about the pain. I opened my mouth to press again.
Panic flashed through Donovan’s eyes.
In the next second, his hand shot out and clamped around my throat.
Everything I wanted to say jammed in my chest. My face turned purple under the crushing grip.
He shoved me down to the floor.
A couple rushed over and kicked me hard in the belly, over and over.
“You rapist’s daughter, and you dare come to my daughter’s graduation to stir shit up?”
It was Ava’s parents.
Pain tore through my abdomen. Cold sweat burst out across my skin.
Donovan just stood there, unmoving, watching with cold eyes.
I clutched my stomach, lifted my head, and stared straight into his eyes. In that moment, I finally confirmed the truth.
Ava approached with a wronged expression, wiping at the corners of her eyes.
“Sis, I know you’re heartbroken for the professor, but back then I had no choice. The professor really…”
“I even tried to stop him out of kindness back then, told him not to keep going. But who knew he’d set his sights on me too? I only testified because I had no choice.”
As she spoke, Ava pulled out a photo of her with my father. In it, they looked… intimate.
It was obviously forged.
Donovan only glanced once. His expression darkened exactly as she wanted.
“Your father had it coming. Even without that incident, a beast in human skin like him deserved to be punished.”
Ava’s photo detonated the crowd.
“So, Professor Marco really was a repeat offender.”
“And that daughter of his isn’t any better. She’s trying to get people to cover for a rapist.”
“Like father, like daughter.”
“Having someone like that as an alum is disgusting.”
The voices drilled into my eardrums. I didn’t care anymore-I scrambled up and lunged at Ava.
“You lying piece of trash!”
The crowd erupted in chaos.
Donovan moved fast, blocking me in front of Ava.
Just like he had once blocked for me.
The next second, his palm slapped across my face.
“Are you done yet? You’re Mrs. Jones. You still don’t think you’re humiliating enough?”
“Donovan, you can’t let her keep bullying our daughter. Today, you have to give my daughter an answer!”
Ava’s parents stared at me, revenge flashing in their eyes.
Donovan’s brows furrowed. His voice turned razor-sharp.
“Isabella. You slandered Ava and ruined her graduation. Now kneel down and apologize.”
My face was deathly pale. I stayed still.
He leaned close to my ear and whispered,
“You wouldn’t want… your father ending up in the hospital again, would you?”
