His jaw clenched slightly.
“So what exactly were you doing all this time?”
“No, that’s not it,” Isabel said quickly. “I was just about to call him, actually.”
Her voice faltered slightly, though she tried to keep it light.
“But you’re already on your way? That’s so kind of you, Magnus. You always take such good care of me.”
“Isabel.”
Magnus’s voice turned cold and hard.
“Where is your mother? How is she?”
“She’s fine, don’t worry,” Isabel replied quickly. “When you get here, we’ll make sure she’s taken care of properly. You and I always handle things so well together, don’t we?”
“Isabel, is that Magnus? How is he doing?”
Another voice sounded from behind her.
The moment Magnus heard it, he stiffened.
On the other end, Isabel froze in panic, nearly dropping the phone from her hand.
Magnus’s expression turned dark instantly.
“Was that your mom?” he asked sharply.
Silence filled the line for a moment.
His voice dropped to a dangerously cold tone.
“You lied to me?” The anger in his voice was unmistakable now.
His jaw tightened as anger rose in his voice.
“How could you lie about something like that?”
Isabel swallowed nervously, her fingers trembling slightly.
Magnus continued, his voice growing sharper.
“Gregory is overseas right now. Because he can’t be here for the next few months, that’s why he asked me to take care of you and your family. And this is what you do?”
His voice dropped lower, but the anger only grew heavier.
“Do you even realize what you just did? I was about to call Gregory. He would have dropped everything and come back immediately if he heard something this serious.”
Magnus exhaled sharply.
“You know how much he loves your mom. His family means everything to him.”
His voice hardened again.
“And yet you lied about something like this. How could you do that?”
“No—that’s not what happened!” Isabel said hurriedly.
