Chapter 53 – The Secret Son
****Isabelle’s POV****
The silence in the drawing room was too sharp—like a blade pressed against the skin. Isabelle sat rigid in the antique velvet chair, her fingers locked tightly together as she stared at the woman across from her. Elena. Her presence was like a ghost pressing against the walls of Evercrest—fragile, but undeniably real.
Elena’s hands were folded in her lap. Calm. Too calm.
“You’re telling me,” Isabelle said slowly, her voice tight with disbelief, “that you and Matteo… had a child?”
Elena didn’t flinch. “Yes.”
It was a single word, but it hit like a thunderclap.
Isabelle stood. Her heart was pounding, her breath uneven. “That’s impossible. He never—he would have told someone. Me. Dante. Anyone.”
“No,” Elena said softly. “He wouldn’t.
