Chapter 24
This “Spiritual Revival” project was her official reentry into the design world.
She was going to use it to smash through every wall in her way.
And from here on out, she planned to go deeper–into modern fashion. That was where her heart truly lay.
She gently smoothed out a few extra draft sheets on her desk. Her path felt clearer than ever.
After submitting the work, Estela finally allowed herself to catch up on some much–needed sleep.
It wasn’t until much later that she thought to switch off airplane mode- and when she did, her phone nearly exploded with missed calls and
messages.
Vance. Andre. Phoebe. Even Rowena. Even relatives from the old
Leon family estate…
Her brows furrowed, a sense of unease settling in.
Scrolling through her messages, one from Vance immediately caught her attention.
Vance: [Josh has a high fever. Come to the hospital.]
The message was sent three days ago–at 3 a.m.
Estela stared at it, expression unreadable.
‘At that hour, what would’ve changed if I’d gone?‘ she thought.
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The thought surprised even her,
In the past, if either of the twins so much as coughed, she’d be a nervous wreck. But now? Now she saw things for what they were–and realized some things just didn’t warrant the same panic anymore.
She kept scrolling through the messages.
A few were just strings of question marks from Vance, sent after she didn’t reply.
But not a single one mentioned the divorce papers.
Estela frowned.
Vance: [As a mother, don’t you think you’ve gone too far?]
Vance Josh just wanted to drink your soup.]
He attached a photo.
In it, the little boy lay in a hospital bed, his face flushed an unhealthy red from fever. His brows were tightly furrowed in discomfort–he looked miserable.
Estela put her phone down and rubbed her temples.
After a long pause, she pressed and held the photo, then deleted it.
She sent Vance a brief reply before exiting the chat.
At the hospital, when Vance saw her message–after three full days of silence–his expression darkened.
‘That is all she had to say?‘ he thought. After disappearing for days, she finally replies with a cold, detached: [I’m not a doctor.]
‘That’s it?‘ He immediately called her, rage simmering beneath the
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Chapter 24
surface.
“Estela, where are you?”
“At home.”
Vance fell silent.
She hadn’t returned to their marital home once in the past three days- he knew that because the house staff had been keeping watch. So she was lying. Again.
His anger flared.
“You still think of that place as your home? Do you even remember you’re Josh’s mother? He’s been burning up for three days, and you haven’t so much as shown your face! I’ve never seen a mother as cold- hearted as you.”
Estela let out a quiet, bitter laugh. “Mr. Leon, I’m not a doctor. Why don’t you ask your son if he remembers telling me he hates me and never wants to see me again?”
Vance’s frown deepened. “He’s a kid. You seriously believe every word that comes out of his mouth? Do you realize you’re the reason his condition worsened?”
Josh’s fever had come on hard and fast.
Over the past three days, the doctors had tried everything. Every time the fever started to go down, it spiked again–worse than before.
It wasn’t until one night, when a secretary came by to drop off documents, that they discovered what was happening: Josh had snuck into the bathroom while everyone was asleep and poured cold water over himself in an attempt to make himself sicker.
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Chapter 24
That was when things took a dangerous turn.
Vance had wanted to confront him, to ask him why he would do something so reckless.
But faced with Josh, burning with fever and mumbling, “Mom… Mom…” in his sleep, he couldn’t bring himself to say a harsh word.
Even Phoebe had spoken up to defend Estela. “Josh just misses her. No matter how busy she is, she’s still their mother. It’s not right for her to go this long without checking in.”
‘That is it, isn’t it? All of this–Josh’s insecurity, his desperation–it all traces back to Estela,‘ he thought.
‘If she hadn’t started acting out so irrationally, none of this would’ve happened. Josh would’ve never thought to hurt himself just to get her
attention.‘
Meanwhile, in her apartment, Estela was calmly clearing her desk. Her voice was flat, emotionless. “Right, I’m the villain. The root of all problems. Which is exactly why I need to stay away. I don’t want to bring him any more bad luck.”
Vance’s patience snapped. His voice turned cold and commanding. “I’m giving you one hour. Be at the private hospital. If you don’t want to be Mrs. Leon anymore–I’ll make it official.”
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