After I Stopped Loving Him novel Chapter 1203

Given the sheer terror she had endured, the doctors strongly recommended Barbara stay overnight for observation and speak with a trauma therapist.

The Carter family's heavy-set bodyguards were stationed right outside her door.

After today's nightmare, they weren't taking any chances. No one in the family would be stepping out without a security detail.

"Isabella, I'm starving," Barbara said suddenly, her tone flat. "Could you go out and grab us some takeout? Let's just have a quick dinner here."

Barbara wanted Isabella out of the room.

Harold immediately chimed in. "I'll go get the food. Isabella, you stay here and keep her company."

"Harold."

Barbara interrupted him sharply.

Isabella instantly caught the underlying tension. Barbara wanted to speak privately with her brother, so she smiled gently. "It's fine, Harold. I'll go."

She handed him her purse and slipped out of the room, taking only her phone.

"What was that about? You've been acting weird around Isabella ever since you got back."

Harold had definitely noticed his sister's shift in behavior. She kept looking at Isabella with an odd, probing suspicion.

"Harold, what if I told you my kidnapping was because of Isabella? Would you believe me?"

Barbara asked her brother calmly.

Barbara then repeated every fragmented conversation she had overheard between the kidnappers and their boss.

"You need to ask her what she's hiding, Harold. Who did she cross? If what those men said is true, it was me today, but who's next? Are we all supposed to live looking over our shoulders?"

Harold felt a cold chill run down his spine. His mind instantly flashed to the lingering suspicion he'd harbored for weeks—the undeniable feeling that Isabella and Ethan shared a dark, unspoken history. It was a secret they fiercely guarded, and he had respected her boundaries enough not to push.

"Isabella doesn't have enemies," Harold argued weakly. "Aside from Natalie, there's no one. She's built her business on making friends, not burning bridges."

Harold paused, his mind racing. "Could it be Natalie? But if Natalie wanted revenge, she would have gone straight for Isabella, not you."

Barbara's eyes filled with dread. "I don't know who it is. Either she pissed off someone incredibly dangerous, or someone is trying to drive a wedge between us. But I'm leaning toward the first option. Isabella is hiding something massive, and we have no idea what it is."