“Isabella, we spoiled Nadine too much. That’s why she made such a mess of things. She knows she was wrong, though. We’ll keep a closer eye on her from now on and make sure nothing like this happens again.”
“She smashed up your new car, and we’re ready to replace it—buy you a new one, whatever you want. I really hope you can let this go and forgive Nadine just this once.”
“We’re all in the same business circles. We see each other all the time. There’s no need to let this get out of hand, right? Sometimes it’s better to let things slide.”
Isabella didn’t budge. “Lawer, I’ll think about whether I want to settle with Nadine, but she has to apologize to me in public.”
“Of course, of course. Nadine was wrong, and we’ll make sure she apologizes. Isabella, please think it over. There’s no reason to make things so tense. Besides, Nadine and your sister-in-law are best friends.”
“Lawer, I have nothing to do with the Lane family anymore. Natalie isn’t my sister-in-law.”
The truth was, Natalie had never treated her like family. Even Jordan, who’d grown up with her for twenty years, had never acted like a brother. There was never any warmth.
Lawer hesitated, searching for the right words. “Still, the Lane family raised you. They were good to you. For their sake, I hope you can be generous and let Nadine off just this once.”
“I’ll wait and see how sincere Nadine’s apology is, then I’ll decide. If there’s nothing else, that’s all for now.”
Isabella ended the call.
She handed the phone back to Harold, sat down, and took a long drink of water. “Harold, what do you think? Should I just settle?”
Harold didn’t even hesitate. “If you want to settle, settle. If you don’t, then don’t. Let Nadine spend some time in jail. Don’t worry about the Franklins. If they try to threaten or retaliate against you, I’ll make sure they regret it. Isabella, I’ll always have your back. I’m always on your side.”

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