Winning Back His Ex's Wife's Broken Heart by Hayley

Richard

pov.

The cold, sterile environment of the police station did nothing to settle the unease that had been gnawing at me since Sarah's fall.

Sitting across from Isabelle in the small interrogation room only amplified it. She looked different-disheveled, almost feral-but her eyes still held that same unhinged intensity I remembered from before. Martins sat beside me, arms crossed, his body language radiating skepticism and disgust.

The officer standing by the door had warned us to keep the conversation civil, but I wasn't here to trade pleasantries.

"Why, Isabelle?" My voice was steady, but my hands clenched into fists under the table. "Why did you hurt Sarah?"

She tilted her head, a slow, deliberate movement that made my skin crawl. Then, she smiled-a twisted, almost childlike grin.

"She wanted to take you from me," she said, her tone eerily calm.

I blinked, the sheer absurdity of her words momentarily robbing me of speech. "Take me from you? Isabelle, how many times do we have to tell you? I'm not your fiancé. I'm not David."

Her smile faltered, and something dark flashed in her eyes. "You are," she whispered fiercely. "You just don't remember. They've poisoned you, made you forget who you really are. But I know you, Richard. I know your soul." Martins exhaled sharply beside me, muttering something under his breath. I ignored him, leaning forward to meet Isabelle's gaze.

"Listen to me carefully," I said, my voice low but firm. "I'm not David. I'm not the man you lost, and I never will be. I've told you this before. Sarah has nothing to do with your past-nothing. What you did to her was unforgivable." Her expression twisted, tears spilling down her cheeks as her voice rose. "You don't understand! She's turning you against me! Just like before. She's-"

"Enough!" My voice cracked like a whip, and for the first time, she fell silent. "You hurt Sarah. You endangered our baby. You broke into our home. I want answers, Isabelle, and I want them now. Who helped you escape the hospital? How did you get past my security?"

For a moment, I thought she wouldn't answer. Then, she smiled again, but this time it was different-smug, triumphant.

"You think you're so smart," she said. "But she let me in. She knew the truth that Sarah stole you from me. She helped me."

patience hanging by

a grating, hollow sound that made my stomach churn. "She gave me everything I needed. The codes, the plan, the opportunity. That

her words sinking in like a lead weight. I didn't have time to process

the hospital. It appears a nurse helped her escape-a woman. But none

straighter. "What do you

a tablet on the table and pulling up the

was partially obscured by a mask, but something about her seemed... familiar. "We're still trying to identify her," the officer continued. "But it's clear she wasn't a staff member.

slope of

Susan," I said, my

me, his

warring within me. "It's her. I'd

eyes narrowed. "You're

jaw tightened as I forced the words out. "She's the only one who would have access to the codes. I... I never changed

telling me she had the access

ever do something like this," I snapped, frustration bubbling over. "She was angry when we

into whatever resentment she already had. It's a

until I found one. My

some event we'd attended

Sarah was still unconscious, our baby was fighting for her life, and now this-the betrayal of

me in the hallway, her expression tense. "What

hand through my hair. "It was Susan," I said finally. "She's the one who helped Isabelle escape. She gave her the access codes

her hand flying to her mouth. "Susan? Your

nodded, the words tasting bitter. "She must've been working with Isabelle for months, maybe longer. I should've seen

she said firmly.

that Sarah and the baby are paying