Emily Blair gathered up the files from her lap, tucking them away neatly before

speaking in a soft voice. "If you don't trust these documents, you're welcome to look into it yourself. I can wait."

Alex White still said nothing.

She glanced at him, then continued, "To sum it up: Matthew Ross wanted his younger sister Cynthia to study abroad, but he couldn't afford it. So Isabella Austin promised to make it happen—if he agreed to work for her. She forced him to misdiagnose Rose Ward's grandmother, and kept Rose close as her pawn, making Rose compose piano pieces for her."

"I understand."

Alex's voice was hoarse, almost unrecognizable.

He had no need to check the facts himself.

He was the one who'd introduced the middleman to help Isabella set up her trust fund in Astoria.

He never asked what exactly Isabella planned to do—he just knew that if she requested something, he would do everything in his power to help her.

Emily watched him, her eyes flickering with something unspoken.

Alex looked utterly wrecked. His lips pressed into a tight line, his brow furrowed so deeply it carved a permanent crease between his eyes. Pain radiated from his expression, raw and almost tangible, frustration and worry knotted at his forehead, stripping away the usual composure of the neatly-dressed doctor and leaving him looking disheveled and lost.

Even Emily, who prided herself on her tough heart, couldn't bring herself to say anything else that might wound him further.

She fell silent.

Alex stared straight ahead, his mind replaying memories of Isabella Austin over and

over.

They'd grown up together; he was a few years older, and when they were young, he'd always been annoyed by the little shadow named Isabella trailing after him. He'd often snap at her to stop following him, making her cry more than once, but no matter how many times he pushed her away, she kept coming back, calling him her big brother.

He'd hated being called that, hated the responsibility of being anyone's "big brother.” He wanted all the love for himself. When his parents discussed having another child, he'd thrown such a fit that they eventually dropped the idea.

Later, the dog he'd raised since he was small was hit by a car and killed. Before he even had a chance to cry, Isabella had burst into tears behind him, sobbing as if the dog had been hers. That was the moment he finally accepted her calling him her brother.

After that, they were inseparable.

Isabella was there at every important moment in his life-whether he was happy, lost, or anything in between, she was always by his side.

He couldn't understand how the innocent, sweet Isabella of his childhood had become the person Emily described. The Isabella in Emily's words seemed like a stranger, not the girl he'd known for so many years.

It felt as if he'd never really known her at all.

The pain of this revelation twisted inside him, making his chest ache, his stomach churn, his eyes redden with tears he refused to shed.

Isabella Austin was the woman he'd held onto for twenty years.

He had loved her, protected her, devoted himself to her for two decades-and now, everything was crumbling around him.

In that moment, Alex felt a surge of hatred toward Isabella. He hated that she'd asked him to help with the trust fund, knowing full well he was a doctor who lived by his principles. Why would she use him like this, knowing what it would cost him? If he'd known from the start what Isabella intended to do with Matthew Ross, he would have stopped her at any cost.

But it was too late. Everything had already happened.

A wave of dizziness swept over him, the sting of betrayal making his vision swim. He couldn't control the storm inside him; the weight in his chest pressed down until his eyes stung, and for a moment, he nearly broke down right there in front of Emily Blair.

The car was silent for a long, heavy moment.