Revenge Game: Beauty's Coming Back

It was an hour before midnight, and things were quiet on the hillside road of Yangming Mountain. All of a sudden, the roaring engine of a car broke the silence.

A dazzling red Porsche zoomed quickly on the snake-like road. At every sharp turn, the car drifted across the asphalt, leaving behind trails of dust and smoke.

Inside the car, Isabella Lou shifted the gear, making the car roar with more power and speed.

A bitter and self-mocking smile appeared on her beautiful face. It was frustrating for her to be deceived for such a long time. The words he said to her kept ringing in her head.

"Bella, I've always liked your sister Evie. If it hadn't been for the broken capital chain of my family business, I wouldn't have... I know it's my fault..."

"It's not Tom's fault. He did it for the Wen Family. Just hate me. I'm the one who did the wrong thing. Tom and I really love each other, please..."

Isabella Lou closed her eyes. It had been years since she had cried, but she just couldn't help herself right now. Her heart was filled with love for both her sister and Thomas Wen. There was no way she could have predicted that they would go behind her back like that.

Her heart ached more at the thought of the couple. The man often wore an iron-grey suit, accentuating his elegant yet strong demeanor. On the other hand, the woman was slender and unbelievably beautiful. As she leaned in against his shoulder with a happy smile, it was easy for anyone to see how intimate they were with one another.

If only Isabelle Lou had not taken a wrong turn during her race, she wouldn't have known that the two were engaged tonight.

The banquet was being held on a luxurious cruise ship. As it turned out, it was a very big and grand celebration. What made it even more difficult for Isabella Lou to accept was the fact that her own biological father was there to participate in the engagement ceremony.

'Ha-ha! I'm just so stupid and clueless, aren't I?' Isabella Lou thought bitterly.

Her hands tightly gripped on the steering wheel. The road before her started to blur as tears soon formed in her eyes.

Below the winding road, the waves surged and crashed against the mountain side. There were dark clouds overhead, and the whistling sound of the wind indicated that heavy rains were soon about to fall.

But Isabella Lou could notice nothing else but the dark storm that was brewing in her heart.

Her sister stole her fiance. On top of that, it turned out that her fiance only took interest in her because of the money. And how could it be that even her father was in on the plan? Why did he help them lie to her?

With all these in her thoughts, Isabella Lou stepped harder on the gas. In her entire twenty-five years of existence, the only thing that hadn't betrayed her yet was her beloved car.

She reached out and briskly wiped away her tears. 'Thomas is just a man,' she thought to herself. 'So what if my stepsister stole him away from me! There are so many other men in the world, men who are more decent than that jerk.'

Given the fact that she had just been named as one of the best racers in Tianyun City, it would be impossible for her not to find another man.

Isabella Lou took another sweeping, sharp turn, channeling all her anger on the wheel. It was reasonable for her to feel this way since Thomas Wen had screwed over her and used her for her money. He even had the audacity to defend his actions by saying that she was too enchanting and dangerous.

"Bella, just look at yourself in the mirror! You were born to be a vixen. No man would dare to marry such a woman."

From everything that happened, it wasn't the complacent smile on her stepsister's face that shocked Isabella Lou the most, nor was it the pitiful eyes of her father and stepmother, but the way Thomas Wen looked at her as he said those. That was like a knife to her back.

He had cheated on her, and took away her money to save his own company. As if that wasn't enough, he had even shone a bad light on her, intending to destroy her entire career.

Taking a deep breath, Isabella Lou tried to calm down and focus on the road ahead. There was a hairpin curve coming up. Slowly, she applied pressure on the brakes. However, the car was still going in full speed. At this point, she was going over two hundred miles per hour.

Isabella's heart sank. From what she remembered, her car had gotten a full tune up in preparation for tonight's race. 'How could there be something wrong with the brakes? I've never even left the car...'

And then, it suddenly occurred to her that she did.

She once left the car and rushed into the luxurious cruise when she saw the banner on the cruise congratulating the engagement of Evelyn Lou and Thomas Wen.

Panicking, Isabella stomped on the brakes as hard as she could, but the car still wouldn't slow down. Looking at the dashboard, she was starting to regret that she had filled up the tank with gas today. Thinking quickly, she tried to change her tactics, hoping that she would be able to consume up all the gas until the car came to a halt.

Every muscle in Isabella's slim body tensed. All the things she had previously been thinking about--the engagement, her backstabbing stepsister, her deceiving father--had disappeared. The only thing in her mind was that sharp curve on the road. With a determined and solemn look on her face, she loosened and tightened her grip on the wheel.

As she approached the curve, she stepped on the accelerator. The modified Porsche jumped out in an instant like a cheetah.

Isabella tried her best to hold the steering wheel tightly. It all happened in a brief second, and soon, the car was past the intimidating curve. Looking back on her rearview mirror, she let out a relieved sigh.

Suddenly, a big bolt of lightning flashed in the sky, making her heart tremble.

'Was that lighting?

Is it going to rain?'

Isabella's face suddenly turned pale, and her hands holding the steering wheel began to tremble. The tears in her eyes had been replaced by trepidation.

In front of her, the road was coming to an end, and she was about to crash head-first against the mountain. It was very much like her mother's car accident.

It happened on a cold, rainy night like this.

Isabella's body couldn't help trembling.

A solid mountain was a nightmare for one driving at full speed.

Bang!

Under the dark night sky, the short bursts of lighting revealed slick blood on the pavement. In the end, her car had also betrayed Isabella.

Who could've possibly been behind this?

Slowly coming to consciousness, Isabella saw the brilliant bright light behind her eyelids and heard the steady beeping of the heart monitor.

With her eyes fluttering open, she saw that she was in a room that was all white. Then she closed her eyes and for a while she thought that she was already dead. However, just as she was thinking this, the door suddenly swung open.

Bang!

"Didn't you say that her condition was already stable? Why is she still in the ICU? It's a waste of resources!" It was the voice of Isabella's stepmother, Yolanda Wang. In the past, she had always appeared dignified and virtuous, caring for Isabella very much. But now, her words were full of sarcasm and disgust.

"Mom, even if she gets better, she probably won't want to wake up! If I were her, I would just rather die. Can you just imagine? Dad and Thomas only loved her because of her money. I bet if her mother hadn't left her such a large fortune, she wouldn't have attracted anyone's attention in the first place!" From how Isabella heard it, that was Evelyn Lou's voice.

Hearing that, Isabella felt her chest tighten painfully. It turned out that the harmony between her and her stepmother was all fake, and so was the love between her and Evelyn Lou.

"Silly girl, no matter how powerful and rich her mother was, it doesn't concern her now. All her property is now ours."

"Mom, you're really the best! It's a good thing you were able to persuade Dad not to divorce Isabella's mother. Who knows where these funds and shares would end up if that didn't happen?"

Yolanda Wang walked to the machines and poked the tubes with her finger. A satisfied smile appeared on her face. 'Sophie Bai, even if you knew your husband and I had an affair, was there really anything you could do about it? Now all your things belong to me. Your husband even likes my daughter better than yours! I'm the real winner here!'

Evelyn Lou looked at her mother fawningly and said, "Mom, now Thomas is engaged to me. If Isabella dies, her funds and shares can't be inherited by the Wen Family. How am I even going to live like that?"

"You ungrateful thing! Who do you think I did all this for?" Yolanda Wang lightly hit the back of her daughter's head. "Don't covet Isabella's money. Your Dad has spent a lot of money to deal with your car accident. In case you didn't know, he also borrowed money from quite a few people. If it weren't for the investigation from the provincial government, do you think your Dad would agree us to do this in the first place?"

"But Mom, Isabella is driving a Porsche! My car is no comparison to hers. It would be embarrassing if people saw me driving around in that junk. Besides, I'll be the daughter-in-law of the Wen Family in the future. If I keep driving such a bad car, it will also disgrace the Wen Family!" Evelyn Lou whined childishly, unwilling to give up her request.

Lying on her bed, Isabella was shocked by what she heard. From the looks of it, it seemed the two did not notice that she had regained consciousness. Despair washed over her. Just as Evelyn Lou had said, Isabella was starting to wish that she had died in the car crash so she didn't have to know all of these painful things.

As it turned out, Yolanda had been with her father for a long time, even when he was still together with his first wife. The only reason Isabella's father didn't divorce her mother was so that Yolanda could get all of her mother's money in the end. As things started to unfold, Isabella couldn't help but think that maybe Yolanda was the one who had tampered with her car!

"Okay, I'll talk to your Dad then!" Yolanda retorted, not being able to handle Evelyn's begging.

"By the way, if Isabella recovers from her coma, what do we do then?" Evelyn asked.

"There are no 'ifs' here, sweetie. We have to make sure that she doesn't recover from her coma," Yolanda said matter-of-factly.

"What are you trying to say, Mom?"

Yolanda smiled, "I will ask Charles to deal with it. I can't do all the dirty work, can I? I killed Sophie before, and now it's his turn to get rid of Isabella."

"Do you think Dad can do it though?"

"If he doesn't, he will surely pay for it. After all, he has bribed a lot of people and borrowed a lot of money. As soon as someone from the provincial government comes to investigate, he can't cover up his ill deeds. If he even dares to go against my plans... Humph!"

As soon as Evelyn heard this, she held Yolanda's hands tightly in hers. "Then let's go find Dad as soon as possible. As long as Isabella's still breathing..."

Their voices gradually faded away. Lying on the bed, Isabella grasped the white sheets. Rage rushed through veins.

Her emotions surged as anger and resentment swept over her whole body.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

The machines beside the bed were suddenly ringing wildly, filling the room with a deafening shrillness.

Slowly, Isabella lost consciousness. The door of the ward opened, and doctors and nurses rushed in to resuscitate her.

When she woke up again, she saw a man standing at the end of the bed.

Even though Charles Lou was middle-aged, he looked even more stunning and elegant. He looked knowledgeable and composed, but Isabella could see nothing but a filthy, conniving man.

Isabella's own father, who had always been kind and loving to her, was now one of her enemies.

At that moment, she desperately wanted to ask him about her mother's death, and how much he was involved.

She also wanted to ask him if he had really loved her, if he had ever seen her as his own daughter.

More importantly, she wanted to know if he really had it in him to kill her.

Isabella slightly widened her eyes. In the end, it wasn't her ex-fiance or stepmother or stepsister who was going to end her life. It was her own flesh and blood -- Charles Lou!

At the end of the bed, Charles Lou twisted with remorse as he looked down at Isabella trembling slightly. "Bella... Please don't blame me for this!"

As he spoke, he took a pillow from the end of the bed and slowly walked up beside her head. He looked down at her weak body, took a deep breath, and slowly closed his eyes. Then he gently moved the pillow on Isabella's head, smothering her entire face.

Isabella's heart trembled.

It was as if all the questions she had in her heart had been answered. There was nothing sugarcoating it; he was going to kill her. For twenty-five years, she had called him Dad. Unfortunately, it only proved to be a joke.

For a while, her arms and legs flailed about. After some time, she no longer resisted. Gradually, her body stopped moving, and her chest no longer filled up with air. When everything was still, Charles slowly moved the pillow away.

There wasn't a single sound in the hospital room other than the long, prolonged beep of the heart monitor. It was then that Isabella drew her last breath.

Leaning against the head of the bed, Isabella looked out of the window lazily. 'W-what happened?'

Lifting her hand, she touched her forehead and felt that it was a little hot. Looking around, she was sure this was the day when she got hospitalized when she was only thirteen year old. From what she remembered, no one came to visit her this day, and only the doctors and nurses came in and out of the room.

When she was at this age, she had resented both of her parents, blaming them on focusing too much on work and making money instead of paying attention to her.

But now, with everything she had known, Isabella couldn't help but feel sorry for her mother. On the other hand, she felt indifferent towards her father.

'How is it possible that I came back here?' Isabella wondered as she stared at her hands in awe. It was obvious from the way her hands looked that she was much younger than she was. 'Was it all just a dream that my father killed me?'

Thinking of this, there was nothing but hatred in her heart.

Isabella frowned and stared out of the window at the sunshine. 'What happened to me after I was 13?' she thought. Right now, she wanted to do everything she could to protect her mother. It was her turn to make sure she was safe.

Her mother, Sophie Bai, worked hard to make sure her career was successful so that her family could live a comfortable and luxurious life. However, Isabella was young and ignorant back then, even distancing herself from Sophia. Sometimes, she could even let her mother know how much she despised her, especially when Sophie tried to get close to her.

When Sophie died in the car accident, Isabella learned that she had left everything to her in her will -- the company, all the stock and bonds. But it wasn't the immense wealth Sophie had left Isabella that made her feel her love towards her mother. Seeing her mother's cold and pale corpse made Isabella regret pushing her away.

Isabella closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The serious expression on her face didn't suit her childish features. Nevertheless, she was as beautiful as ever.

At this moment, the door to her ward swung open.

Isabella's eyes widened at once. It was her father Charles!

Charles was then in his thirties, high-spirited and vigorous. With his hair slicked back smoothly, he looked very sharp and refined.

Subconsciously, Isabella drew back a little. The scene of Charles covering her head with a pillow before she died still lingered. Recalling his indifferent expression filled her with panic and fear.

But Charles didn't notice the change on her face. He walked a few steps closer, grabbed a pillow from another bed and walked towards Isabella.

Isabella's face turned paler. She shivered and pulled up the quilt subconsciously. "No!"

Her cry immediately made Charles stagger to a halt. Then, he gingerly put the pillow behind her with an anxious expression and let her lean against it. "Silly girl, what's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?"

It was not until then that Isabella slowly relaxed. It turned out that he wanted to make her more comfortable. She had thought that he was going to suffocate her again!

Taking a deep breath, Isabella slowly stuck her head out of the quilt and fixed her eyes on the man. Since she was suffocated by him in her previous life, she was having a difficult time seeing him as her father.

He didn't deserve such an address anymore. After all, he was willing to kill his own daughter for the sake of money!

Looking at Isabella's little, white and gloomy face, Charles rubbed her hair lovingly, and then raised his hand to touch her forehead. He sighed, "It's still a little hot. Let's stay here for another night, okay?"

Biting her lip, Isabella felt uncomfortable to stay with him for a second longer. "Will mom come?"

Hearing that, the corners of Charles's mouth turned slightly into a frown. Normally, Isabella would never want to see her mother. But today, she took the initiative to ask for her. "Your mother only cares about money. Do you really think she cares about you and me? Dad will stay with you today, okay?"

Hearing this, Isabella's heart sank. She nodded and watched Charles go ask the doctor about her condition.

It turned out that Charles had already started to alienate her mother from her. If a thirteen-year-old child heard such words, it was inevitable that she wouldn't want to be closer to her mother!

Isabella clenched her fists. The year was 1996. Although phones were widely used in families and enterprises, there wasn't one in her ward.

Isabella was worried. How could she get in touch with her mother?

Charles came back soon with a doctor and a nurse. They talked for a while and prescribed medicine for Isabella. She took some medicine and was given an injection on the back of her hand. She looked at the transparent liquid dripping into her body and her pale face began to flush slightly.

The tragic end of her life was the beginning of a new one. With everything she knew about her past life, she knew all the plans Charles, Yolanda and Evelyn were setting out to do. There was more than enough time for Isabella to prepare for their blows. What was more, she might even be able to prevent her mother's car accident.

'The people who've deceived me will pay! There's nothing to be afraid of now,' she thought determinedly.

Charles said he wanted to keep her company, but as soon as she was given an infusion, he pulled out his pager to answer a call and left with an apologetic face.

Isabella breathed a sigh of relief. She really hated that murderer. If he had stayed a little longer in front of her, she probably would've jumped up, pulled out the needle on the back of her hand and stabbed him to death.

Half an hour later, the infusion was finished. Covering the pinhole, Isabella looked at the nurse beside her. "Do you know where the phone is?" she asked.

"There is a phone at the reception desk on the first floor. But if you make an outside call, you have to pay!"

Isabella nodded. Before Charles came back, she must quickly go to the reception desk to call her mother.

After her mother's car accident, she remembered that her father and soon-to-be stepmother had suddenly turned cold towards her.

It was at that time that she finally felt that she needed her mother's love so much. On her loneliest nights, Isabella would often dial her mother's number repeatedly like crazy. There, she would hear her mother's voicemail, over and over again. Even though it was just a voicemail, it still felt nice for Isabella to hear.

And so, Isabella dialed the familiar number, her fingers almost trembling. After two rings, the phone was finally picked up. "Hello? Who is this?" A gentle voice sounded.

Isabella's knuckles turned pale as she clenched the phone receiver tightly. She suppressed the surging emotions, but her lips trembled uncontrollably. For a moment, she couldn't find her voice.

"Hello? Is someone there?"

"Mom..."

"Bella?" Sophie's hesitant voice rose slightly in surprise. It was a known fact that they were not close with each other. Isabella rarely called her mother like this, and it was even rarer for them to talk face to face. 'Bella...Why did she call me all of a sudden?'

With doubt and shock, Sophie's heart was trembling with joy. As a mother, no one could understand how painful she felt when her daughter repulsed her.

"Mom... It's me..." In the trembling voice, there was a sobbing tone. Isabella bit her lip and said, "Mom, I'm sick. Why aren't you here with me?"

Sophie's heart twitched, and then she felt a sharp pain. "Bella, you're sick? When did you get sick? Which hospital are you in? Tell me, I'm going to see you right now!"

After hanging up the phone, there were still tears on Isabella's face, but a smile gradually entered her lips. Joy swept through her as she could finally be closer to her mother.

With tears in her eyes, Isabella went back to the ward with joy. She lay on the bed and waited for her mother. After such a long time, her mother's image had faded in her mind.

Half an hour later, a woman rushed into the ward. "Bella? Bella, what happened to you?"

It was the first time that Sophie appeared so ungraceful and awkward. She carefully touched Isabella's arms, hands, legs and even feet with her bare hands, as if trying to see what was wrong with her daughter. "Bella, don't worry anymore, okay? Mom's right here."

Seeing the nervousness on Sophie's face, Isabella smiled warmly, feeling a bit shy. "Mom, I just have a fever. It's not a big deal!"

"Silly girl, no matter how small the illness is, it hurts me. How can I not worry about it?" Sophie rubbed Isabella's head and smiled dotingly. "I came in a hurry and wasn't able to buy anything. Tell me, what do you want to eat? I'm going to buy it!"

Biting her lip, Isabella lowered her head and smiled sheepishly. "I think I want to eat cherries and grapes!"

"Okay, wait for me. I'll buy it for you!" Tears welled up in Sophie's eyes. It was the first time that her daughter was so welcoming towards her.

One hour later.

With a sigh, Isabella looked out of the ward. There was no one else there aside from the nurses in white and the patients in light blue gowns.

'Well... What is taking you? Are you tilling the soil, planting seeds, and waiting for the cherries and grapes to grow?' Isabella couldn't help pursing her lips.

Finally, there was a burst of rapid footsteps. Sophie's hair was a little messy, and she was holding a plastic bag in her right hand. There were the red cherries and a pack of raisins.

'Ah, of course! Cherries and grapes were still rare and pretty scarce back then. How could I forget about that? No wonder Mom spent so much time looking for them!'

Isabella regretted raising a request so casually.

However, Sophie seemed to be more remorseful than her. "Bella, I haven't found grapes. How about eating raisins instead?"

Looking at Sophie's cautious manner, Isabella felt grieved. How overbearing could she be?

"Mom, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," said Isabella, holding her mother's hands.

Seeing the tears falling down from Isabella's eyes, Sophie's heart ached. She held her daughter in her arms. "Silly girl, don't cry!"

Just then, Isabella felt her shoulder getting wet. Looking over, she saw that her mother was crying.

With her hands around Sophie's waist, Isabella cried loudly with heart-wrenching pain.

Sophie panicked and felt heartbroken when she heard Isabella cry. "Good girl, don't cry. Don't cry. You are still sick. Crying is not good for your health!" she crooned.

Many patients, drawn by Isabella's crying, had gathered at the door of her ward.

The nurse who had just given an infusion to Isabella came over and said unhappily to the patients with a frown: "This is hospital, not public market! Please go back to your own wards!" Then she turned to look at the crying girl and pursed her lips impatiently. "It's just a fever. Why are you crying so much? Just go home if you have to act like such a spoiled child!"

After saying that, the nurse scoffed and turned to leave.

With a livid face, Isabella rolled her eyes. 'How could she say something like that? It doesn't matter, I guess. At least I can start over and make things right.'