Chapter 170

Julian actually knew where the bakery was.

After Isabella left, he didn't go there immediately.

He got into his car, hesitated, then dialed a number. "Oliver, I'm back. Got another flight later, but I want to see Victoria at the hospital before I leave. Check if Alexander's free. If not, come with me."

Oliver sounded shocked. "You're back? When did you arrive?"

Julian ignored the question. "Call Victoria first. See if she's available."

Oliver almost asked why Julian wasn't calling Alexander or Victoria himself, but stopped. Julian must be in a hurry.

Since he hadn't visited Victoria either, he agreed without further questions. Alexander wasn't available. After hanging up, Julian bought flowers and a fruit basket before heading to the hospital to meet Oliver.

Inside the hospital room, Victoria smiled when she saw Julian. "What brings you back so suddenly?"

"Had some business to handle," Julian replied coolly.

Victoria looked down, fingers brushing the petals of the flowers he'd brought. "I see..."

Was it really just business? Or had he come specifically to see her?

He hadn't rushed back immediately after her injury, but the fact that he came as soon as he could still meant something.

That night, Isabella stayed at the Sinclair residence.

She woke early the next morning. The healthy plants on her windowsill caught her eye as she stretched lazily, feeling unusually cheerful.

Downstairs, Caroline was already preparing breakfast for her, William, and Edward.

"You're in good spirits today," Caroline observed with a smile when Isabella entered the kitchen.

Isabella helped knead the dough. "Yeah, feeling great."

Freshly steamed buns were soon ready. Just as she sat down to eat, her phone rang.

Sophia again.

She ignored it. The phone rang once more.

Isabella turned it off completely and focused on her meal.

When her calls stopped going through, Sophia pouted and went to find Alexander in the master bedroom.

Alexander had just finished his morning run and was about to shower when he saw her sulking. "What's wrong?"

"I called Mom yesterday wanting her to come home and cook for me, but she didn't answer. Just tried twice more and still nothing. Then it said her number was unavailable."

"Probably turned her phone off," Alexander said.

Sophia frowned. "Battery dead?"

Alexander neither confirmed nor denied. "Maybe."

"What do I do? I wanted to go skiing today. Mom promised she'd take me if she had time."

Originally, she hadn't felt like going because Victoria was injured and she wanted to stay at the hospital.

But hospitals were full of germs, and everyone discouraged frequent visits. Now that Victoria was improving, she wasn't as worried.

With free time and no one to go with, she naturally thought of her mother. But her mother wasn't answering.

"Try again later. She'll probably turn it back on."

Sophia sighed. "Okay..."

Isabella didn't plan to keep her phone off all day. She still needed to discuss things with Nathaniel.

And Jonathan might contact her later too.

About thirty minutes later, she turned her phone back on.

Almost immediately, Sophia called again.

Isabella opened her laptop, ignored the call, and continued working on her research paper.

Seeing her mother still wasn't answering and Alexander was about to leave, Sophia said, "Dad, Mom still isn't picking up. Will you call her for me?"