“Grandpa, have you eaten? How have you been these past few days?”

Mr. Kevin Everly replied that he had, and took Hogan’s hand, exchanging a few words with him.

Although he had his reservations about Hogan-believing he could never quite measure up to Finnian-Hogan hadn’t done anything truly out of line, except for having supported Liliana in the past. Overall, Mr. Kevin Everly was still rather fond of Hogan, and ended up talking with him for quite a while.

Seeing the two of them engrossed in conversation, Amara decided to give them some privacy and stepped out for a walk.

Just as she entered the living room, a young woman in her early twenties, with delicate features and simple clothes, approached her and said, “Ms. Sullivan, may I have a word with you?”

Amara looked up at her.

She recognized the girl—Tina—who was one of the maids responsible for cleaning the floors in the Everly household.

Amara recalled that Mr. Kevin Everly had once mentioned Tina was from a rural area. She had been a good student in school, but her parents hadn’t let her continue her education, so she’d been forced to leave school early and work.

Tina tended to keep a low profile in the house; she was the diligent, quiet type. Although Amara had seen her many times, they had never spoken before.

“Of course. What is it?”

Amara was genuinely curious about what Tina wanted.

“Ms. Sullivan, could we talk over there?” Tina pointed to a quiet corner where no one else was around.

Amara nodded, and the two of them walked over. Once they stood in the corner, Tina glanced around to make sure no one was watching before lowering her head.

She nervously fidgeted with the hem of her shirt, looking timid and hesitant.

Amara spoke patiently, “It’s okay, you can tell me anything. Take your time—there’s no rush.”

Having once been a shy girl herself, Amara had a lot of patience for someone like Tina, and she waited quietly for her to speak.

ét

Tina closed her eyes for a second, as if gathering her courage, and finally said, “Ms Sullivan, a few months ago before Mrs. Everly passed away, I saw something…”

“What did you see?”

Tina hesitated, then continued slowly, “That day, the young master came home unexpectedly. He didn’t seem himself and then he pulled you into his bedroom. About an hour later, you came out… your hair was all messy…”

Amara’s heart jolted.

Tina was talking about the day Finnian had been given that

traditional medicine, Wet

pulled her into his room and they’d

ended up together. Tina had seen it?

Seeing Amara’s shocked expression-and noticing she didn’t deny it-Tina went on, “Ms. Sullivan, the baby you’re carrying… is it the young master’s?”

Amara opened her mouth to deny it, but realized there was no point.

There was nothing left to deny it was obvious the child was Finnian’s, and the timing fit.

Tina glanced at Amara and said, “Ms. Sullivan, if you want to tell Mr. Everly about this, I can be your witness.”

Finnian clearly hadn’t been himself that day-he probably didn’t even remember what happened so Tina was offering to back up Amara’s story.

Amara was stunned. No wonder Tina had been so hesitant-this was a huge secret.

It took Amara several seconds to recover. She finally said, “You don’t need to be my witness, Tina. But could you please not tell anyone else about this?”

Tina nodded. “Of course, Ms. Sullivan. If you don’t want anyone to know, I’ll keep your secret.”