Chapter 56
The next afternoon, Eleanor met Joy at a bustling coffee shop. Joy handed her a stack of documents. “These are the files I dug up on Suncrest Ltd. The company’s been in the middle of a huge lawsuit-three hospitals joined forces to sue them. Their reputation in the industry is pretty much in shambles right now p>
Eleanor took the folders and started flipping through them.
“You still haven’t told me why you wanted me to look into Roland,” Joy said, raising an eyebrow.
“He’s Vanessa’s father,” Eleanor replied.
“What? Vanessa has a father that rich p>
“Well, to be precise, Vanessa’s his illegitimate daughter.” Eleanor glanced up and added, “Roland’s company is our lab’s biggest supplier for equipment. I want to get a clear picture of what’s going on with his business p>
“They probably have the resources, but judging by all these lawsuits, Roland’s definitely no saint. Cheating hospitals out of money? That’s just heartless p>
Joy gave a mocking laugh. “Vanessa must have some serious pull. Ian’s investing three hundred million-probably just to throw her dad a lifeline p>
Eleanor could see that besides helping Vanessa’s father’s company, lan had his eye on a government-backed research project. He was currying favor with the state, while also supporting his lover’s family. Talk about killing two birds with one stone.
After parting ways with Joy, Eleanor got a call from Jude Vaughn, who was checking in on her progress with the paper.
“Jude, I’ll have it on your desk by Monday at the latest p>
“Perfect! Thanks, Eleanor. And hey, do me a favor-thank Mr. Goodwin for me, will you p>
“Why p>
“Our lab’s finance department just received the initial investment through his company’s account. A hundred million p>
“Will do.” Eleanor let out a small laugh. “Jude, could you keep quiet in front of my husband about me joining the lab? Just for now p>
“You want to surprise him with your big achievements later, huh?” Jude teased.
“That’s right. I want to catch him off guard p>
“Alright, I’ll keep your secret. Whenever you’re ready to make a splash, I promise Mr. Goodwin will be blown away p>
When the call ended, Eleanor checked the time. Just then, Serena’s name flashed on her phone.
“Hey, Serena,” Eleanor answered.
“It’s Friday. I’m picking Evelyn up and taking her to Mom’s for the weekend. Your husband’s already given the okay, so I just wanted to let you know p>
“Does Evelyn want to go?” Eleanor frowned.
“She’s excited! I’m bringing Princess along too,” Serena replied.
“Alright. I’ll visit Grandma tomorrow,” Eleanor said.
After hanging up, Eleanor rubbed her temples. Even if she won custody of her daughter after the divorce, she’d never be able to prevent Evelyn from seeing the Goodwin family.
She needed to focus on her thesis, so she grabbed a coffee to go and headed home. She told Joslyn not to disturb her and locked herself away in the third-floor study.
By eleven that night, Eleanor finally came downstairs to take a break. Joslyn appeared on the second-floor landing.
“Ma’am, Mr. Goodwin still isn’t back. Do you want to call him p>
Eleanor shook her head. “No, it’s fine. You go get some rest p>
Joslyn headed down to the staff quarters, and Eleanor took a long shower before crawling into bed with a book, hoping it would help her fall asleep. Just as she was starting to unwind, she heard the front door open downstairs. Her nerves tensed.
lan was home.
With Evelyn away for the night, Eleanor felt strangely exposed, as if her little protector was gone. If lan barged into her room again, as he had before, dragging her back to his, what could she possibly do?