Chapter 231

Evangeline knew all too well that Winston didn’t summon her back out of any pure intention.

This time, though, she hesitated.

Back when she was away, Winston and Hazel cleared out every trace of her mother from the house-every keepsake, every cherished item, even the photo albums filled with memories of her and her mom. Not a single thing was spared.

It had been five years since then. All Evangeline had left of her mother were the fading fragments of memory in her mind.

She desperately wanted those photographs.

But after a few minutes of turning it over in her head, she let it go.

Her mother wouldn’t have wanted her to be manipulated by anyone over these things.

For a long time, Evangeline had believed her mother’s dying wish for her to marry Soren was simply to fulfill her own hopes. Only much later did she understand: her mother must have suspected Winston would remarry and that Evangeline would be ostracized by the Whitmore family, left without any inheritance, struggling even to remain under their roof.

So, her mother had risked public scorn and arranged for her to marry Soren, hoping to protect her.

Old Mrs. Fawkes hadn’t wanted to see her at anyone’s mercy, either. When the divorce came, she’d given Evangeline shares in the Fawkes family business.

Whether or not she could keep them in the end, at least outsiders would think twice before trying to harm her.

She couldn’t let down her mother and Old Mrs. Fawkes for their kindness.

So Evangeline decided not to dwell on it any longer.

But just as she arrived at her office building, Winston’s name flashed across her screen-it was a video call.

He was holding a thick photo album, flipping it open and angling it toward the camera. Instantly, Evangeline recognized the photos of her and her mother.

In one, her mother wore a beige dress with tiny polka dots, her elegant brown hair swept up, looking gentle and beautiful as ever.

She was kneeling beside Evangeline, using a handkerchief to gently wipe Evangeline’s messy hands. Dough clung to Evangeline’s fingers, flour dusted her round cheeks, and a little girl-Theresa-sat cross-legged on the floor, rolling dough between her small palms.

The table beside them was covered with odd, misshapen lumps of dough. In the background, an old, battered oven-yellowed and blackened-completed the scene of chaos.

It was her mother’s birthday that year. She and Theresa had schemed to bake a cake as a surprise, but not only had they failed spectacularly, they’d somehow managed to blow up the oven.

Her mom had rushed home, but instead of scolding them, she’d just laughed and taken them out for cake.

Evangeline had begged Winston for this photo before, but he’d told her he’d thrown it out with the trash.

Now, seeing it again, memories crashed over her.

Knowing Winston had kept the photos was one thing; seeing them with her own eyes was something else entirely.

Her heart trembled.

Winston caught the shift in her expression and smiled quietly to himself.

He knew his daughter far too well. No matter how cold Evangeline appeared, when it came to her mother, she could never stay indifferent.

But then, he was no different.

Late at night, when the world was silent, he, too, would think back on the past.

Evangeline’s mother had been beautiful, poised, clever, and sharp-witted-she’d held the Whitmore family together when it threatened to fall apart. She made him look good in front of others, and she had a head for business that few could match.

But she’d been too strong-willed.

If only she’d agreed to accept Hazel, he would never have arranged for anything

to go wrong during her surgery.

He’d intended to keep the album for himself, as a private memento.

But now, the Whitmore family business was in trouble-again.

The thought made Winston clench his jaw.

He was already steeling himself for Evangeline’s divorce from Soren.

Most of the Whitmore family’s business partners had only worked with them out of respect for the Fawkes family. Once the divorce was final, many of those companies would walk away.

He’d already started planning: Giselle would marry Glenn, reconnecting the Whitmores with the Carlisle family.

But so far, Giselle had made little progress. Rumor had it Glenn and Evangeline still had some kind of unresolved relationship.