Chapter 187

Eleanor read through the whole file, her eyes lingering on the last page.
[Ms. Winters from Millbrook had two apprentices, and they looked almost identical.]
Almost identical?
What did that mean?
Eleanor held her breath, a dozen images flashing through her mind.
An idea-wild, desperate-took shape.
Her heart hammered in her chest.
Finally, she closed the file and set it carefully back on the desk.
When Daniel came in, Eleanor immediately pleaded, “Dan, please… help my dad.”
Daniel already knew what Jordan had done.
His expression grew serious. “Mr. Quinn kidnapped Payne, triggered his condition, and now he’s facing prison because of Louis. You know how powerful Louis’s name is I don’t need to tell you.”
Eleanor’s voice caught, thick with pain. “But my dad… he didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”
Daniel had always despised Jordan. Before, it was just petty nonsense. This was different. This time, Jordan had crossed a line Daniel could not ignore.
“He put profit above everything. He tried to force Grandma Grace to remarry, and when she refused, he kidnapped a sick child. How can you say any of this was an accident?” Follow current novᴇls on
Eleanor had no answer.
She’d been complicit in trying to pressure Grandma Grace into that marriage, after all.
“Eleanor, stay out of this,” Daniel said coldly.
He wasn’t going to help.
Eleanor pleaded again, but Daniel remained unmoved.
She had no choice but to leave.
But her mind kept circling back to the contents of that file.
Later, after work, Daniel went to pick up Aurora.
When the two met, silence stretched between them.
Daniel braced himself, expecting Aurora to confront him about what had really happened with the drinks.
But Aurora didn’t mention it. Not a single word.
Back at North Manor, they ate dinner, went through the motions, and by ten, she went to bed without a fuss or a question.
After a moment’s hesitation, Daniel finally spoke first. “Eleanor honestly just picked up the wrong glass. It wasn’t on purpose.”
Aurora nodded. “I know.”
She wasn’t asking because she already knew the answer wouldn’t matter.
Daniel always had a soft spot for Eleanor.
And Aurora-because of Payne’s illness-still had to swallow her pride and keep asking for Daniel’s help, no matter how humiliating it felt.
Daniel lingered a moment, but when Aurora said nothing more, he left for his study.
Aurora sat by herself for a long time before finally curling up beneath the covers and drifting off.
The next morning, they ate breakfast in heavy silence.
The warmth of the past few days felt like an illusion, something that had slipped through their fingers.
Even the housekeeper noticed the tension between them, whispering to the other staff, guessing what could have sparked another fight.
Halfway through the meal, Aurora got a call from the nurse-she’d just been thrown out by Mrs. Quinn.
Aurora’s heart skipped. She understood at once: Mrs. Quinn was panicking and would take it out on Grandma Grace.
She set down her fork and stood up to leave.
Daniel reached for her arm. “I’ll drive you.”
“No need,” Aurora said, shaking him off.
But Daniel caught her wrist again, his grip unyielding.
“Aurora, I said I’ll take you.”
She matched his resolve. “And I said I don’t need you to.”
The already fraught atmosphere became instantly electric.
Daniel frowned. “Aurora.”
Her eyes sparkled with bitter irony. “Afraid I’ll hurt your precious Eleanor?”
Daniel’s breath caught in his throat.
So she was angry about that after all.
“There were so many people there. Eleanor… she really just picked up the wrong glass,” he tried to explain again.
Aurora didn’t want to hear it. In Daniel’s eyes, Eleanor could do no wrong.
She lowered her gaze, voice quiet but steady. “I don’t have time to fight with you. I’m going to see Grandma Grace at the Quinn estate. You’re busy. I don’t need your help.”
Daniel said nothing, but tightened his grip and all but dragged her to the car.
At the Quinn estate-
Mrs. Quinn was standing in Grandma Grace’s room, hands on her hips, voice shrill with outrage. “He’s your son! Are you really going to let him go to jail?”
Grandma Grace sat calmly on the edge of the bed, watching her daughter-in-law’s outburst without a flicker of emotion.
Thanks to Aurora’s earlier warning, she was prepared for this confrontation- utterly composed.
“He brought this on himself,” she replied quietly.