Chapter 329

Nora set her alarm for five o’clock.
The moment it rang, she was wide awake.
She slipped out of bed as quietly as she could, but Daniel reached out and pulled her back into his arms.
“What are you doing?” he mumbled, his voice rough with sleep.
Nora tried to free her wrist, but his grip was firm. She could only explain, “I want to check on Payne. If he wakes up and doesn’t see me, he might get upset.”
Daniel didn’t let go. “Louis is with him.”
Nora fell silent for a few seconds. Her voice was as heavy as the shadows in the room. “Daniel, he’s just a child.”
Did Daniel really have to make an issue out of this too?
In the dim light, Daniel studied the cool expression on her face, a frown creasing his brow. He looked impatient, but finally, he released her hand.
The master bedroom door opened, then shut softly.
Daniel covered his eyes with one hand, but what bothered him had never been Payne.
Nora tiptoed across the hall and quietly opened another door. Inside, she saw Louis sitting upright at the head of the bed, already dressed and looking perfectly composed, as if he’d been up for hours.
Nora knew he was only up and dressed because he anticipated her visit and didn’t want her to feel awkward.
She sat down at the head of the bed as well.
Louis turned to her. “He actually let you come over?”
Nora stroked Payne’s chubby cheek. “That’s my business, not his.”
Louis chuckled quietly. “You’re still as stubborn as ever.”
Nora paused, her hand midair. “You remember that?”
He had said those exact words once before.
“I remember a little,” Louis admitted.
After hearing from Mrs. Winters about what happened three years ago, Louis had gone back to the hospital for another check-up. The doctors said the blood clot in his brain hadn’t fully dissolved, and he’d started taking medication again. Sometimes, bits and pieces of the past would come back to him, but strangely, every memory seemed to involve Nora-never Aurora.
Nora gently patted Payne, then changed the subject to Louis’s work. “How’s everything going?”
“All good,” he replied. The family had arranged for him to enter politics, and things had gone smoothly.
After a short silence, Louis said, “I heard Daniel gave you a production line?”
Nora propped her head on her hand and nodded. “Yeah. From what I gathered, out of the five production lines at the factory, they’re converting four, and leaving one for me.”
“Converting?” Louis echoed.
“That’s right. It sounds like they’re planning to stop making the old product.”
Louis glanced at the cabinet across the room, remembering something Mrs. Winters had mentioned. It didn’t seem like Daniel’s doing-if it were, he would never shut down the perfume line.
But if not Daniel, then who else in the Chambers family could it be?
He wished his memory would return soon.
His head throbbed with the effort of trying to remember.
“You should get some more sleep,” Louis suggested. “When Payne wakes up, I’ll take him downstairs.”
Nora was pregnant, and exhaustion came easily these days.
She nodded, curled up next to Payne, and drifted off almost immediately.
When she woke up, it was already nine o’clock.
The room was empty.
After washing up in the master bathroom, she went downstairs. Follow current novᴇls on
The housekeeper spotted her and quickly brought over breakfast. “Ma’am.”
Nora glanced at the living room-Daniel and Louis were playing with Payne, all laughter and smiles.
She finished breakfast and got ready to visit the hospital.
Daniel picked up the car keys, prepared to go with her.
Nora didn’t object, but Louis spoke up instead. “Go ahead, I’ll take care of Payne.” “Thank you,” Nora said.
At the hospital, they hadn’t even reached Una’s room when raised voices from down the hall caught her attention-coming from Eleanor’s room.
David’s voice rang out, angry and insistent. “Eleanor, come to the police station with me and clear this up. You were the one who put Monica up to it.”