bChapter /bb226 /b

    Elissa calmly averted her gaze and headed toward her car. Just as she reached for the door, Marcia approached, clutching Hickey in her arms. Her eyes flicked over Elissa suspiciously, finally settling on the corner of a red document peeking from Elissa’s bag.

    Marcia didn’t bother with pleasantries. “What’s that?”

    She stood there with the entitlement of someone who already saw herself

    as the future mistress of this old estate.

    Unfazed, Elissa smoothly tucked the divorce certificate deeper into her bag and replied airily, “Just a permit for waste disposal.”

    Marcia had no idea what game Elissa was ying, so she changed tack. “The new medication you mentioned at the meeting yesterday–when will the trial results be out?”

    “Why do you ask?” Elissa’s lips curled into a wry smile. “nning a heist? Marcia, you really do prove the old saying true–by the time we’re three, our character is set.”

    She’d been snatching things from others since they were kids. And now, Marcia had her sights set on Elissa’s research.

    Marcia’s face hardened, her voice tight with annoyance. “Who said I want to steal anything from you?”

    “Then do it yourself,” Elissa said, her tone light but cutting. “Don’t expect to reap the rewards of someone else’s work.”

    With that, Elissa got into her car, started the engine, and drove off without a backward nce.

    Marcia stamped her foot in frustration.

    If she actually knew how to handle R&D, what would she need Elissa for in the first ce? Rationally, she doubted Elissa would achieve anything remarkable. But deep down, she couldn’t shake a sense of dread.

    b1/3 /b

    16.17

    What if… What if Elissa really did pull it off?

    Hugging Hickey tightly, Marcia headed back inside. “Hickey, did that woman just now say something to your grandma? She didn’t give her anything, did she?”

    The color of that document… it looked suspiciously like a deed.

    Surely Carm hadn’t lost her mind and transferred the house to that woman?

    No way–Marcia would never allow such a thing. Everything that belonged to the Atwater family had to stay with Hickey.

    “No idea,” Hickey said with a blink. “Grandma told me to stay upstairs. She wouldn’t let mee down.”

    Was there some secret being kept from him?

    Marcia narrowed her eyes. As she entered the living room, she overheard Carm, her tone sharp as she spoke to the housekeeper, “If she won’t take a gentle warning, she’ll get a harsher one. When she and Rowan finally fall out, there’ll be plenty of chances to put her in her ce!”

    It was obvious from her words that she meant Elissa.

    Marcia set Hickey down and walked over. “I wouldn’t count on that. It doesn’t look like she and Rowan will be falling out anytime soon.”

    She was certain of what she’d seen that day–the color on Rowan’s lips had unmistakably belonged to Elissa. And the atmosphere between the two of them had been all wrong. Even if no one else believed her, Marcia

    was sure of it.

    Carm’s brow furrowed. “What exactly are you saying?”

    Popping a cherry into her mouth, Marcia spoke slowly, “Elissa and Rowan… They’re not just siblings anymore.”

    Carm’s anxiety red. “Speak inly, Marcia! Enough of these hints and riddles!”

    b2/3 /b

    b16:47 /b

    She was old but not stupid. She could read between the lines–but Elissa and Rowan were supposed to be siblings! Elissa had practically been raised by Rowan.

    Seeing Marcia hesitate, Carm’s patience snapped. “If you’re just spreading rumors, you’d better keep them to yourself. If you dare nder Rowan, you’ll regret it!”

    Thest thing she wanted was for the Atwater family’s name to be dragged through the mud.

    Marcia knew if she told the truth about what she’d witnessed, Carm wouldn’t believe her–just like Frank and the others, she’d dismiss it as nonsense. But, gritting her teeth, she said it anyway.

    “I saw them kissing.”