Chapter 29

Mallory’s face went pale, and she couldn’t say anything. Not bothering to waste any more breath on Mallory, Eleanor gave her one final piece of advice: “Stop letting people use you as a pawn. Your parents truly love you, so don’t let them become the target of gossip and humiliation because of your stupidity.”

Family was Eleanor’s weakness. For Mallory’s parents’ sake, she decided to give her one last chance. When Eleanor turned to leave, a fleeting image suddenly flashed through her mind. But it disappeared before she could grasp it. “It looks like someone from my childhood,” she thought. However, nothing came to mind, and she frowned. Instead of dwelling on it, she brushed it off and headed straight downstairs and out the door.

Sebastian was waiting for her at the entrance of the Treston residence. “Did you get the answers you needed?” he asked. Eleanor scoffed, “It’s over. After all that, it still traces back to your ‘ex-wife.’” “She’s not my ex-wife,” Sebastian corrected indifferently. “Yeah, yeah, whatever.”

As they walked away, neither of them noticed Mallory standing by the second-floor window, watching them the entire time, her muted in a daze. “Eleanor, I really envy you. Ever since you were a child, you’ve always been the center of attention. You’re always shining, as if you’re the only woman in this world. That’s why he’s drawn to you.”

Mallory had chosen to hold her birthday party at Dalvey Estate because she wanted to bask in the spotlight. She planned the champagne tower because she wanted to be the center of attention. Eleanor already had everything Mallory struggled to obtain. Even Sebastian became her husband. Mallory couldn’t swallow the bitterness.

Almost unconsciously, she pushed a vase off the windowsill. Eleanor remained unaware. The vase plummeted straight down, aiming right for her head. At the very last second, Sebastian caught sight of it from the corner of his eye. “Watch out!” he shouted as he lunged toward Eleanor, quickly tackling her to the ground. The vase shattered beside them.

At the same time, from somewhere in the shadows, several men in black suits rushed toward them. “Mr. Whitman!”

Still pinned to the ground, Eleanor stared in shock at the broken vase. Then, she snapped her head up to the window on the second floor. Mallory quickly ducked out of sight. From that height, if the heavy vase hit her head, she would’ve died. Even if she survived, she would’ve been paralyzed.

Mallory! Eleanor gritted her teeth, but she had no time to deal with it now. She quickly turned to Sebastian. “Are you okay?”

She just couldn’t… Sebastian was clutching his left shoulder, his face slightly pale. When he pushed Eleanor out of the way, he hadn’t been able to dodge completely. The vase must’ve grazed his shoulder. Though it was just a graze, it still looked bad. Eleanor cursed Mallory in her mind and immediately helped him up. “I’m taking you to the hospital!”

I—was a neurosurgeon there. Without hesitation, she called her. The Trenton residence was close to Jurstone General Hospital, and Selena Walker—Eleanor’s friend—v…

After half an hour, the doors to the emergency room finally opened. “How is he?” Eleanor asked anxiously. Selena, dressed in an oversized white coat and a face mask that only revealed her eyes, still managed to look beautiful. “Relax,” she said. “It was just a dislocation and some soft tissue bruising. It’s all taken care of. When you called me earlier, I thought it was a life-or-death situation. This was nothing. Any random doctor could’ve handled it.”

Eleanor glared at her. “Dislocation isn’t serious to you?” “Come on, the last surgery I did involved a steel rod this big stabbing straight through someone’s abdomen,” Selena replied, stretching her hands far apart. “I spent eight hours on the operating table fighting to snatch them back from the Grim Reaper. And then, my next case was resetting your man’s shoulder.” Her eyes twinkled behind her glasses as she scanned Sebastian up and down. With a cheeky grin, she added, “But hey, getting to lay hands on Mr. Whitman wasn’t too bad.”