?Chapter 1389:


    Eileen leaned casually against the kitchen counter, a small smile ying on her lips. “Mom… Have you ever thought about finding someone new?”


    Ruby’s hands froze mid-rinse. “Oh, stop it. You’re starting to sound like Gabri now—talking nonsense. I’m over fifty. People wouldugh at me if I did that.”


    “I’m just saying, if you ever wanted to, I’d support it,” Eileen said with a shrug, her voice softening. “If you don’t want to, that’s okay, too. We’ll just forget I ever mentioned it.”


    In Eileen’s memory, solitude had always been her mother’s silentpanion. Ever since she could remember, her mother had navigated life on her own. When she had been just a teenager, Lowell, her foster father, had passed away.


    Ruby had been in her early thirties at that time. For the sake of Eileen and Bailee, Ruby had thrown herself into work, neglecting her own life.


    Though Bailee was Ruby’s flesh and blood, Huey’s rebellious nature hadplicated matters, leaving Ruby to stay with Eileen.


    It had been good for Ruby to stay with Eileen, but Le’s arrival had seemed to unsettle Ruby, as if she had be an outsider here.


    Ruby’s voice pulled Eileen from her reverie. “I know you see me as your real mom,” she said softly. “But don’t fret. I’m staying here. Gabri needs looking after and with another little one on the way…” She continued to talk about the matter.


    A pang of sadness pierced Eileen’s heart.


    Ruby decided to stay because she wanted to help her. Without Gabri to care for, letting Ruby rx at home would only amplify her restlessness.


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    Eileen knew she needed to find a solution to her mother’s stubborn nature.


    “Why don’t you ask Le and Ste if they’d like to return when you visit them?” Eileen suggested. “The chef there can whip up some Alverton cuisine. If they like the chef, bring the chef along, too.”


    Ruby nodded, agreeing to do that. After tidying the kitchen, she took Gabri to the eastern suburbs.


    Eileen took a stroll outside before returning home. As she was about to change her shoes, her phone rang—Raymond was calling.


    “Mrs. Dawson,” he said, excitement evident in his voice, “we’ve made significant progress on those pre-surgery photos of Amoura. I’m sending them your way now!”


    “Okay,” Eileen replied.


    Momentster, her phone buzzed, and she received several images, each depicting variations of Amoura’s face before surgery: different eyebrows, different lips, each iteration slightly altered to match a variety of face shapes. But in each, there was something strikingly familiar.


    The resemnce was uncanny—Amoura bore about an eighty percent likeness to Lydia.


    Lydia and Christos had been wanted fugitives ever since Coen’s downfall. Both of them had been off the grid for nearly two years. And it seemed Lydia had done more than just hide; she hadpletely transformed herself,ying the groundwork for a return.


    Raymond quickly called Eileen again. “She’s nning to use the Deleon family to settle old scores for Coen! I had to tell you as soon as I saw the connection between Lydia and Amoura. This is huge!”


    Eileen, however, remainedposed. “Avenging Coen is just a part of it. Lydia’s real aim is much bigger—she wants control of the Deleon family.”


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