It was clear now-She truly mattered to Timothy.


    So much so that he couldn''t even tolerate sharing that simple marriage registration photo with anyone else.


    For a man as reserved as Timothy, to fill an entire sheet of paper with She''s


    name spoke volumes about the intensity of his feelings.


    Jessica realized, perhaps she had overestimated her ce in his world.


    She''d believed that simply staying by his side would eventually earn his genuine affection.


    Mabel noticed Jessica staring nkly at the wall and gently urged her, "Ma''am, you''re thedy of this house. If you keep staying away, you''re just making it easier for someone else to take your ce."


    If anyone was the intruder here, Jessica thought, it was probably herself.


    "Ma''am, I''m d you''re home. Please, don''t do anything rash. Now more than ever, you should stay here."


    Jessica''s face remained calm, almost expressionless.


    If even Mabel could see that Timothy and She''s rtionship was anything but ordinary, then the fact that She was Timothy''s aunt by marriage seemed even more ridiculous.


    Jessica typed a message on her phone.


    "Mabel, thank you for telling me all this."


    Mabel had seen everything Jessica had done for Timothy and Henry over the years, and it pained her.


    "Ma''am, don''t be too upset. You and Mr. Lawson still have your son. Maybe he''s just lost his way for a while."


    A son...


    Jessica''s lips curled into a barely-there, bittersweet smile.


    Mabel thought having a child would give her leverage.


    But that hope had fizzled out long ago.


    Ding-ding-


    The doorbell rang.


    Mabel went to answer it.


    Phelps entered, leaning on a cane.


    At seventy-five, his hair had turned mostly white, but age hadn''t dulled his sharpness. He still carried himself with the vigor of a man half his age.


    He gave Jessica a cool, heavy look and said quietly, "Come with me to the study." Jessica had no desire to go.


    But this was the Gilded Whisper Estates. She was still married to Timothy, which technically made her Phelps''s granddaughter-inw.


    It would have been too confrontational to refuse outright, so she followed him into the study.


    Phelps sat down, folding his hands over his cane. Though his eyes had clouded with age, they still held a chilling rity.


    Timothy''s temperament and looks, in truth, had always resembled Phelps the most.


    Timothy''s mother had died young. His father remarried, and Timothy had a half- brother, Thurston Lawson.


    Of course, Phelps had other sons as well.


    And other grandsons.


    Yet Phelps had always been determined to groom Timothy as the heir to the Lawson Group.


    Partly because Timothy reminded him of himself.


    But mostly because Timothy''s brilliance was beyondpare.


    He''d gotten into MIT-Aetherion''s finest university-at just thirteen, double- majoring in engineering and finance.


    He started his firstpany while still in college.


    At sixteen, he''d led the team that broke through the energy bottleneck in solid- state battery research, earning an international patent and revolutionizing the global new energy market. Hispany was valued at nearly a billion dors. Heter branched out into other fields, racking up sess after sess.


    By seventeen, he''d graduated and already made the Forbes Top Ten.


    When he took over the Lawson Group, he took thepany to even greater heights.


    A man like that-Jessica never really stood a chance.


    "I hear Timothy''s brought someone home to stay?" Phelps'' voice cut through the silence.


    The Gilded Whisper Estates sprawled over several acres, with Mabel and a small army of staff keeping it running.


    It was no surprise Phelps always knew what was happening in his house. "You don''t seem the least bit bothered," Phelps said, his displeasure obvious. "Are you just going to stand by and watch someone else take your ce as Mrs. Lawson? Do you have any idea how many women dream of marrying Timothy?"