Elissa’s brow furrowed in confusion, her mind momentarily nk.


    Instinctively, she assumed Rowan was talking about Marcia’s allergy. “It wasn’t poison. Marcia just had an allergic reaction-”


    “That’s not what I meant.”


    Rowan cut her off with a careless drawl. “I’m asking why you’ve suddenly turned mute.”


    Elissa blinked, only just realizing he was mocking her for being cold toward his girlfriend.


    Lorraine, oblivious to the endlessplications of the Atwater family, tried to smooth things over with a gentle smile. “I suppose Mr. Atwater was just in a hurry to get Ms. Carson to the hospital?”


    “…Yes.”


    No sooner had Elissa answered than she heard the faintest scoff cut through the air. Rowan’s tone was t, yet his words stung: “All bark, no bite.”


    “Mr. Murphy,”


    Suddenly, a surge of anger and humiliation welled up inside Elissa. She fought <i>to </i>keep her voice steady, each word crisp and clear. “I’m not like you. I can’t just say a few words and make anyone pay the price.”


    What she hated most was how he always stood above it all, judging, criticizing, as if nothing and no one could touch him.


    But what could she do?


    She wasn’t Rowan. If he so much as tapped his foot, the entire city would tremble.


    And who was she, really…?


    If the Murphy family or the Atwaters wanted her gone, she’d be crushed in


    an instant.


    00.52


    She was trying to break free from the Atwaters without letting the Murphys chain her down. Even managing to get the divorce at all had taken every ounce of her effort and cunning.


    But in his eyes, none of that mattered. He saw her struggle as pathetic, evenughable.


    The tension in the car was thick enough to choke on.


    Lorraine tried to defend Rowan, her voice tentative. “Elissa, <i>your </i>brother’s


    life hasn’t been as easy as you think. Over the years, he’s-”


    Rowan’s voice cut through, icy andmanding. “Let her speak.”


    “I’m done.”


    “That’s why I said–you only know how tosh out at your own.”


    Rowan’s tone was as condescending as ever. “It was Frank who hurt you. Why are you taking it out on me?”


    “Or do you just think the whole world owes you something?”


    Elissa couldn’t even remember thest time she’d cried.


    But the moment he said that, tears threatened to spill over without


    warning.


    She turned away, took a deep breath to push the tremor out of her voice, and forced a smile. “It’s always everyone else who owes Mr. Murphy. When would Mr. Murphy ever owe me anything?”


    With that, she shoved the car door open and stepped out, disappearing into the rush of traffic without a backward nce.


    Lorraine jumped, startled, and made to follow. Rowan’s voice snapped like a whip. “Let her go


    “But, Mr. Murphy…”


    Lorraine hesitated, ncing after Elissa. “I think… she was crying.”


    She was certain she saw Rowan freeze for a moment, stunned.


    09:53


    Chapter


    When Elissa finally made it home, she felt chilled to the bone, inside and


    out.


    Only then did she remember thest time she’d cried.


    It was when her brother, who’d always cherished her, suddenly–without exnation–had her sent back to their grandmother’s house. And after that, Rowan himself was moving out of the old family home.


    It was clear. He didn’t want her anymore.


    But she couldn’t believe it. Before Rowan left, she’d run to him, grabbing his arm and begging, “Brother, if I did something wrong, just tell me…”


    “Please don’t leave me, okay?”


    “I’m begging you…”


    She was sobbing, tears streaming down her face, her eyes wide and pleading–like a broken porcin doll,pletely lost.


    In the past, just the sight of her teary eyes would have Rowan bending over backward tofort her.


    But that time, he only looked at her from above, cold and distant, his


    voice like ice.


    “You think just because I was bored enough to keep you around for a few years, you’re really my sister?”


    “Elissa, do you have no pride at all? All this just to cling to me?”


    Elissa’s tears had dried in an instant.


    And after that night, she never cried again.


    –


    She paid <i>no </i>mind to the gossip swirling around the clinic, but it only grew worse as the days went by.


    The next morning, just as she was grabbing her bag to leave, her phone rang. Cliff’s voice came through the line.


    09.54


    Chapter <b>9</b><b>/ </b>


    “Elissa, maybe you should take a few days off at home. Or, if you’d rather,e by the Murphy Group research center and focus on the projects there.”


    Chapter <b>98 </b>


    <b>Chapter 98 </b>