Eleanor fixed her gaze on him. "Why?"


    "I''m doing this for your own good," Ian replied, his tone cool and measured.


    In that instant, Eleanor understood-he wanted her off the project, out of reach of her mother''s donor samples. That way, he could avoid any emotional outbursts from her that might slow down his research.


    She drew a deep breath, her voice trembling with usation. "Is it Vanessa you''re trying to save?"


    He didn''t have to say it. Eleanor already knew. A sharp pain stabbed through her chest.


    A coldugh escaped her lips. "There''s no way I''ll agree to you using my mother''s bone marrow for your experiments."


    "I''ll give you a month,"n said, his voice devoid of inflection. "If you can find a matching bone marrow sample in that time, I''ll return your mother''s to you. If you can''t, stay out of this research." With that, he turned and walked away.


    Eleanor wavered on her feet, finally steadying herself against the wall. A searing ache radiated from her heart, threatening to overwhelm her.


    That night, she cradled her daughter as they slept. The little girl''s warm bodyy nestled peacefully in her arms, and Eleanor closed her eyes.


    Howughable.


    ...


    The next morning, after dropping her daughter off, Eleanor headed to Joy''s office. Joy handed her the drafted divorce papers. "Are you sure about this? You''re really walking away with nothing? I saw the newsn''s assets have more than doubled this year!"


    Eleanor nced over the contract. "Money''s just money. It doesn''t matter."


    "If you want anything changed, let me know—I''ll print a new copy."


    Eleanor finished reading and shook her head; there was nothing more to add. Joy grinned. "I''ll put you in touch with the best attorney I know-my mentor. He''s a shark in divorce court."<fn44a0> Get full chapters from F?nd-Novel</fn44a0>


    "Perfect." Eleanor needed someone formidable on her side.


    Joy sent over the contact info. Eleanor reached out, and soon after, he replied— happy to take her case. He was out of town but would be back in three days to meet.


    At noon, Eleanor made her way to theb. As she approached the building, she spotted Faye deep in conversation with a middle-aged woman-Simone.


    When Faye caught sight of Eleanor, her expression frosted over. She turned to Simone. "Professor, let''s talk in my office."


    Simone heard footsteps behind her and nced over, adjusting her sses. She recognized Eleanor but didn''t bother to greet her.


    Eleanor had met Simone before; even though Simone and her father had never be a couple, they''d coborated on several projects. In a way, Simone was an old acquaintance.


    Eleanor offered a polite nod. "Professor Langley. It''s been a while."


    Simone''s personal life might be messy, but in the medical researchmunity, her reputation was formidable. Just a step below the likes of Dr. Lyman, she''d led teams to win several prestigious awards in recent years.


    Simone shot Eleanor a critical, assessing look before turning back to Faye. "Let''s talk in your office."


    "Of course, Professor." Faye''s lips curled in a satisfied smile. She hadn''t expected her mentor to suddenly join the project, much less to rece Joel and suggest Faye join the research team. And now, Eleanor was about to be pushed out.


    Eleanor returned to her office, only for Joel to show up momentster. He filled her in on the new development: Simone would be leading the team from now on.