He wouldn''t answer her calls and had the nerve to use a meeting as an excuse?


    Eleanor stared at the cold, impersonal message on her phone, her fingertips trembling ever so slightly.


    Taking a deep breath, she calledn''s assistant, Gavin.


    "Hello? Miss Sutton?" Gavin Young sounded genuinely surprised to hear from her.


    "Gavin, please telln to call me back."


    "Miss Sutton, Mr. Goodwin is in an important meeting right now," Gavin


    apologized. "He probably won''t be able to get back to you for at least two hours."


    "Is he in the country?" Eleanor pressed.


    “No, he''s on a business trip in Drexford. He''ll likely be gone for a week before he returns," Gavin exined.


    "Alright. That''s all I needed," Eleanor said before hanging up.


    Son wasn''t even in the country.


    About ten minutester, Faye knocked and came in. She clearly had no desire to talk to Eleanor, but forced herself anyway.


    "Eleanor, what happened today was just Mrs. Shannon being impulsive. I''m here to apologize on my sister''s behalf."


    Eleanor''s voice was icy. "And what gives you the right to apologize for her?"


    Faye''s expression darkened. "You''ve already ruined her charity campaign and forced her to issue a public withdrawal. What else do you want from her?"


    Eleanor had no intention of replying.


    Thinking of how Joel had defended Eleanor earlier, Faye''s irritation only grew. "Eleanor, my sister''s on a flight to Drexford right now. You''ve forced her to leave the country. Isn''t it enough already?"


    Eleanor let out a coldugh. Vanessa went to Drexford? To the very ce wheren was on business? Was she nning to see him in person, hoping for somefort orpensation?


    Eleanor tossed her paperwork onto the desk and said coolly, "Can you leave now?"


    Faye froze, surprised at Eleanor''s bluntness, but she didn''t bother arguing and left the room without another word.


    A little whileter, Simone called Eleanor into her office to discuss the incident personally.


    But Eleanor kept it brief-this was her own private affair, and she didn''t want to drag it into her work life.


    That afternoon, when Eleanor went to pick up her daughter, she spotted a familiar face-Xavier. He''d just gotten back from abroad, and Vivian was also there, dropping her child off for ss.


    "Ms. Sutton!" Vivian greeted her warmly.


    Eleanor returned her smile with a gentle one of her own.


    "Mom, can I invite Vivian over to our house? We haven''t seen each other in ages," Evelyn pleaded, tugging at Eleanor''s hand.


    Eleanor saw the hopeful look in Vivian''s big eyes and nodded. "Alright, let''s have Vivian over, then!"


    She looked up at Xavier as she spoke.


    Xavier grinned and nodded. "No objections here. Whatever keeps the kids happy."


    Once they arrived at Eleanor''s house, the kids raced into the backyard to y. Xavier lingered at the doorway, calling out, "Miss Sutton, how have you beentely?"


    Eleanor paused, then smiled faintly. “I''m doing alright.”


    Xavier hesitated for a moment, then said, "If you need anything, or if there''s ever something I can help with, just let me know."


    Eleanor nodded. "Thank you."


    After she went inside, Xavier pulled out his phone and called Henry.


    "Hey! You saw Eleanor? How''s she holding up?”


    "Henry, this isn''t something we should get involved in. You shouldn''t either-it''s a personal feud between her and Vanessa," Xavier advised.


    "I know, but she cried all night over that charity campaign. She fought hard for it," Henry sighed.


    Xavier furrowed his brow. "She must''ve really crossed Eleanor somehow."


    Henry gave a wry chuckle on the other end. "So, you''re always going to take Eleanor''s side now?"


    "Honestly, Henry? I really care about her."


    "When did that happen?"


    Xavierughed softly. "I can''t even say for sure. It just snuck up on me I just want to protect her."


    "No wonder you jumped in after her that time when she and Vanessa fell into the river."


    "Maybe that''s why," Xavier admitted.


    Meanwhile, Eleanor was sitting on the sofa, watching her daughter and Vivian y when her phone rang.


    She nced at the screen-it wasn.


    Eleanor stepped out into the garden to answer, saying nothing at first. On the other end,n''s voice came through. "Did you need something?"


    Eleanor nced back at the two children ying in the living room. Her tone was cold. n, keep the Shannons away from me and from Evelyn. I don''t want to see them anywhere near us."


    "Alright,”n replied, his voice sounding tired. "Eleanor, let''s talk when I get back." "There''s nothing left to talk about," she retorted icily.


    "There are some things—"n started.


    But Eleanor hung up before he could finish.


    Just then, Joy called.


    "Hey, Ellie! Have you seen the trending topics? Did you just leak something else about Vanessa?"


    Eleanor put her phone on speaker and opened Twitter. Sure enough, the top trends were now #VanessaFake Endorsements and #VanessaCharityScandal. She clicked through and saw that several reputable news outlets were all reporting major exposes.


    Eleanor saw right through it—was Vanessa trying to y the victim now?


    "I never said she faked her charity work," Eleanor answered truthfully.


    "Then why are all these articles popping up at once? Did someone else leak it, trying to take her down while they can?"


    "Is it possible she leaked it herself?" Eleanor suggested.


    Joy caught on immediately. "No way! She''d go that far-smear herself just to frame you?"


    "It''s very possible," Eleanor said. The bigger the scandal, the more me would fall on her, and the more she''d look like the wronged party.


    Besides, withn cleaning up the mess behind the scenes, Vanessa had nothing to lose. She could act fearless.