Eleanor let out a coldugh. "No one forced him toe."


    Whether he showed up or not made no difference to today''s meeting.


    Gwenda noticed that Eleanor''s tone grew sharp whenevern was mentioned. Realizing this, she decided to hold her tongue. So those rumors she''d heard must have been false-people had said Eleanor was looking to get back together with Mr. Goodwin.


    She''d only wanted to help out, quietly, in her own way.


    After Gwenda left, a thought struck Eleanor. She pulled out her phone and dialed Simone.


    "Professor Langley, could you ask Metropolitan General to send me my father''s most recent medical report?"


    "Of course, Eleanor. Why the sudden interest?"


    "No particr reason. I just want to take a look," Eleanor replied, offering no exnation.


    "All right, I''ll give them a call in a minute."


    About ten minutester, an email notification chimed her father''s medical file had arrived.


    Eleanor opened it right away, her hands trembling slightly. The report was from five years ago. ording to the results, everything had been within normal range except for moderate anemia-there was no sign at all of any rare RH-negative blood disorder.


    She let out a shaky breath. It wasn''t her father.


    So had he just scribbled notes about this rare disease in his journal, or did someone close to him actually have it?


    If it didn''t concern her own family, Eleanor wasn''t about to lose sleep over it.


    Later that afternoon, Byron stopped by to remind her that Dr. York and his research team would be visiting Meridian Dynamics next week for a coboration, and made it clear she shouldn''t request any time off.


    Eleanor nodded, then headed to Joel''s office. He was getting ready to fly out to Montir for a conference.


    "Eleanor! Just the person I wanted to see," Joel greeted her with a warm smile.


    She''de with a few work questions, but before she could ask, Joel pulled a neatly wrapped box from his drawer and handed it to her. "Here, I picked this up for you."


    Eleanor blinked in surprise. "Joel, I—"


    "It''s nothing fancy," he said, smiling. "I just saw it and thought it suited you."


    She epted the gift, murmuring her thanks.


    "No need to be so formal. You do call me ''senior'' after all," Joel teased. "It''s only right I bring something back for you from my trip. Go on, open it."


    Inside the velvet-lined box was a delicate brooch, the slender sapphire set within glimmering softly.


    "It''s beautiful. Thank you, Joel." Seeing it wasn''t anything too extravagant, Eleanor epted it-she could always return the gesture sometimeter.


    "I found it in a little shop I walked past. The design just seemed like your style," Joel said.


    Just then, the door opened and Faye walked in, her arms full of files. Spotting the box in Eleanor''s hands, her expression flickered.


    "Joel, here are the reports you asked for." She set them down, then fixed her gaze on the box for a few seconds, biting her lip before leaving the room.


    After discussing work with Joel, Eleanor returned to her office, slipped the brooch into her purse, shut down herputer, and headed out for the day.


    As she started her car, a ck SUV pulled out behind her, shadowing her like a silent knight.


    When she reached the university, her bodyguards got out too, though they kept their distance. Eleanor nced back and nodded to them in thanks before heading inside.