Eleanor smiled faintly. "Right. I''m currently studying some rted cases."


    Simone''s gaze grew probing, sensing there was more to Eleanor''s question than simple curiosity. "Why do you ask? Does someone you know have a blood disorder?"


    "Just curious," Eleanor replied with a calm smile, not wanting to burden Simone with her worries. She changed the subject to Simone''s diet, and they chatted until four-thirty, when Eleanor finally took her leave.


    After Eleanor left, Simone picked up herptop. She searched for domestic case studies but found nothing matching the rare blood disorder Eleanor had mentioned, onlymon ones. With time on her hands, she began organizing some cases and logged into the hospital''s internal system to look up leukemia- rted files. When she searched for Marilyn''s case, a list of other hospital records popped up.


    As Simone scrolled through the names, one suddenly caught her eye: *Sara Whitmore*.


    1.n


    It was Eleanor''s mother''s name. She was on the leukemia list? Could it be a coincidence? Simone immediately checked the identification information, address, and family contacts. When she saw the name listed for the family contact Sutton her mind went nk. Eleanor''s mother was a leukemia patient?


    Elliot


    Simone quickly checked the date the file was created. Because of her deep respect for Elliot, she had followed news about his family. The file was dated just a month before Sara''s fatal car ident. She had been diagnosed but never had the chance to receive treatment.


    Simone let out a heavy sigh. Suddenly, she rememberedn''s unusual interest in Marilyn''s case. Her heart clenched as details she had previously overlooked clicked into ce. When Eleanor''s new drug was being developed,n had been intensely focused on Marilyn''s case. When Marilyn couldn''t afford the treatment, he had even used his private foundation to ensure she received the best care. At the time, Simone had dismissed it as an act of charity.


    But now, connecting Sara Sutton''s leukemia file withn''s strange behavior, everything became clearn''s relentless push to fund and elerate the development of the new leukemia drug had a deeper purpose: it was for Eleanor and the future generations of the Sutton family. He must have known about Sara''s diagnosis before, her ident. Fearing the disease was hereditary and discovering that Marilyn had the same rare type of leukemia as Sara, he had been desperate to find a cure to protect Eleanor and his child. He had pushed Eleanor relentlessly, and at the time, Simone had felt sorry for her and even toldn to back off. Now she realized he had been acting out of necessity.


    Finding a subject with Marilyn''s rare type of leukemia was incredibly difficult, which was whyn had insisted she be treated as a crucial case study-an attempt to preemptively eliminate the threat hanging over Eleanor and his daughter.


    Everything finally clicked for Simone. Ian''s tough exterior was just a cover for a deeper loyalty she hadn''t seen before.