Clearly, he was going to walk them upstairs.


    Behind them, Serena let out a sigh of relief. Eleanor''s eptance of her gift was a good sign.


    When Eleanor and Evelyn reached their door,n stopped a few steps away. He watched the mother, daughter, and Princess go inside before turning to leave.


    Evelyn loved unwrapping presents and couldn''t wait to see her mom''s new bag.


    Eleanor opened the box. Inside was a designer handbag. It was a ssic style that suited her well.


    "Wow, this bag is so pretty!" Evelyn eximed.


    Eleanor didn''tck money, but she didck time for shopping. That''s why she always bought high-end, durable items. The bag she currently carried was two or three years old, but she hadn''t reced it. Sometimes, something familiar andfortable couldn''t be reced by something new.


    A weekter.


    Eleanor had just arrived at theb when she received an international package. Opening it, she found a notification that her patent application had received preliminary approval.


    Just then, a text message pinged on her phone. "I''ll handle the rest of the patent process."


    Eleanor replied, "Thank you."


    Eleanor changed into herb coat and headed toward theb. As she walked down a hallway, she heard Ryan on the phone. Not wanting to disturb him, she lightened her steps as she passed by.


    Ryan clearly didn''t notice her. He


    Ready for isky


    was reporting to the person on the other end of the line. "Our project isn''t ready for hisky applications yet We''ve only had a breakthrough with the test monkeys. We still need to conduct clinical trials."


    "Can''t Mr. Ellington wait any longer?" Ryan''s anxious voice carried clearly to Eleanor''s ears.


    Eleanor''s steps froze. She turned to


    look at Ryan, who also noticed someone behind him. He turned, and his eyes met hers 3. A sh of nervousness crossed his face. He spoke into the phone, "Mr. Maxwell, I have to go. I''ll report back to youter."


    Eleanor stared straight at Ryan. Her expression was calm, but the blood in her veins, felt like it had turned to ice. Finally, her voice trembling slightly she demanded, "Ryan, who is the Mr. Ellington you were just talking about? Is it Mansfield What''s happened to him?"


    "Well—Eleanor, I don''t know how to exin it to you." Ryan was under strict orders


    of confidentiality. He knew he had identally let the secret slip, but he didn''t know how to exin it.


    Principal Maxwell had explicitly forbidden anyone from telling Eleanor about Mansfield''s condition. The order hade directly from the Vice President himself, as it involved his son.


    Seeing Ryan''s hesitation and the way he was clearly hiding something, Eleanor felt an invisible hand clench around her heart, making it hard to breathe.


    Mansfield-is he in trouble?


    And from the looks of it, it was serious—so serious that they had to keep it a secret from her. Ryan knew, but she had been keptpletely in the dark.


    "Eleanor—" Ryan was in a difficult position.


    Tears suddenly welled up in her eyes. She spun around and practically ran to her office, grabbing her bag and heading straight for the elevator.


    If Ryan wouldn''t tell her, she knew someone who would. And that person had to tell her.


    Because he was the one who had brought her onto this project in the first ce. He had to know everything.