A short whileter, she entered her office and saw an email from the military confirming that the first round of the technology transfer would begin next Wednesday.


    For the next three months, Eleanor would focus onpleting the handover of the Neural Interface Project. After that, her schedule would free up considerably. With summer vacation just around the corner, it was the perfect opportunity to make up for the time she owed her daughter.


    ***


    That evening, at Walden Wells'' vi.


    Just as Walden stepped inside, Vanessa, dressed in a sexy long gown, fluttered over to him like a butterfly and affectionately took his arm.


    "Walden, you''re back!"


    She was like the songbird Walden kept in his cage—there to be admired, picked up whenever he felt like it, and to let him pretend he was still young.


    Walden reached out and pinched her chin. "Were you a good girl today?"


    "Of course I was!" Vanessa said with a smile, taking his suit jacket to hang it up. Just then, Walden''s phone rang. He nced at it and answered, "Hello!"


    "Doesn''t The Guild of Commerce have anything better to do? Always hosting these boring dinners. I''m not going," Walden replied irritably.


    After he hung up, Vanessa immediately clung to his arm again, tilting up her meticulously made-up face, her eyes full of expectation. "Walden, I''m so bored. Please take me to the dinner with you! I need to rx."


    Walden frowned and grunted. "There''s nothing interesting about those kinds of events."


    "Please take me!" Vanessa begged, gently shaking his arm, her voice soft and coy. "I want to see more of the world. Please?"


    Her pleading stirred something in him, and he gave in. "Alright, alright, I''ll take you."


    Then, a thought urred to him. "Do you thinkn and his ex-wife will get back together?"


    Vanessa''s heart skipped a beat, but she feigned indifference. "Whether they get back together or not, I couldn''t care less."


    Walden immediately realized that


    It was a perfect chance to see for himself how far those two hade, and maybe even find more dirt on them.


    "Dress to impress tomorrow. Don''t make me look bad." Walden said, patting Vanessa''s cheek.


    A look of delight shed in Vanessa''s eyes. She cooed, "Don''t worry, I won''t let you down."


    ***


    The next morning, a Friday, Eleanor took her daughter to school.n had mentioned the previous evening


    when he dropped Evelyn off the met


    Serena Goodwin would be picking herop tonight to take herte


    Goodwin Manor.


    At three o''clock, Eleanor was still working in theb. Around four, a message from


    An address was attached.


    Eleanor replied, [Okay.]


    At four-thirty, Eleanor arrived at the high-end boutique located in the city center. As she pushed open the door a manager in a professional suit greeted her with a smile. "Miss Sutton, you''re here. Please,e with me."


    Eleanor nodded. Her entire wardrobe consisted of work attire; she had nothing suitable for a formal dinner, so a dress shop was her only option.


    The shop was softly lit, with racks of exquisite dresses on disy. The disy cases


    even featured several one-of-a-kind, heavily embellished pieces.


    The manager led her to the VIP room, where five carefully selected gowns were already waiting.


    "We''ve chosen these based on your style. Please feel free to try them on," the manager said warmly.


    Since Eleanor didn''t have much time to browse, the selections had been made ording ton''s instructions.