Chapter 24

Eleanor hesitated, but she agreed. "Well... in that case, I'll pack and go to Rosalind in a few days."

Edmund cut in firmly. "There's no need to wait. We leave first thing tomorrow morning! The sooner we arrive, the sooner we can prepare. I can also use the trip to introduce Rosalind to the heir of the Smith family. She's so outstanding that if we form a bond with that house, it will greatly help the Harrington Group's expansion into foreign markets."

Once she heard it touched the family's business, Eleanor stopped wavering. She gave Hannah an apologetic look and spoke softly.

"Hannah, Mom has to go away for a while. Focus on your studies while I'm gone. When I'm back, I'll spend much more time with you."

Hannah smiled and nodded. "Okay, Mom. I'll study hard at home."

Seeing how obedient and understanding her daughter was, Eleanor felt comforted.

But Sebastian's face darkened. He frowned.

"Father, this heir of the Smith family. Do you mean Herbert Smith, the one tangled up in all those scandals?"

"Scandals?" Edmund said. "Ha. For a man, is that really such a big deal?"

His tone was edged with scorn, as if he couldn't care less.

Sebastian's breath caught.

The richer and more powerful a man became, the more beautiful women swarmed around him. Many men were even proud of it.

Raised under Edmund's influence, Sebastian had believed that no matter how wealthy a man was, he should remain loyal to his marriage. But he had overlooked what most rich men truly wanted: to be surrounded by beauties like the emperors of old.

Still, he couldn't swallow his worry, and said it plainly.

"Father, a man like that isn't good enough for Rosie. Meeting him is fine, but if you push them closer, how could her marriage ever be happy?"

Edmund's face showed displeasure, and he rebuked him. "Hasn't she lived happily in the Harrington house all these years? Don't you know how much influence the Smith family holds in Valmere? If Rosalind can build a closer bond with that heir, it's a blessing she earned in a past life!"

Sebastian's face turned ugly, but he had no answer. He could only clench his fists in secret.

"Father, you know very well that Rosie's ambitions lie elsewhere. If she wanted to lift the Harringtons through marriage, she wouldn't have worked so hard for her doctorate."

"Enough!"

Edmund thundered, "This is not up for discussion! Rosalind is a member of this family, and she must contribute to its rise."

Sebastian's fists tightened. "Father, you can't decide Rosie's life for her."

He ground his teeth, ready to try again.

"Hmph. I am her father. Of course I have the right to decide her future."

Seeing them locked in a standoff, Eleanor hurried to calm things. "All right, all right, stop arguing, you two. When we get to Rosalind's, we'll ask what she thinks, and then we'll talk."

But Edmund's words were forceful. "She has no choice. As a daughter of the Harringtons, she must be ready to marry into another house, whoever it may be!"

He looked coldly at Sebastian, his eyes empty of any fatherly warmth.

"And not just her. You as well!"

Faced with his father's pressure, Sebastian didn't dare challenge him. He swallowed it down, not daring even a thought of resistance.

The reason was simple. He knew that if he said one more word, his ruthless father would find countless ways to make him regret defying him.

Hannah watched all of it, and a good deal more came into focus for her.

Edmund was a truly successful businessman. His hunger for profit was plain, and everything else could be cast aside.

Even someone as brilliant as Rosalind, with a doctorate, could not escape a marriage arranged by her family. Her education was only a tool Edmund used to cultivate powerful connections.

Hannah frowned slightly, a trace of helplessness and sorrow in her eyes.

Of course a man who had risen to the top of Eldermere by his own hands would never be soft-hearted or ruled by impulse.

Dinner ended in a hurry. Sebastian never looked at Hannah again, and went straight to his room.

His blatant disregard, as if she didn't exist, was the most hurtful of all.

But Hannah didn't care.

From childhood to adulthood, countless people had disliked her. One more made no difference.

Eleanor returned to the second floor and had the servants pack, planning to sail for Valmere tomorrow.

Edmund was called away by a message. Before he left, he told Hannah that whatever happened, she could call Secretary Lane and he would handle it.

In the wealthiest quarter of Eastmere District in Eldermere stood a luxurious estate where every resident was rich and powerful.

Moonlit Pavilion Estate.

Adrian sat upright on the sofa. On the enormous crystal screen before him played the scene from the tavern washroom corridor the night before.

The two of them brushed past each other. The woman stared blankly at his back.

After she staggered away, two broad-shouldered men appeared in the frame and slipped into the shadows.

When he came out of the washroom, the two men crept up behind him. One of them locked an arm around his neck, and he lost consciousness at once. Then the men carried him out of the tavern.

Where they took him, which carriage they used, and how they reached the hotel could not be traced.

Adrian extended his index and middle fingers and tapped them against the hard table, one slow tap after another. Thud. Thud. Thud.

"Have you found out who that woman is?"

His voice was cold and empty, and no one could read whether he was pleased or angry.

The assistant behind him wished he could bury his head in his collar. He answered with a tremble.

"Mr. Hartwell... this woman's background is very strange. I can't find any information about her at all..."