《Secrets & Schemes: Entangled with the Whitmore Brothers》全部章節：第 11 章 - 第 20 章

“Claire, I really do love you. Even when you were pregnant with someone else’s bastard, I didn’t hold it against you. We should be good to each other…”Caleb pulled her closer, pressed his face into the curve of her neck, and murmured drunkenly, his words slurred.Someone else’s bastard?The words slammed into Claire’s mind like a hammer.For a moment, her entire body went numb.In the same instant, she thought of something.Back then, when she learned that the baby in her womb had been terminated, she had cried and demanded to know why Caleb had done it.But he had said nothing.He had only looked at her with eyes full of complicated emotion.Claire could hardly believe it.Aside from their wedding night, she had never been with anyone else. After that, because she had been recovering, she and Caleb had not been intimate again.Could it be…An absurd thought suddenly surfaced.Claire went cold all over. Even her breath caught.That night, it had not been Caleb.She instinctively shove

“I know him too?”Serena looked deeply confused. As she watched Claire, a guarded look faintly appeared in her eyes.But she quickly adjusted herself and said, “Claire, you must be joking. How would I know doctors and professors like that?”“Since you know Dr. Vincent Chase, hurry and invite him over. You know how much Caleb loves Charlie.”At that, Serena covered her lips and laughed softly.“If you can get in touch with Dr. Chase, Caleb and I will definitely remember this favor.”There was no innocent way to take that sentence.Sure enough, the doctor spoke.“You may not know this, but Ms. Hale and her husband are very worried about the baby’s illness. You’re the child’s aunt, right? If you can invite Dr. Chase, they really should give you a generous thank-you gift.”Claire looked at Serena, who remained perfectly composed, with amusement.Then she said in mild surprise, “Aunt?”“Doctor, you’ve misunderstood. I’m the baby’s aunt by marriage. This is my husband’s sister-in-law. Becaus

It was a small silver crescent pendant.The pendant was delicate and smooth, its edges worn soft with age. Claire’s fingertips trembled. Disbelief filled her eyes.This pendant was hers.Back in middle school, on her way home from school one afternoon, she had saved an older boy from drowning. He had given it to her afterward as a thank you.But in the car accident a year ago, the pendant had been lost.She had thought she would never see it again.So why was it here?Maybe it was fate, Claire thought. Maybe her grandma was watching over her, trying to tell her that the worst was finally about to pass.The cord had been trampled on and was dirty, so she carefully tucked the pendant into her bag before stepping out of the elevator.Outside the hospital, Owen was already waiting by the entrance. Claire did not ask him to take her home. Instead, she gave him the name of a residential complex.Owen asked, “What are you going there for, Mrs. Whitmore?”“To see a friend,” Claire said casual

“This attorney, Elliot Grant, is the best lawyer in New York. His grandpa and I go back a little, so I spoke to old Grant myself and asked Elliot to take your case personally. Once he steps in, I believe it won’t be long before the hit-and-run driver is brought in.”Claire took the business card. When she saw the name printed on it, she recognized it.He was indeed one of the very best.And yet, this was only a straightforward hit-and-run case.The reason there had been no progress for an entire year was that the person responsible always seemed able to find some legal excuse that worked in their favor.Claire had once wanted to hire Elliot herself, but Caleb had stopped her again and again. He had played the emotion card, promising that he would handle everything properly.That was how the case had dragged on until now.Claire was genuinely grateful that Reginald had used his personal connection to bring Elliot in.She was about to say something else when the housekeeper called from t

“Caleb, I’m afraid we still can’t sign this contract. But if Gideon were still in charge, this project would definitely be settled.”Mr. Hayes finished in a rush and hung up.The dining room had already been quiet, but now not a single person made a sound.Caleb looked at Serena almost instinctively.Serena’s face had gone deathly pale. She stammered, unable to get a single coherent word out. The confidence and certainty she had shown earlier had completely vanished.A laugh broke the silence.Claire heard Martin chuckle. He rose, lifted his glass toward Reginald, then took Helen and headed for the door.“What did I tell you? Not everyone can be like Gideon. Not everyone can pull a company back from the brink. Well, we’ve seen enough. Let’s go. Our kid is still young. Sending him abroad for school would be better than letting him sit around at the company pretending to work.”Richard quietly left with Margaret as well.In less than half an hour, everyone was gone.When the housekeeper