Aries kept his head down, his eyes darting around nervously.

Evelyn quickly corrected herself. "It was my mistake for mischaracterizing the situation. Mrs. Winters has already disciplined Aries, and he knows he was wrong. Please don't be angry anymore. Today is Estelle and the Lamont family's special day. It wouldn't look good for anyone if the Winters family were really kicked out."

She used Estelle's first name deliberately to let Mrs. James know she wasn't just a Quintin, but also a friend of Estelle's.

Mrs. James looked at Evelyn with an authoritative gaze. She knew Evelyn was a Quintin, and the Quintin family was, in a way, Estelle's family too.

It was a favor she probably had to grant.

If not for the Quintins, then for Estelle.

The sun was beginning to set. In the upstairs room, Sylvia's phone suddenly rang.

Gabriel frowned slightly, turning to hang it up for her, but saw that her eyes were already open.

She stared at the scenery outside, momentarily dazed, before the ringing jolted her fully awake. She picked up the phone. "Grace."

Grace laughed on the other end. "Where have you been? I haven't seen you all afternoon. I'm about to go see Mr. Jarvis. He knows you're at the wedding too. Want to come with me?"

After the luncheon, Old Mr. Jarvis and Old Mr. Quintin had been relaxing and chatting in a sitting room.

Old Mr. Quintin kept checking his phone, but no calls came in.

Understanding his friend's anticipation, Old Mr. Jarvis took the initiative and called Grace, asking her to come over.

After hanging up, Grace decided to find her grandfather. Remembering how pleased he'd been to hear Sylvia's name, she gave Sylvia a call as well.

Sylvia, still groggy from her nap, her long lashes half-lowered, replied a beat later, "Okay, I should go see Old Mr. Jarvis anyway. You go ahead, I'll be there shortly."

After they hung up, Sylvia turned and

noticed Gabriel's glass still had some wine in it. She picked it up and took a large gulp, which instantly revived her. She stood up to go fing Grace.

As soon as she stepped out the door, she realized Gabriel was following her. She turned and gave him a startled look.

Gabriel's features were softened by the dim light. "I'm going to see my grandfather. Is there a problem?"

Sylvia narrowed her eyes. "No problem at all."

They walked downstairs side by

side. At the bottom of the staircase, they saw Mrs. James in the sitting room with Evelyn and a boy with a bruised and swollen face sitting opposite her.

Just then, Mrs. James spoke.

"This boy, Jonathan from the Winters family, abducted my granddaughter earlier. It was clearly malicious, not the innocent 'playing' his family claims it was. However, since Ms. Quintin has spoke up, I will grant you this favor and not pursue the matter further You right, today is Estelle and the Lamont family's wedding, and no one wants to cause trouble for them. Take him back to his family and tell them to keep him far away from my granddaughter. If anything like this happens again, being thrown out of a wedding will be the least of their worries."

Evelyn immediately smiled. "Thank you, I—"

She broke off, turning her head abruptly as she saw Gabriel and Sylvia coming

down the stairs together. Her smile froze.

Gabriel turned to Mrs. James and asked, “What happened?"

Mrs. James stood up. "Mr. Carnes."

The moment Gabriel appeared, Aries instinctively flinched, lowering his head even further, not daring to let his eyes wander.

There was an intimidating aura about some people that always made those with ill intentions cower.