"I asked the waiter to set up a private room for you. You should get something to eat," lan said.

"That's not necessary, I—"

"You're prone to low blood sugar. You need to eat your meals on time." lan turned to a nearby waiter. "Please show this lady to a private dining room. Put everything on my tab."

"Of course, Mr. Goodwin." The waiter smiled warmly, guiding Vanessa down

another hallway.

Eleanor returned to the main dining room, where Serena shot her a look of barely concealed annoyance and refused to meet her eyes.

lan entered a moment later.

The table was soon covered with an array of delicious dishes. Magdalen looked at lan. "lan, serve Ellie some soup first. She should have something warm to start."

lan was just about to help when Eleanor stood up on her own. "It's alright, Grandma. I can manage."

"You take care of Evelyn-let lan do it," Magdalen insisted.

But Eleanor didn't let him help. She ladled some soup herself and offered it to her daughter.

"Let's eat, everyone! The chef tried out some new recipes tonight—let's see if they're any good," Gina announced with a smile.

Serena had planned to bring Vanessa tonight just to make Eleanor uncomfortable, but her older brother had blocked her at every turn. Serena knew she'd never go out of her way to be nice to Eleanor again—not after Eleanor kept the truth about the medication a secret and left her feeling humiliated.

Dinner ended, and the family gathered outside the restaurant. Ian carried his daughter, Eleanor walked with Magdalen, and Serena glanced up at Eleanor's back. Suddenly, something caught her eye.

Eleanor's hair tie.

That pale blue leather tie.

Without warning, Serena strode forward and yanked the tie from Eleanor's low ponytail. Eleanor's long hair tumbled down her back as she turned, startled, to face Serena.

Serena was staring at the hair tie in her hand, her expression growing stiff and uneasy.

"Serena, what are you doing?" Gina demanded, confused by her daughter's behavior. Why on earth would she pull off Eleanor's hair tie out of the blue?

Serena looked up at Eleanor, who stood there with her hair cascading over her shoulders, clearly bewildered.

Clutching the hair tie, Serena's eyes darkened with anger. She had suspected the leather tie in Xavier's car might belong to any woman-except Eleanor. Now, seeing that Eleanor's tie was identical to the one in Xavier's car, she couldn't help but wonder: Was it a coincidence? Or had Eleanor betrayed her brother, letting her heart stray?

Serena studied Eleanor-and with her hair loose, she was strikingly attractive. "Here. Take it back." Serena turned away sharply, thrusting the hair tie at her. Eleanor took it, then said to lan, "I drove here. I'll take our daughter home." "I want to ride with Mom!" Evelyn piped up.

lan passed Evelyn to Eleanor, who turned to Magdalen. "Grandma, we'll head out now."

"Mom, wait here a minute-let lan bring the car around," Gina called to her mother-in-law.

Just then, Serena's voice rang out cheerfully, "Vanessa, you're still here!" Eleanor glanced back. Vanessa was smiling as she walked toward Magdalen. Hugging her daughter, Eleanor headed to her car and left.

She had barely been home ten minutes when lan arrived. She guessed he hadn't given Magdalen or his mother a ride home-he must have driven Vanessa instead. Otherwise, he couldn't have gotten back so quickly.

Joslyn was bathing Evelyn. Eleanor was about to head to the bathroom when the door swung open. Ian stepped inside, bringing with him the faint scent of women's perfume.

It wasn't hard to imagine what he and Vanessa might have done in the car.

"I want you to withdraw from Joel's research team," lan said flatly.