It had unwittingly gotten quite late. Eleanor turned to lan and said, "You should head back and get some rest."

"Mom, I want to play with Dad a little longer," Evelyn protested, clinging to lan's hand to stop him from leaving.

"How about Dad walks you upstairs?" lan asked, crouching down to her eye level.

"Will you read me a dinosaur story before I sleep?" Evelyn pleaded, pushing her luck.

lan glanced up at Eleanor. After all, her master bedroom was strictly off-limits, and he knew better than to linger without her permission.

"Go ahead and take her up to my room to read. I still have a little work to finish," Eleanor said, choosing not to deny her daughter this small request.

Evelyn had been asking for bedtime stories from her father a lot lately, and Eleanor had repeatedly said no. She figured she could give in this once.

"Yay! Let's go, Dad!" Evelyn cheered, eagerly pulling lan by the hand as they bounded up the stairs.

Joslyn finished wiping down the counters and said, "I'll be heading to bed now, Ellie."

Eleanor nodded and headed up to her study on the second floor. Her work was already finished, but since she wanted to give lan some time to read to their daughter, she opened a streaming app on her computer and decided to catch up on a show she had been meaning to watch.

It was a show she had been highly anticipating, but she found herself entirely distracted. She kept glancing at the clock. It was ten minutes to ten. Ever since Evelyn started school, Eleanor had developed a neurotic anxiety regarding her sleep schedule.

If Evelyn wasn't in bed by ten, Eleanor was convinced the lack of sleep would stunt her daughter's growth.

It was the kind of irrational worry that plagued every mother.

At ten o'clock on the dot, Eleanor shut her laptop and walked over to the master bedroom. Standing outside the door, she could hear Evelyn chattering excitedly about dinosaurs.

Eleanor leaned against the doorframe, crossing her arms. Ian was sitting against the headboard with Evelyn nestled comfortably in his lap, the two of them pouring over a pop-up dinosaur book.

Eleanor watched them in silence, a profound sense of peace washing over her, tinged with a faint, bitter ache.

If there was anyone in this world who loved that little girl as fiercely as she did, it was him.

Evelyn looked up, spotting Eleanor, and smiled brightly. "Mom, do you want to read with us?"

"It's late. You can read more tomorrow," Eleanor replied softly.

lan gently closed the book and coaxed his daughter. "Be good now. Time for sleep, so you can grow big and tall."

Evelyn obediently slid under the covers. Ian stood up and looked at Eleanor. "Get some rest."

Then, intentionally dropping his voice an octave, he murmured, "Step outside for a moment. I need to discuss something with you."

Eleanor reached out and gave him a subtle, firm shove. "Go home."

Amusement flickered in lan's

eyes-she had seen right through his blatant excuse. Goodnight," he said a gentle

ying her hand said.

squeeze before finally walking away.

Eleanor shut the door, turned off the lights, and climbed into bed beside her daughter.

After turning the lights off, she usually listened to an audiobook on philosophy to help her wind down and drift off.

Before long, she fell into a deep sleep beside Evelyn.

The next day was Friday. The little girl woke up determined to spend the weekend at Goodwin Manor, and lan happily agreed to drop her off.

It worked out perfectly, as Eleanor needed to put in some overtime at the lab and would have peace of mind knowing her daughter was in good hands.

Eleanor's entire day was consumed by endless meetings and lab experiments. At five o'clock that evening, Gwenda knocked and stepped into her office.

"Eleanor, I just heard Faye Yeaton was sentenced. Five years and four months. They say she's had a

complete emotional breakdown net

Gwenda shared, She was a

self admitted gossip and had spent the day digging for details.

Eleanor's feelings were incredibly complex an indescribable mix of

emotions. In life, a single misstep could set a person on a dark path, and eventually, the piper always had to be paid.

Just then, Eleanor's phone rang. She glanced at the screen; it was lan.