Eleanor's ex-husband had become Faye's brother-in-law-and now, her protector.

It was definitely something Faye couldn't help but flaunt.

After so many years of being overshadowed by Eleanor, Faye finally had her moment to breathe easy.

"Is that so? Congratulations," Eleanor replied, her tone calm and even.

Faye's smile faltered, her triumph hanging awkwardly in the air. She'd been hoping for some sign of Eleanor breaking-rage, jealousy, anything.

But Eleanor's face remained composed. Her striking eyes were tranquil, utterly undisturbed.

Impossible. How could Eleanor not even flinch?

Just yesterday morning, Faye had been stunned when Vanessa called with the news: lan himself had reached out to Simone, asking her to involve Faye in Joel's major project with Meridian Dynamics.

The very person Eleanor had once relied on was now opening doors for Faye at work. How could Eleanor really be so unaffected?

"Eleanor, we're colleagues-you know you can cry if you're upset! Bottling it up is bad for your health," Faye said breezily before sauntering away.

In the lab, Eleanor slipped into work mode. Over the last couple of days, she'd pored over her father's old notebooks, and new ideas had begun to take shape. Now, she was putting her father's theories to the test, determined to see if he'd been right.

From morning until noon and then well into the afternoon, she worked without pause. It wasn't until four o'clock that she finally let out a quiet gasp at the microscope.

"I found it! At last!"

Callie, who'd been working on a report nearby, immediately hurried over. "Eleanor, what did you find?"

"This gene locus!" Eleanor's finger trembled as she pointed at the glowing marker on the screen, her voice quivering with excitement. "This could be the key to overcoming the rejection response!"

Callie's eyes lit up. He looked at Eleanor with genuine admiration. "Eleanor, that's incredible. I'll go get Professor Langley right away."

He dashed off to find Simone, who rushed from her office the moment she heard.

After reviewing Eleanor's experiment, Simone could hardly contain her excitement. Eleanor's breakthrough might just be the missing piece they'd been searching for—a discovery that could dramatically accelerate their research.

"Ellie, you really are Elliot's daughter. He'd be so proud of you," Simone said, beaming as she squeezed Eleanor's shoulder.

Eleanor glanced at the clock. Only a few minutes left before she had to pick up her daughter. "Professor Langley, I need to finish the preliminary report first."

She'd just opened her laptop when her vision suddenly went black. The next thing she knew, she was sliding from the chair, unconscious.

"Eleanor!" Callie caught her before she hit the floor.

Simone was startled, grabbing her phone in a panic and dialing Joel's number. "Joel, come to Eleanor's lab right away-she's passed out!"

Joel raced down the hall, scooping Eleanor up and rushing her to the nearest hospital.

Simone's mind raced as she quickly found lan's number and called him.

"Hello, Professor Langley?"

"Ian, Eleanor just collapsed in the lab. We're taking her to the hospital now."

"Which hospital?" lan's voice was tense.

"Ashford General."

"Do you know why she fainted?" lan pressed.

"Just ten minutes ago, she made a major breakthrough a set of key gene loci. It was such a short time, but the progress was enormous. She must have pushed herself too hard."

There was a brief, heavy silence on the line. Then lan simply said, "Thank you," and hung up.

At the hospital, lan arrived to find Eleanor still asleep. All she needed now was good, uninterrupted rest.

Joel stood in the hallway, watching as lan approached with hurried steps. He raised an arm to block lan's path. "Mr. Goodwin, Eleanor needs to rest."

"I just want to see her," lan replied, ignoring Joel's attempt to stop him and reaching for the door.

Joel's eyes darkened as he stepped forward again, firmly barring the way. “Mr. Goodwin, right now, the last person Eleanor wants to see is you."