lan's gaze snapped to Eleanor, his eyes silently asking if she'd been the one under attack.

Eleanor kept her focus on York across the table. "The subject only lasted three minutes before the monkey's nervous system rejected the implant. This tells us our neural interface still has serious stability issues."

Her voice was calm and clinical.

"Eleanor's experiment was a real breakthrough," York added. "But the research stalled when the funding dried up. We spent half a year refining the materials, and despite every setback, that trial marked a turning point for our brain-machine project. We need to get our confidence back and push for more breakthroughs."

Faye's grip on her pen tightened until her knuckles turned white. No one in the room knew that inside, she felt as if she'd been struck by lightning.

"That's why Eleanor is the only one who can lead this project," York said suddenly, his tone serious.

Everyone's attention shifted to Eleanor. She offered York a small, confident smile. "Mr. Windsor, let's pick up where we left off."

"Exactly. With Mr. Goodwin's investment and such a strong technical team, I'm sure we'll succeed this time," York replied, sounding more optimistic than ever.

"VP Chase, could you show us around Meridian Dynamics' cloud systems? We're eager to see what you've developed," someone requested.

"Of course. I'll take you right now," Byron answered with a pleasant smile.

"VP Chase, please take Dr. Windsor and the others. Eleanor, I'd like you to stay," lan said abruptly.

York glanced at the two younger people, then led the team out of the room. Faye bit her lip, clutching her notepad as she left.

Joel lingered for a moment, shooting Eleanor a worried look. He knew she'd done much of her research during her marriage, and lan had clearly been kept in the dark about her scientific career. Still, Joel reasoned, lan was her ex-husband now —surely he wouldn't make things difficult for her.

Once everyone was gone, Laird quietly closed the door behind them.

lan's intense gaze was clouded with emotion. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

Eleanor met his eyes. "Tell you what? That I was secretly doing research while you were away on business trips? That I had a career outside our marriage?"

lan swallowed hard. He got up, bracing his hands on the table and leaning toward her, his voice low and tightly controlled. "I'm saying you could've always been yourself with me."

Eleanor's eyes flashed with bitter amusement as she recalled the past. “Ian, all I ever wanted was to be a good wife by your side. But you taught me just how pathetic and pointless that role really was."

With that, Eleanor turned on her heel and headed for the door.

"Eleanor―" lan's voice was a strained murmur. "There's a lot you don't know. I can explain."

"No need." Eleanor's tone was icy; even if he wanted to explain, she had no interest in listening.

Just as she reached the door, a strong hand clamped firmly around her arm, stopping her in her tracks.