ut the night's events from a safe distance. Robert and Ciara were busy trying to smooth things over with the few impo
away to a small, quiet sitting room
nd her mother, Eliza Schmitt, walked in. Her
cene?" Eliza's voice was sharp with reproac
would have wounded her deeply. Now, she only felt a distant pity for this
he asked a simple question. "Eliza, d
ed. "Martha
her voice soft but firm. "I asked if you truly
ompletely off guard. She st
ou know? Ciara is your husband's daughter. His illegit
yes widened in horror. "You're lying," she
ertificate. Check where your husband was nine m
as she leaned against the wall for support. The fou
seed. She knew it woul
n who radiated an aura of quiet power, his eyes filled with a deep, aching sorrow as he looked at
ndfather, Arthur Woodar
acket and draped it gently over Eveline's shoulders, covering her ba
nding on the stunned Eliza. "The Schmitt family's brand of education,"
around herself finally cracked. A wave of exhaustion and v
nd of hair from her face. "It's
ssed by Frederick, who had
e, the way she leaned into his touch with an easy familiarity. His jaw t
ed out of the room, out of the estate, and out of th
k from Arthur Woodard froze him in place. The old man's eyes held a lev
ing in the hallwa
a ghost in a designer gown, Eveline'
ost her. For good. For the first time, his perfect, ordered world was filled with nothing but doubt. Dou
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