Chapter 94

[Evelyn’s POV]

Wendy was kind enough to make sure I looked put back together by the time the car pulled up to the house. What I noticed immediately was that, unlike the last time I paid my family a visit, I wasn’t greeted at the door by anyone other than the staff.

This time, however, both Leonard and Isabella were standing at the ceremony along with the other personnel of the house. Already I was getting a bad feeling from this visit.

Oh God. What if Edward’s condition had gotten worse and they were only there to tell me the horrible news? All of the blood rushed to my ears and suddenly I began to get very lightheaded.

Wendy rested a hand on my shoulder. The woman had the ability to read me like a book. She must have sensed my growing uneasiness and acted quickly to assure me that everything was alright.

“Don’t panic,” she said. “This is merely customary when greeting Alphas and Lunas from other packs.”

I gently shook my head.

“I wouldn’t be too sure of that,” I told her. “My family doesn’t necessarily do ‘customary’. Hell, they didn’t even greet me the last time I came to visit.”

Wendy raised her brow in distinct judgment. “Unfortunately, I don’t find that surprising given the fact that you have someone like Isabella as a Stepmother. She reminds me of Caroline, although a tad bit less venomous.”

The second the two of us got out of the car, I could see much of my father’s interest had melted away. Clearly, he’d been anticipating Alexander’s arrival and not his fill-in.

My father didn’t have the descent to hide his disappointment from his tone when he spoke.

“Evelyn.”

“How nice of you to pay us a visit,” Isabella said smoothly.

I fought back an ugly sneer. “Oh, I assure you, I’m not here for you,” I said pointedly.

Leonard tried to interject. “Now, Evelyn—”

“I was informed that my brother’s health has rapidly declined,” I said swiftly. “And I’m here to find out why. But, of course, I would like to introduce Alexander’s grandmother, Wendy Kingston.”

They all gave a respectable nod and from what I could tell, my father’s disposition started to perk right back up. Shockingly enough, the man stepped forward and offered a kind hand to Wendy.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Kingston. I take it that your grandson is doing well.”

Wendy, with her unreadable expression, took my father’s hand. “Mr. Silverwood, I’ve heard many rather intriguing things about you and your family since your daughter joined our pack,” she said coolly. “And as for my grandson, Alexander is currently off on a business trip, which explains why you see me here and not him.”

Good God, I could have hugged the woman flat out for the reaction she gauged from my family. My father looked as though he’s aged about five years and Isabella appeared as though she had just eaten something sour.

All the while, Wendy remained calm and collected.

From there, we all headed into the house where I made it clear that my intentions were to head straight to Edward’s rooms. However, Isabella was, again, quick to make a comment.

“You should take tea with us in the drawing room.”

“No,” I responded directly. “I am not here for pleasantries. My brother is ill and I, quite frankly, cannot seem to understand why. Considering I was here no longer than a month ago, he was perfectly fine when I last saw him.”

Actually, he was more than fine—according to his medical charts, Edward looked as though he was close to making a near-full recovery. I wouldn’t have been surprised if he was close to actually waking up.

Isabella looked as though she was desperate to keep me in close range. Her mouth remained in a tight line and was just itching to tell me off like how she used to. But with Wendy present and keeping a close on everything, she refrained.

“Go on, dear,” Wendy waved me off. “I would like to chat more with your parents.”

I wasn’t going to question the mischievous glint in the older woman’s eyes. I politely nodded my head and headed toward the far wing of the house.

...

Right as I reached the door to my brother’s room, I stopped myself from going any further. I took in numerous deep, steady breaths, hoping to brace myself for whatever awaited me on the other side of that door.

Just do it, Evelyn. You finally made it to the house. You are only feet away from Edward. Just do it.

Without another thought, I opened the door and turned my head to find my brother. My heart plummeted in my stomach. A disgusting sob tore from my throat.

“E-Edward! Oh my God!!”

He looked awful—no! He looked half dead. His skin was far too pale and his features were all sunken in, giving him the complexion of a corpse.

All I could do was shake my head in the inconceivable fear that was snaking through me. Slowly and with the utmost care, I took Edward’s frail hand and made the silent promise that I would do everything in my power to help him.

I started first by looking at his medical charts, hoping to find some answer as to what was taking the biggest hit due to this sudden shift.

“This can't be...”

According to his charts, his vitals were all horrifically low. His blood pressure, body temperature, his pulse—fuck! Even if his breathing was too low for it to be a good sign.

My hands were turning numb from how fiercely I was holding onto the report. I went over the treatment history for the past several months and nothing about it seemed abnormal.

“Something doesn’t feel right here and I’m going to find out what it is.”

[Third-Person’s POV]

Wendy truly had no idea how Evelyn was able to survive such a horrid household for nearly her entire life when she, herself, could hardly tolerate twenty minutes.

From what she was able to gather, Leonard only seemed to care about Alexander and his business matters. Whereas, Isabella kept trying to steer the conversation back to either her daughter, Samantha or highlight the fact that her pregnancy is progressing well.

When she realized she could no longer tolerate either of them, she’d asked for one of the staff to direct her to where Edward’s rooms were. She gave a courteous knock before entering the room. Her eyes wandered around before she ultimately found Evelyn amongst a sea of papers and binders.

“Jesus Christ,” she whispered under her breath.

Everlyn looked like a right frantic mess. Her clothes were disheveled and her hair was untucked and out of place.

“Evelyn, dear.”

She gently lowered herself down to where a large pile of papers sat near the woman. Evelyn was mumbling something incoherently to herself, looking lost and utterly broken.

“There’s gotta be something...It’s just not adding up...What is it?”

“Evelyn, please. You need to stop.”

Evelyn tore her eyes up from the floor and glared at Wendy with pink puffy eyes, evidence of all the tears she had shed.

“I can’t stop.”

“Yes, you can,” she told her gently. “For the sake of your brother, you must. Give yourself a break. The reason why you can’t see the problem is because you’re looking too hard for it. Come on.”

She urged her to get up and to take a few minutes outside. For the moment. Evelyn allowed herself to be guided out of the room, giving her poor brother a lasting hopeful look.