Chapter 98

[Evelyn’s POV]

“Are you sure you’ll be alright by yourself?” Wendy asked for the third time.

I tried to put on the most realistic-looking smile I could muster.

“I promise, I’ll be fine,” I told her. “Don’t worry about me, okay? I’ll be busy taking care of Edward and chances are that no one will even bother me.”

In all honesty, I didn’t want her to leave. When that sudden call came in about Nina having to be rushed to the hospital, my stomach tied in knots. Of course, I was worried greatly for Nina’s well-being. But at the same time, I didn’t want to be left alone in this house.

There was no telling what kind of mischief Isabella would get up to. Wendy had acted like my protective barrier. Not a single person was willing to get too close to myself or Edward, knowing that she was always close by.

But I seriously couldn’t expect her to stay behind just for my sake. Poor Nina needed all the support she could get. If I could trust the possibility of leaving Edward to recover as he was currently, I would have gone with Wendy. But that wasn’t an option.

Wendy still appeared unsure of my explanation which only made my own worry increase.

“Really, it’s okay,” I said. “I’m hoping that flushing out his system with his normal medication will stop the poison from spreading any further throughout his body. With any luck, his levels should return within a few days.”

There was a lot of uncertainty that came with my theories of trying to help Edward. I was truly hoping that by at least reintroducing his body back to his regular treatments that would, at least, stop his vitals from growing any worse.

One of my biggest concerns was that his system wouldn’t be able to handle the sudden shift with the correct version of his treatment coming back into play. What if I accidentally sent his whole immune system into shock and ended up doing more harm than good?

I wasn’t sure. But it was a risk that I had to take. Otherwise, there was no doubt in my mind that my brother wouldn’t have been able to make it on his own much longer.

Wendy ultimately nodded her head and headed out to the car. I bit the inside of my cheek and swiftly returned to my duties.

As much as I wanted to focus solely on Edward, I couldn’t keep my mind from drifting back to that obscene conversation I ended up overhearing the other night. Had Isabella seriously gotten her hands on an aphrodisiac?

Even more so, was Samantha really going to use it on Liam?

I knew I shouldn’t have cared. None of it was my business. But a large part of me really hoped that Samantha would grow a conscience of her own and stand up for herself. Her mother was a horrible influence on her behavior.

Had things been different between us growing up, I would have liked to think that Samantha and I would have had a better relationship with each other. Knowing that the two of us had a difficult time in our marriages, we could have reached out to one another.

But I felt as though Isabella had manipulated Samantha in such a way that it wouldn’t have been possible. And, now, she was actually pawning off a friggin’ illegal drug to her own daughter to use on her husband...

Remember, Evelyn. It’s not your business.

It was true. All that mattered, going forward, was my work with my brother.

When I began flushing out Edward’s systems with new IV bags, I’d decided that it would be the wise choice to simply move the rest of my personal belongings into his rooms. I wasn’t about to go through all of this stress only to have Isabella tamper with his treatments again.

From that moment on, I had Edward on nearly twenty-four surveillance. No one was allowed into his rooms without me knowing. Each night, I made sure to lock the door from the inside to ensure that no one would be able to hurt him.

I knew well enough that my plans were already working because anytime I caught a glimpse of Isabella, the woman was openly irritated. Hell, she was downright seething at times. Which only went on to support my heavy theory that she really was the one behind my brother’s sudden falling ill.

Still, I never let it slip that I suspected her of any foul play. Doing so would have instantly compromised my situation in the house.

“Don’t you think it's time to head back to your own pack?” she asked me one evening.

I gave her one of the most lethal looks I could dig up.

“My brother is ill and since no one else in this house seems to give a shit, I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure that he makes a full recovery,” I told her bitterly.

Leonard awkwardly cleared his throat as a means to defuse the growing tension.

“I’m sure Isabella is only trying to think about your own well-being while you’re here. And surely Alexander and his pack would be missing their Luna,” he explained.

My brows pulled together while I tried to control the sneer that was threatening to make an appearance.

“Is she?” I countered back coldly. “And as for my pack needing...Alexander, as well as everyone else, knows of the importance of why I’m here. Should things not be progressing for the better for Edward’s condition, I’ve been given permission to have him brought back with me to Kingston Hall.”

Isabella nearly choked on her water. Not even my father had the nerve to argue with that.

Suddenly, one of the staff spoke out from the doorway. “Excuse me, there is a guest here for Miss Evelyn.”

My heart thudded in my chest. A guest? For me?

No one aside from Alexander, Oliver, and Wendy knew where I was. And as sad as it sounded, it wasn’t as though my list of friends was considered long. Who the hell could have been trying to get a hold of me?

A few seconds passed and all the air felt like it had been sucked out of the room. I couldn’t believe what my eyes were showing me.

“Michael?”

He graced me with that same dazzling smile that I once let get to me. What the fuck was he doing here? He was supposed to be at the manor ‘overlooking’ things.

Well, it’s obvious that he saw through Alexander's ruse. But why is he here of all places?

I tried hard to keep the fear out of my voice as I spoke.

“What are you doing here?”

Michael gave what I could only classify as a playful, innocent shrug. “I’m sure you heard. Nina’s been brought to the hospital and Wendy is on her way there now. I don’t believe it’s anything too serious, so there’s a likely chance that Wendy is fully capable of looking after things herself.”

“I see,” I responded. “But...Why come here?”

“I figured you could use the support,” he said. “I know things with you and Alexander have been a bit tense lately. So, I figured I’d stick around until you’re ready to head back to the manor.”

My eyes widened in shock.

Oh my God, Michael. This son of a bitch was going to blow up everything.