While My Husband Cheated I Married His Powerful Brother novel Chapter 48

Chapter 48: Chapter 48 The Old Madam’s Fury

The room was still reeling.

David Cole. Eleanor’s personal bodyguard.

Phillip’s face went red. Then white. Then red again. He turned to Eleanor. His mouth opened, closed and opened once again.

"That’s not possible," he said. His voice was hoarse. "David has been with us for ten years. He’s loyal. He would never—"

Dorian did not look away from Eleanor. "The phone number was registered under his name. The messages came from his device. There’s no mistake."

Eleanor shot to her feet. Her chair scraped against the floor. Her face was flushed. Her eyes were wild.

"You’re lying!" she screamed. "You’re making this up! You’ve always hated me! You’ve always wanted to destroy me!"

Dorian said nothing. He just stood there, his gray eyes fixed on her, calm and unmoving.

Eleanor’s chest heaved. Her hands were shaking. But her voice was loud. Defiant.

"You have no proof! A phone number means nothing! Anyone could have used his phone! Anyone could have—"

"Sit down, Eleanor."

The Old Madam’s voice cut through the room like a blade.

Eleanor’s mouth snapped shut. She looked at the Old Madam. At the cold fury in her eyes.

She sat.

But Veyra saw it. The way her hands were trembling. The way her breath came in short, shallow gasps.

Eleanor was panicking. The mask had shattered.

Veyra felt a quiet satisfaction settle in her chest.

Dorian spoke again. "I propose we summon David Cole. For a face-to-face confrontation. Let him explain how his phone number was used to send those messages."

Eleanor’s face went gray. The color drained from her cheeks. Her lips turned pale.

She slumped against the back of the sofa. Her body seemed to collapse inward. Her eyes were wide. Unfocused.

Phillip grabbed her arm. "Eleanor? Eleanor, what’s going on? Why do you look like that?"

She did not answer. Her mouth moved, but no sound came out.

Beatrice stepped forward. Her eyes were narrowed. Her voice was sharp.

"Eleanor," Beatrice said slowly. "Was it you? Did you order the kidnapping of Lily?"

Eleanor’s head snapped toward her. "No! I mean—I only wanted to scare Veyra. That’s all. Just scare her. Make her look bad. I never meant for anyone to get hurt. I never told them to lock Lily in a cage. I never—"

Beatrice’s hand flew across Eleanor’s face.

The slap was loud and so very brutal. Eleanor’s head snapped to the side. Her hand quickly went to her cheek.

"How dare you," Beatrice said. Her voice was shaking. "How dare you do that to my granddaughter. To a child. To an innocent child."

"I didn’t—"

"You put her in a cage!" Beatrice’s voice rose. "You locked her in a cage like an animal!"

Eleanor scrambled to her feet. She tried to back away. Beatrice grabbed her shoulders and shoved her back down onto the sofa.

"Don’t you dare get up," Beatrice said. "Don’t you dare say another word."

Eleanor struggled to rise again. Her legs were shaking. Her face was wet with tears.

"Please," she said. "Please, let me explain. I didn’t know they would hurt her. I just wanted to scare Veyra. I wanted to make her look irresponsible. I never meant for Lily to be locked in a cage. I never—"

Harold’s face was purple with rage.

He lunged forward. His hand shot out. He grabbed the ashtray from the side table.

"I’ll kill you," he growled. "I’ll kill you for what you did to that child."

Beatrice caught his arm. "Harold, stop!"

"Let go of me!"

"You’ll only make it worse!"

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