Chapter 425

Isabella Sinclair stared at the message Alexander Whitmore had sent, her fingers tightening slightly around her phone before typing a brief reply: "Nothing to add."

Alexander's response came almost instantly. "Understood."

The conversation ended there, the digital silence stretching between them like an unbridgeable gap.

Since Eleanor Whitmore had been brought in to treat Evelyn Sinclair, she'd moved from the nursing home to a private VIP suite at Fairview General Hospital for easier monitoring.

The following morning, Isabella arrived with her grandmother Margaret Sinclair to visit Evelyn.

Though weeks of treatment had passed, Evelyn still looked fragile - her cheeks hollow, her movements slow. But at least the deathly pallor from two weeks ago had faded somewhat.

Yet the sight of familiar faces still triggered her. Even the sound of certain voices could send her spiraling.

As they stepped out of Evelyn's room after their visit, Eleanor Whitmore joined them in the hallway. They'd barely begun discussing Evelyn's progress when footsteps echoed down the corridor.

Isabella turned - and froze.

Penelope Kensington walked toward them, flanked by Eleanor Kensington and Reginald Kensington.

Isabella's breath caught. What were they doing here?

Beside her, Margaret's grip on her arm tightened painfully. If Evelyn saw these people now, after everything...

Penelope's eyes widened when she spotted Eleanor Whitmore. "Is that Dr. Whitmore?" she whispered. "How did the Sinclairs get her to treat them? I thought she'd retired from practice."

Their gazes flickered toward Evelyn's room. Then realization dawned - but Evelyn's condition was psychological, and Eleanor wasn't a psychiatrist. Unless...

Unless there were physical complications now too.

Eleanor Whitmore rarely appeared in public these days. The opportunity to speak with such a renowned physician didn't come often.

Yet without proper introduction, approaching her would be awkward at best.

Eleanor had noticed Isabella and Margaret's reaction to the newcomers. She gave the Kensington group a cursory glance before turning back to the Sinclairs, her voice deliberately carrying. "Her vitals are stabilizing. The progress is slow but steady."

Margaret clasped Eleanor's hands, emotion thickening her voice. "Thank you, Dr. Whitmore. We can never repay your kindness."

Eleanor patted Isabella's shoulder warmly. "Just doing my job."

As they spoke, the Kensington party passed by, stopping several doors down to enter another patient's room.

With other appointments waiting, Eleanor soon took her leave, her medical team trailing behind her.

Isabella watched her go before turning her attention to the occupied room down the hall. Someone from either the Kensington or Pembroke families must be ill. That would explain their presence in the VIP wing.

But if they started frequenting this area regularly... The risk of Evelyn encountering them became dangerously high.

Sharing the same concern, Isabella approached a passing nurse. "Excuse me, could you tell me about the patient in Room 1003?"