Chapter 464
The moment the words were out, she saw him frown and quickly corrected herself. “My mistake. I meant, who taught you how to make the filling?” She had almost forgotten his claim that he’d made the pie himself. Fine, if he said he made it, he made it. If he said the sun rose in the west, she wouldn’t argue. Anything to avoid another round of his passive-aggressive remarks.
Rowan shot her a sideways glance. “What, you want to be my apprentice p>
Elissa choked for a second. “Of course not. Just curious.” She had long accepted her lack of talent in the kitchen and had no desire to torture herself.
Rowan pushed the other half of the omelet toward her. “Just eat. After this, you’re going across the hall to take your medicine p>
“Huh?” Elissa blinked, then it hit her. Her professor must know her tendency to procrastinate with her medicine and had his wife brew it for her first thing in the morning. “You went to see them this morning?” she asked.
“Mm,” he grunted. It counted, sort of. When he went over to get the pies, the elderly couple was already awake. Jacqueline was practicing yoga while simmering a herbal remedy, and Aaron had just returned with breakfast from downstairs. The moment they saw him, their faces turned cold. Their expressions only softened a fraction when they learned he was making breakfast for Elissa.
It had been too late last night to talk about the online storm, but now Elissa remembered. “By the way, what’s the latest on the specialty drug?” When she woke up, a concerned message from Tanya Foster had prompted her to check online. The backlash was still fierce. People were stirring up trouble, saying she and Rowan were in a sordid relationship, two peas in a pod out to make dirty money. The comments were a deluge of abuse. Some had even started trying to doxx her again. Elissa figured the only silver lining to all the abuse she’d endured under Matriarch Paige Murphy was that she was no longer easily swayed by outsiders’ opinions. No matter how vicious the online attacks were, she knew her drug was safe and wouldn’t lose sleep over it. The truly agonizing days were behind her.
Rowan’s face was calm. “At the press conference,” he asked casually, “did Finn Thornton from DK Pharmaceuticals say anything to you p>
At the mention of his name, Elissa’s gaze faltered, and she avoided his eyes. “He didn’t say anything p>
She had learned to lie convincingly from a young age, a survival skill honed to get
by. She could deceive almost anyone if she wanted to. But Rowan saw right through her. “Are you sure p>
Elissa looked up at him, a
self-deprecating smile on her lips. What had Finn said? He had offered to help her get revenge, to send the entire Murphy family to hell But she couldn’t accept. The one who had orchestrated her adoptive parents’ deaths was Matriarch Paige Murphy alone. Sometimes she couldn’t tell if she was being principled, or if her principles were shaped by him.
Her silence was all the answer Rowan needed. He didn’t press her further. When Elissa truly didn’t want to talk, you couldn’t get a word out of her He would just have to urge Tan to speed up the investigation There was definitely something between Elissa and DK
Pharmaceuticals.
Meanwhile, at the Wilkinson residence, the atmosphere was far from joyful, despite the hope of finally finding their long-lost Vera A grim cloud had settled over the family since last night. During breakfast, Maya couldn’t help but ask Veras been at the police station all night. Are we really not going to do anything?” As foolish as Marcia was, it seemed a waste to abandon her now, especially when Maya had plans to use the girl’s guilt-ridden family to push for a marriage with Rowan.
Suzanne Jensen, who had tossed and turned all night, was too drained to respond. She just sipped her soup slowly. The others were also lost in their own complicated thoughts. Their Vera wasn’t supposed to be like Marcia.
Maya pressed on. “You all spent years trying to find her. Now that she’s back, why are you all so indifferent p>
Laurel calmly set down her utensils, her sharp eyes flicking toward Maya. “What are you so anxious about? The DNA test results aren’t even back yet.” Just as she finished speaking, her phone, lying on the table, began to vibrate. The caller ID read: Lawrence.