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Chapter 542
Chapter 542:
June took a slow, steadying breath. When she looked up at Easton, her eyes were no longer uncertain. They were clear and resolved.
“I am not doing this for Cole,” she said. “I am doing this for an old woman who is dying p>
She didn’t wait for a response. She walked quickly into the bedroom and changed into a simple black cashmere sweater and dark jeans, then picked up the keys to the high-security SUV that Easton’s firm had arranged for her from the console table.
Easton reached for his coat.
D𝗈n’𝘁 𝗆𝗂𝘀𝘀 𝘯𝗲𝘄 𝘳eleа𝗌e𝘀 o𝘯
“No,” June said, raising her hand. “I go alone. I won’t drag you into their mess p>
Ten minutes later, she was on the highway, pushing the speed limit toward the Hamptons.
The scenery blurred past the windows. Above Long Island, the sky was thick with dark, bruised clouds, another storm pressing in from the horizon. The weekend traffic was already building, turning the drive into a grinding, anxious crawl. June kept both hands tight on the steering wheel, her knuckles white, her mind running ahead of the car the entire way. Nearly three hours later, her tires finally crunched over the gravel as she passed through the massive wrought-iron gates of the Compton Estate.
The atmosphere inside the mansion was suffocating. The air itself felt weighted and still, the way it does in a house bracing for loss.
The servants in the grand foyer stopped and stared as she entered, their faces caught between surprise and a complicated, unspoken guilt. June ignored them all, kept her spine straight, and walked briskly up the grand staircase toward the second-floor master suite.
A team of cardiovascular surgeons stood in the corridor outside Eleanor’s room, speaking in low, urgent tones. When they saw June approaching, they stopped and stepped aside without a word, clearing the way.
June pushed open the heavy oak door.
The sharp smell of antiseptic and heart medication met her immediately. Eleanor lay at the center of the massive four-poster bed with an oxygen mask strapped over her face. The woman who had once commanded the attention of Wall Street executives without raising her voice now looked terribly small against the white pillows, her skin the color of ash.
At the soft click of the door, Eleanor’s eyes opened slowly.
When she saw June standing there, a faint, desperate spark of life appeared in her cloudy gaze.
June felt a lump rise hard in her throat. She crossed quickly to the side of the bed and took Eleanor’s cold, dry hand gently in both of hers.
At that moment, the sound of heavy, purposeful footsteps echoed from the hallway outside.
Cole had arrived.
The heavy sedative flowing through Eleanor’s IV line finally took hold.
The old woman’s breathing slowed, and her eyes drifted shut. June sat beside the bed for another ten minutes, watching, making certain she was deeply and fully asleep. Then, with extreme care, she slipped her hand free of Eleanor’s weakened grip and tucked the old woman’s arm gently beneath the thick duvet.