Fortunately, Hugo Quinn isn’t here, so she can easily brush Eleanor Hollis off with a few words; if the woman’s jealousy flares up, she won’t stay with Hugo again. "If there’s nothing else, Miss Shaw, you can leave now." Eleanor Hollis didn’t immediately lose her composure. From the beginning to now, so many people have wanted to separate her from Hugo, who knows if what this person says is true or false? Claire Shaw looked at her angrily, getting up to stand. "I know you might not believe what I say. If you want to verify it, why not visit Quinton Manor yourself and see whether I’m lying to you!" After saying that, she left. Eleanor Hollis quietly sat on the sofa; last night Hugo indeed didn’t come back, nor did he call her. But after what happened last time, she didn’t want to falsely accuse him lightly again. An hour later, Hugo returned, holding Marcus’s hand. Marcus had become more cheerful lately, often with a smile on his face. Marcus ran over, placing an award certificate in front of her. "Look, I got first place in the class quiz, and the teacher gave me an award!" Eleanor Hollis instantly set aside all other thoughts, taking the certificate in front of her to look. "Marcus is really amazing! I’ll make something delicious for you tonight." "Mommy, you should rest. I’ll have Uncle Chef make your favorite dishes." Marcus obediently rolled up the certificate and handed it to Hugo. Hugo placed the certificate in the upstairs study, then came back down to check on the porridge in the kitchen, which was ready to eat. He served a bowl for Eleanor Hollis, gently spooning it to prevent her from getting burned. Seeing his actions, all of Eleanor’s gloom instantly vanished. Hugo doesn’t seem like the type to cheat; Claire Shaw was probably lying to her. "Have a taste first, see if it’s sweet enough?" Hugo placed the spoon in her hand. Eleanor Hollis smiled slightly, finding the porridge very soft, with red dates and brown sugar, it tasted really comforting. "Don’t eat too much. We still have dinner later." Hugo also served a bowl for Marcus, who happily placed it on the coffee table. "Mommy, let me tell you, daddy’s porridge is super delicious. He often made it for me before." Eleanor’s hand paused; Marcus rarely mentioned Grace Lynch. Had Grace rarely been involved in his life over the years? No wonder Marcus doesn’t like her. The three of them held their bowls of porridge and continued watching TV, while the chef prepared dinner. Hugo’s villa was large and exuded a subdued luxury style; when Eleanor wasn’t there, it was quite desolate, with just a few servants who rarely spoke with Hugo aside from cleaning and gardening. They were all afraid of Hugo since he carried an intimidating aura, almost like a walking freezer. But since Eleanor came, everything improved, Hugo seemed gentler, and with Marcus becoming lively, the atmosphere in the villa was lovely. After dinner, Eleanor took her medication for the evening, helped Marcus with his homework for a bit, and then went to rest. Hugo came to Marcus’ side, ruffling his hair. "Finish up and go to bed early." Marcus looked up, "Dad, if mommy finds out about the photo of you with that woman, she’ll be heartbroken." Hugo’s eyes flickered, and he heaved a sigh. "I’ll take care of it in the next few days, Marcus. Leave grown-up matters to the adults." Marcus pursed his lips, thinking that if it weren’t for his cleverness last night, dad would probably have been kneeling on a washing board by now. What a bridge burner, humph. Hugo went to the bedroom and found Eleanor lying on the bed, already asleep on her side. He didn’t get into bed; instead, he went downstairs and ignored a call from the old man. But then his phone buzzed with a text from Jude Shaw, saying that Evan Yancy was injured. His brow furrowed tightly, and he left immediately. Eleanor heard the sound of a car engine from outside, walked to the window, and saw that Hugo had already driven off. She stood by the window for a while, her feelings indiscernible, until the car was out of sight. Only then did she return to bed. When Hugo arrived, Evan Yancy’s abdomen was already bandaged, blood everywhere on the scene. Evan was the last to join their circle. Unlike the others, he came from no eminent family, having built everything from scratch, amassing great wealth at a young age. Hugo and Evan had developed a mutual admiration after their early business clashes. "Someone was harassing Samantha Sullivan at the bar." Evan’s wounds were already dressed; he lit a cigarette, taking slow drags. Hugo had never mentioned Samantha and Evan’s story to Eleanor, and Samantha had chosen to keep silent, so Eleanor was unaware of their complicated relationship. To them, they were like a pair of ill-fated lovers. Seeing Jude Shaw and Julian Sterling there, Hugo knew that woman had likely left. Truly ruthless. "She left, of course. It’s not her first time doing this." Jude remarked irritably, supporting Evan up. "I don’t get it. You’ve been tormenting each other for four or five years. Can’t you stop? Shall I get you a knife to settle all your grudges once and for all!" How many times had Evan been injured because of Samantha? No one knew, but it happened regularly enough that they were used to it. Hugo decided to stay out of it; the grudges between Evan and Samantha spanned family feuds, not something easily resolved by outsiders. Evan took a deep drag on his cigarette, his expression somewhat fierce. Of all of them, Evan was notoriously ruthless, never soft-hearted to foes. Years ago, Samantha’s brother accidentally killed his sister in a car accident. Evan laid in wait for years, orchestrating a perfect accident that left her brother in a vegetative state. What he hadn’t anticipated was that the man was Samantha’s brother; hence began their rivalry, every encounter a fight to the death. "Alright, Evan, do you regret it, orchestrating that to render her brother vegetative?" Samantha’s brother usually a ne’er-do-well, wasn’t evil at heart. He was drunk when he fatally hit Evan’s sister, later compensating the family. Evan’s parents, greedy as they were, took the hefty compensation and vanished, but Evan couldn’t let it go, having doted deeply on his sister. "What would I regret?" Evan extinguished his cigarette, looking up. "He killed my sister, and I returned the money to the Sullivans. A life for a life."