Deirdre’s situation was critical. It took the emergency staff hours of grueling effort and focus to operate on her. Everyone was working with bated breath, and no one dared to relax. When it was finally over, they breathed a collective sigh of relief.

She was sent back to the mansion after that. Or to be more accurate, she was quarantined. Brendan hired more watchers to mind her, and now, she was a blind woman who had lost even the privilege to walk outside.

Brendan himself seemed to have vanished from her life. She asked one of the bodyguards where he was, and all she received was a dismissive, “No idea.”

A few days later, while Deirdre was on her way down the stairs, she overheard the bodyguards chatting among themselves. “No kidding. This sh*t is still boggling to me—why is Mr. Brighthall keeping Mrs. Quasimodo in his bell tower, man? I almost think he’s planning to have her replace Miss McKinney as his babe!... If it weren’t for the fact that he’s been on these non-stop vacatio