Chapter 126: Piece By Piece
The warm sunlight streaming in through the large windows of Elizabeth’s study cast golden streaks on the polished hardwood floor. But the woman seated in the high-back velvet chair was far more interested in the flickering images playing across her laptop screen than the beauty of the mid morning light.
A quiet smile curved Elizabeth’s lips, slow and satisfied, as she leaned forward, her fingers steepled beneath her chin. Her sharp eyes watched every second of the footage playing before her—the grainy black-and-white CCTV recording from the hallway outside Eliana Howells’s hospital room.
It wasn’t high-definition, but it was enough. Enough to know she’d been the one who’d been outside Eliana’s room, listening to Ivy speaking her nonsense.
Elizabeth leaned back with a slow breath, her body relaxing for the first time since that morning. It’s done, she thought. And it was worth every second of planning.
Her two guards—men she had trusted for years—had left at dawn. She didn’t ask them what lies they told or how they got past hospital staff to retrieve the footage. It wasn’t her concern. She had just told them to go to the hospital and get the footage without thinking if using violence.
And just like every other time, they had delivered.
Regina Quinn, for all her reputation and ruthless polish, had arrived at the hospital too late. She wouldn’t find the footage, no matter how much she shouted or demanded. And she’d never guess that Elizabeth was the one who had taken it.
The corners of Elizabeth’s lips lifted again. There was something deeply satisfying about beating Regina at her own game. She was very sure by now, Regina was stumbling, confused, and probably furious.
Elizabeth didn’t need to see her face to imagine it—eyes wide, mouth trembling with restrained rage. The look of a woman who realized, maybe for the first time, that she wasn’t untouchable especially with her daughter’s dignity being questioned and their reputation in the mug.
Stefan had pulled the last straw she had not expected from him especially after he was reprimanding her for risking her life.
A buzzing sound pulled her attention back. Her phone lit up on the desk beside her. She checked and saw it was Claire’s name flashing on the screen.
Elizabeth picked it up with ease, brushing her thumb across the screen. "Claire," she said warmly, placing her laptop aside. "I was expecting your call."