Chapter 271: What Happened

Elena stepped aside, finally letting Roman and the others in.

In the dining room, the group sat around the table eating in silence.

Lucas kept glancing at Elena, who sat with her head lowered, saying nothing. His big eyes darted around before he picked up a fork and placed a piece of pork rib on her plate.

"Mommy, eat this."

Elena looked at what he'd placed in her bowl, pressed her lips together, murmured her thanks, and began eating.

Roman took in Elena's expression, noticing the sadness she couldn't quite hide. After a moment's thought, he couldn't help but speak up.

"How's everything been going with your studio these past few days? Handling things okay?"

At this unexpected question, Elena's brow furrowed. She glanced at Roman, her tone rather cool. "Thanks for your concern, Mr. Quinn. Nothing too serious."

"Also, I'm going to be pretty busy for a while, so you don't need to keep coming over. I won't have time to entertain you."

The moment those words left her mouth, the atmosphere at the table turned stiff.

Roman stared at Elena for a long while before finally speaking. "Are you still angry with me?"

Hearing the gravity in his tone, Elena looked confused. "What?"

Roman's eyes filled with disappointment as he lowered his gaze. "It wasn't that I didn't want to come save you. Quinn Group just had some internal issues at the time, so I couldn't make it."

"But don't worry—I won't let something like that happen again."

Watching Roman's earnest expression, Elena's brow creased. She wanted to say something, but in the end, she closed her mouth.

Forget it. It really wasn't worth it.

Besides, it was all in the past now.

So under Roman's expectant gaze, Elena never opened her mouth to respond.

Gradually, all of Roman's hopes deflated.

But quickly, he gritted his teeth and mustered his courage again.

After all, he still had a chance. He had Lucas—Sebastian didn't. That gave him an edge over his rival.

So after dinner, Roman suggested leaving, not wanting to make Elena dislike him any further.

"It's getting late. Get some rest and take care of yourself. We'll head out now."

With that, Roman grabbed Lucas by the arm and led him out.

Elena was somewhat surprised by how decisively they left.

She'd expected they might linger at her place for a while, like they had when she came home from the hospital last time.

Thinking this, Elena's eyes flickered slightly, though she didn't dwell on it.

She casually picked up her phone from the coffee table, said something to Helen, then headed upstairs to wash up.

Because she was especially tired today, Elena fell asleep shortly after her bath.

Meanwhile, in the penthouse across the way, Sebastian sat smoking by the floor-to-ceiling window in his study.

He'd been sitting there since he got home, not moving an inch.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of his phone nearby. After a moment's thought, he picked it up, opened his chat with Elena, and began typing a text.

[What was going on with you and him today?]

The instant he finished typing, Sebastian felt the message was inappropriate—it sounded too much like he was interrogating Elena.

His thoughts churning, he deleted it character by character, then began typing again on the keyboard.

"I trust you're not that kind of person, but could you explain it to me?..."

Looking at this newly composed message, Sebastian still wasn't satisfied. He frowned and deleted it again.

He went on like this, typing and deleting, over and over for half an hour, ultimately never sending a single message.

He stared at the chat window, sighed, then closed it again.

Outside, the streets had long since grown quiet. Neon lights filtered through the glass into the study, falling across the man's body.

The ember at the tip of his cigarette glowed and dimmed, flickering constantly, illuminating the melancholy and irritation in his eyes.

...

Over the following days, despite living directly across from each other, Elena never once ran into Sebastian.

Every time she left or came home, she'd stare at that tightly shut door for a moment before reluctantly going inside.

This went on until one day, when Elena was sorting through materials and Anna walked in. "Ms. Elena, Mr. Lithgow, who made an appointment earlier, is here."

Hearing this, Elena immediately set down her materials. "Show him in right away."

"Of course."

Before long, a refined-looking man in his forties walked in.

Upon seeing Elena, a faint smile appeared on his face as he extended his hand. "Ms. Elena..."

"Mr. Lithgow, you're here."

Elena shook his hand briefly before releasing it and gesturing for him to sit. "Please, Mr. Lithgow."

After sitting down, Mr. Lithgow pulled some documents from his briefcase and placed them in front of Elena with a slight smile. "This is the project I mentioned before. Take a look and see what you think, Ms. Elena."

Elena nodded and picked them up.

After a quick review, a hint of pleasant surprise crossed her face. "This project is truly excellent—it's an S+ tier opportunity. I'm surprised you're willing to let it go, Mr. Lithgow."

Seeing her slightly excited expression, the man sighed, his face taking on a rather wistful look.

"I don't want to let it go, but what choice do I have? I can't just let the project rot in my hands, can I?"

Elena laughed softly. "You're joking, Mr. Lithgow. How could a project like this possibly rot in anyone's hands?"

"Besides, weren't you working with Mr. Blake before? You could easily give this project to him—that way it definitely wouldn't fall through, right?"

"That might have been possible before."

Mr. Lithgow grimaced, his expression somewhat rueful. "But now? Not anymore."

Hearing the implication in his words, Elena felt, for some reason, an uneasy premonition.

"What do you mean?"

"You don't know, Ms. Elena?"

The man seemed somewhat surprised, but after a moment's thought appeared to understand. He sighed. "This is internal Blake Corporation news."

"Apparently, Blake Corporation is currently facing a major employee reshuffle."

"Some employees have been reassigned to completely different departments from where they were before."

"Not only that, but Mr. Blake himself... word is, the elder Mr. Blake is going to remove him from his position..."

The moment she heard those words, Elena's expression shifted slightly. "Remove him? Why? Sebastian's been doing excellent work, hasn't he?"

"After he took over that position, Blake Corporation has been on an upward trajectory the whole time. How can they just remove him like that?"

"Who knows?"

Mr. Lithgow shrugged helplessly. "That's exactly why I don't dare keep this project in my hands. After all, who knows what other changes are coming? Better to finalize the project as soon as possible."

"Money only feels secure when it's in your own pocket."