Chapter 120

Chapter 120

To hell with "nothing to say"!

Liliana had no idea what was going on in his head. Nothing to say? That was basically handing Cordelia over to someone else on a silver platter.

Then he'd have to grovel all over again to beg for forgiveness—not that Cordelia had forgiven him in the first place.

"Fine. You said it yourself. Don't come crawling to me for help next time!"

No wonder Zephyr and Brielle had both fled the country to "lay low." Look at the ridiculous mess Ellington was making of things.

Helping him was a complete waste of effort!

Liliana stormed out, slamming the door hard behind her. Ellington lifted his gaze slightly, the corner of his mouth twitching in an almost imperceptible movement.

Silence filled the room.

After a long pause, he called his assistant and asked him to bring a change of casual clothes.

"Make sure the jacket has a hood. And a face mask—don't forget."

His assistant: "??"

He was sure he'd heard that right.

What exactly was Mr. Carnegie planning? Was this even legitimate business?

The assistant held his questions for now and brought the clothes to the hospital as requested.

Ellington got out of bed and changed without hesitation.

As for his leg—it looked perfectly fine. So much for the "old injury flaring up."

"Stay here. Don't let anyone in."

The assistant acknowledged the order, then did a double take as Ellington's words fully registered.

"You're going out?"

With the hood up and the mask on, it was true—no one could tell who he was.

Ellington nodded, said nothing more, and left the room.

It was already close to seven in the evening. Nurses doing rounds weren't a concern, but if Flynn showed up… that would be a much harder act to pull off.

The assistant locked the door from inside and prayed that no one would come tonight.

---

Meanwhile, Cordelia and her group had arrived at the hotel's private dining room.

The lower floors housed private banquet rooms, while the upper floors offered guest suites. Each room was equipped with karaoke and had excellent soundproofing—perfect for a team celebration.

Avery handed the menu to Cordelia. "Order whatever you want. Mr. Mitchell said it's all on him!"

Cordelia ordered just two dishes without much thought.

She didn't feel there was anything worth celebrating, but everyone else was in high spirits, and she wasn't about to kill the mood.

Liliana had said she'd come. That was a relief.

She could ask about Ellington's condition.

A week had passed. His injury should be healing well by now.

"Cordelia, what are you thinking about?" Someone sharp-eyed noticed her zoning out and blurted, "Thinking about your ex-husband?"

The atmosphere froze instantly.

At the office, work came first, and no one pried into personal matters. So even though the scandal—"Ellington's ex-wife miscarried after attending the Neville family's welcome reception"—had been all over the news, nobody brought it up around Cordelia.

After all, that was picking at her scars.

Everyone in the design department was easy to get along with. No one would deliberately make things awkward.

That question had been way out of line.

"Why bring him up? Aren't we here to celebrate?" Cordelia grabbed the champagne bottle already set on the table and popped it open. "Let's not waste our breath on people who don't matter."

Avery jumped in immediately. "Exactly! Tonight is about eating, drinking, and having a good time!"

---

By the time Liliana arrived, the private room was buzzing with laughter and conversation.

She was about to push the door open when a voice she despised came from right beside her.

"Ms. Stewart, shouldn't you be at the hospital? What are you doing at a hotel?"

Why was Sloane here too?

Liliana pulled her hand back from the door handle.

If Sloane found out Cordelia was in there, things would get ugly fast.

"Someone invited me to a party, so here I am. What's it to you?" Liliana turned around, and the moment she saw Sloane's appearance, a flash of surprise crossed her eyes. "You…"

Sloane was clearly here for a business engagement.

She was dressed to perfection—stunning, yet tasteful enough to never come across as cheap.

"Mr. Carnegie asked me and my father to attend a dinner." Sloane gestured toward the next room. "Does Mr. Carnegie know you checked out of the hospital?"

"None of your business." Liliana fought the urge to argue, keeping her voice low. "You go to your dinner. I'll go to my party."

Sloane shrugged, seemingly indifferent. "Fair enough. I'll head back in."

Only after Sloane disappeared into the adjacent room did Liliana dare to push open the door in front of her.

That woman showing up here felt like trouble brewing.

She hoped she was overthinking it.

---

The moment Liliana stepped inside, everyone swarmed her.

Even those who'd once been hostile toward her were warm and enthusiastic now.

"You actually came!" A coworker clapped her firmly on the shoulder. "You quit out of nowhere without even saying goodbye. You owe Cordelia an apology tonight!"

It seemed everyone assumed she'd simply resigned. Even Cordelia.

Liliana could more or less guess what had happened.

"That's on me. I had an accident at home, got injured, and ended up in the hospital. I didn't want to hold up the project, so I figured resigning was the only option."

After the pleasantries, Liliana made her way to the seat beside Cordelia.

Cordelia's cheeks had already flushed an unnatural shade of red, and her breath carried the unmistakable scent of alcohol.

Cordelia had been drinking?

Even Cordelia herself didn't realize how much she'd had.

Her head felt fuzzy, but she was still more or less lucid.

Alcohol had a way of amplifying emotions she'd kept buried, making her want to drink even more.

She felt inexplicably sad.

Seeing Liliana now, her mind drifted to Raina, so far away in another country—and to what Flynn had said when she'd visited Ellington a week ago.

She was not the kind of woman Flynn made her out to be!

"Liliana, what's really going on? Ellington's in the hospital, and you quit—why?"

Cordelia's voice was low, tinged with the haze of alcohol. Liliana sensed trouble immediately.

She was on the verge of getting drunk.

Liliana didn't think she'd arrived that late. How much had Cordelia already had?

As Cordelia reached to pour more champagne into her flute, Liliana grabbed her hand. "Cordelia, no more. You're drunk."

But Cordelia wasn't the only one. Everyone in the room had been drinking heavily.

She couldn't just leave them all here unattended.

Liliana thought it over and decided her only option was to call Griffin and let him know the situation in the room.

Griffin's tone on the phone was remarkably calm—as if he'd already anticipated exactly this.

Within ten minutes, he arrived with people in tow.

He moved to take Cordelia from Liliana's arms.

"What do you think you're doing?" Liliana pulled back, blocking him. "This is my sister-in-law. Don't you dare touch her."

Griffin's hands paused mid-air. He didn't withdraw them.

"Right now, who else can take her home? You? Or Ellington?"

Liliana cursed Ellington six ways to Sunday in her head.

Useless man. Never there when it actually counted!

She had no intention of handing Cordelia over.

"I heard you approved this whole party. You knew everyone would get wasted—so why did you let Cordelia come? Were you planning to take advantage of her?"

That had to be it.

Cordelia drunk meant he'd have a chance to get close to her. Or even—

Griffin didn't rise to her accusation. His gaze remained gentle, fixed on the woman who appeared to have passed out.

"She needed to unwind."