Chapter 76

Chapter 76

Ellie kept a sweet, obedient look on her face, but inside she was panicking.

The email had already been sent. She never even got a chance to say no.

If that specialist actually showed up in the next couple of days, certain things wouldn't stay hidden for long.

"Charlotte..."

Ellie bit her lip. "I know you mean well, but my condition has already been diagnosed. I just need to rest and take care of myself. There's no need to go through all this trouble."

"It's no trouble at all." Charlotte leaned back on the sofa with a half-smile, watching her at ease. "Heart disease is serious. On top of that, you can't even get married or have children because of it. Something this big — we have to take it seriously."

David nodded, feeling reassured. "Charlotte's right. Your health comes first. Having that specialist come take a look will put our minds at ease."

Ellie was speechless.

It wasn't like she could just announce in front of everyone that she wasn't sick and that the medical report was fake.

She forced a grateful smile, lowered her head, and let it go.

Charlotte stretched lazily and headed upstairs.

A moment later, Helen came in.

She walked straight over and took Charlotte's hands, her eyes full of warmth. "Charlotte, can we talk?"

Charlotte paused. "About what?" she asked, her tone flat.

Helen hesitated. "I want to ask — are you upset that we gave Ellie shares in the company?"

"No," Charlotte said, as calm as ever. "Why would you ask that?"

Helen sighed. "I was worried you might think your father and I are playing favorites. But we only gave her one percent. Everything else — the rest of the shares and the position of CEO — that's all yours. We promise we won't give Ellie anything more. Okay?"

Charlotte was a little surprised. She hadn't expected Helen to make a promise like that.

Still, it did give her some peace of mind.

Her expression softened, and she was just about to respond when she caught a glimpse of fabric at the doorway.

It was obviously Ellie, standing there listening.

Charlotte's eyes flickered. She cleared her throat. "Ellie, if you have something to say, just come in."

Helen turned around, startled.

Two seconds passed, and Ellie stepped out, looking a little embarrassed.

"Charlotte, I... I was hoping to talk to you alone."

She acted like she hadn't heard a word, forcing herself to stay calm — though her fingers were twisting the hem of her clothes so hard she was close to tearing it.

Helen stood up, not particularly bothered about whether Ellie had overheard.

"Ellie, good timing. I was just telling Charlotte — the company, the inheritance, all the shares — it all goes to her. You should know that too. Any problem with that?"

Her tone was almost blunt. She didn't seem to care at all whether Ellie minded or felt hurt.

Ellie put on her most meek, agreeable expression, as if she'd accept whatever was decided without a fight, and nodded.

"Okay. I understand, Mom."

"Good. Then I'll leave you two to talk. I'm going to bed." Helen smiled, got up, and left.

The moment she was gone, Ellie dropped the helpless act. Her eyes turned urgent.

"Charlotte, what exactly are you trying to do?"

Charlotte raised an eyebrow, playing dumb. "I'm not trying to do anything. What do you mean?"

"I already turned you down downstairs. I don't need you bringing a doctor here to examine me. I can handle my own situation. And besides..." Ellie took a slow breath, her expression strange. "Do you actually care about me?"

Charlotte stayed unbothered. "Did you really come all the way up here just for this? Stirring things up in the middle of the night — anyone who didn't know better would think you weren't sick at all."

At that, the color drained from Ellie's face.

She clenched her jaw and stared at Charlotte.

After a long moment, Ellie exhaled. "Name your price. What's it going to take for you to call off that specialist?"

That was exactly what Charlotte had been waiting for.

She looked up slowly, a cool edge in her eyes. "Give me the watch."

Ellie's expression shifted immediately. "That watch is mine now."

Charlotte gave a cold laugh. "You bid on an antique watch you don't even like — a men's watch, no less. Whether you actually wanted it or just did it to get under my skin, you know the answer better than I do."

"I don't have time for these games. Either hand over the watch, or don't bother trying to keep your secret. Your choice."

She didn't hold back, and she didn't bother softening the blow.

Ellie stood frozen, fists clenched, her face darkening.

She had wanted to take the watch, make Charlotte pay, make her hurt.

She hadn't expected to walk away empty-handed — and played.

If she didn't hand over the watch, the truth that she wasn't sick would come out. And once her parents found out she'd been faking it, she'd lose whatever standing she had left in the Brown family.

She was already the adopted daughter — the one who didn't matter as much as Charlotte. What would happen to her after this wasn't hard to imagine.

She might not even be able to hold onto that one percent of shares.

"...Fine."

Ellie had no choice. "I'll bring you the watch tomorrow."

Charlotte raised an eyebrow. "Then why are you still standing here?"

Ellie shot her a brief look of pure spite, then turned and walked out without another word.

---

The next morning.

Charlotte had just come downstairs for breakfast when she found Ellie already waiting in the living room, holding a box.

"Charlotte! I brought you the watch."

David looked up from his tea, curious. "What watch?"

Ellie smiled sweetly. "I bought an antique watch at an auction. Charlotte mentioned it used to belong to Mr. William Smith and somehow ended up there. I figured she'd really want it back, so I brought it right over."

Charlotte almost laughed.

Ellie had deliberately outbid her to take the watch and use it as leverage — and now she was making it sound like a generous gesture. Like she'd made some great personal sacrifice just to do Charlotte a favor.

Sure enough, David smiled with approval and nodded. "That was thoughtful of you. Charlotte really did care a lot about William. You're getting more and more considerate."

Ellie smiled modestly. "It was nothing."

She handed the box to Charlotte.

"Take a look — is it Mr. William Smith's watch?"

Charlotte opened it and checked.

It was her grandfather's watch, no question. But the hour hand wasn't moving.

The watch had stopped.

Charlotte's eyes narrowed.

Before she could say anything, Ellie widened her eyes in exaggerated surprise. "Why isn't the hour hand moving? Don't tell me it's broken?"

"It was fine yesterday. Now it's broken — that's quite a coincidence." Charlotte's face went cold.

Ellie had returned the watch, but she wasn't about to give it back in one piece. She'd made sure to break it first.

Charlotte's gaze turned sharp. "What happened to it?" she asked, her voice ice-cold.