32. Eleanor's Mansion

Emma's narrative

Coming out of the room where Rachel had held me captive for months was a monumental breakthrough for me, and I vowed that no one would ever confine me like that again.

I glanced at Jake, one of Brandon's bodyguards that stood a few feet away, holding a phone to his ear. After a few minutes, Jake strolled over to the car I was in and rapped his fist on the window. Slowly, the window rolled down.

"I ain't going back to that estate. I want my son"! I reiterated what I had told them as soon as we arrived at the estate gate, prompting the chauffeur to pull over by the roadside.

"Take it easy, ma'am. I just called the boss. He said I should bring you to where he is," Jake said.

"Where's he at?" I asked nonchalantly.

"He's at Eleanor's mansion," Jake responded and motioned to the chauffeur.

"Please, turn around. The boss said we should take her to Eleanor's mansion," the bodyguard instructed, and the car began to turn.

"What about my son?" I inquired.

"Your son is at Eleanor's mansion," Jake replied, and I relaxed a bit.

About four minutes later, the car came to a stop in front of a large transparent gate. The scanner on top of the gate scanned the car, and slowly the gate opened, allowing the driver to enter a beautiful compound.

Parked in front of the compound was the car Brandon had left Zenith Tower in. I knew he was there. My heart skipped a beat. It was as if the Brandon I knew was quite different from the one I had met a few minutes ago. I couldn't help but feel a bit afraid. In all the time I had known Brandon, I had never seen him so angry.

"Emma," a woman's voice called out as soon as I entered the grand foyer of the mansion. I looked and saw Eleanor smiling and looking in my direction as if she were seeing me.

Surrounded by four maids, Eleanor held my son, who was sleeping peacefully in her arms.

She motioned for me to come closer, and I began to walk towards her, looking around to see if Brandon was standing anywhere I didn't know of.

It had been six long years since I had last seen Eleanor, and the years had etched a map of experiences on Eleanor's face. The depth of her kindness was reflected in the sincerity of her smile.

"Good day, Eleanor," I greeted.

"My son has been searching everywhere for you," Eleanor murmured with a low tone.

"When he rushed in, dropped the baby in my arms, and hurriedly climbed the stairs without saying a word to me, I knew he had seen you. No one interprets his emotions better than me," Eleanor chuckled, and I tried to force a smile, but I couldn't. I crouched down beside her.

"How are you, Emma?" Eleanor asked, touching my hair.

"I'm..." My voice trailed off when I saw Brandon coming down the stairs in such a hurry, as if something was after him. He looked both sad and angry at the same time. My head continued to turn as I looked at him. He just walked past me without saying anything. It was as if I didn't exist.

Even though I made a mistake by allowing Brandon to have his way with me that night, I thought he should be grateful that I saved him. As I continued to stare at him and watched him enter his car, tears welled up in my eyes again. I thought to myself that he would have been rotting in jail by now.

I felt Eleanor's palm searching for my hand. My head dropped on her laps, and I wiped my eyes with the back of my palm.

"Girls, please leave us," Eleanor said to her maids in a low tone, and they left.

"What... what..." The words on Eleanor's lips were replaced by heavy breathing. I lifted my face and saw Eleanor gasping for breath. I quickly took the baby from her, looked around for her inhaler, and saw her hand moving under her chair. In a basket that was under her chair, I took the inhaler out and put it close to her nose. After some seconds, her breathing became normal again. I thought she was only blind; I never knew she was asthmatic too.

"Are you okay?" I asked, and she nodded. Gently, she took my son from me, and I watched her closely. Eleanor took a deep breath.

"I'm okay," she responded. "So what happened? Where have you been?" she asked.

"I have been in a secret room in Julian Henderson's estate, carrying Brandon's baby in my womb," I murmured, looking at the innocent baby in her arms. Eleanor's mouth opened, and I noticed she was struggling to let words out.

"Are… you... pregnant?" she asked, her breathing rising.

"I gave birth two weeks ago," I responded.

"Where… is the… baby?" she asked, her breathing growing more frantic.

"In your arms," I responded.

"Emma... what... are you saying?" Eleanor sputtered. However, I kept quiet.

"Emma," she called, while running her vibrating palm all over the baby's body. Suddenly, her breathing increased again, and this time the inhaler could not stabilize it. I continued trying. When nothing worked, I began to call for help.

As some of her girls rushed in and took her away, possibly to the hospital, one of them took me to a nursery that had been furnished for Julian. The room showed that no expenses were spared when the nursery was set up.

As I continued staring at the place, clutching Julian to my chest, the door opened violently. I shuddered and quickly turned. I saw Brandon standing at the doorway with an angry look on his face. He dropped the grocery bag he was holding on the floor. The thud sound and the angry look on his face scared me, and I took a few steps backwards, searching for a possible escape route, but unfortunately, there was none.

My heart continued thudding in my chest. Since I knew Brandon, I hadn't seen him so angry with me. Is this the Brandon I know, or did someone undergo impersonation surgery to make themselves look like Brandon in order to take over Zenith Company? Are you sure the Phoenix Brigade didn't kill the Brandon I know and have another person undergo surgery to look like him? The scary questions my heart conjured scared the hell out of me, and my breathing became very rapid.

The girl who took me to the room picked up the bag Brandon dropped on the floor and left, leaving me alone in the room with an extremely angry Brandon.