“I heard about the tragic circumstances,” Eleanor said, finally looking at me. “A warehouse accident. How dreadful for you.”

“We know what you’re doing,” I said, my voice shaking as I tried to pull myself up.

Ethan placed his hand on my shoulder to keep me still, but his eyes never left his mother.

“You are not transferring my children,” Ethan said.

“They are my grandchildren, Ethan,” Eleanor said softly. “They deserve the best care money can buy. A public ward in the city is no place for them.”

“They are in the best hands right here,” Ethan said.

“Dr. Albright,” Eleanor said, turning her head slightly toward the administrator. “Tell my son about the facility in Lake Forest.”

Albright cleared his throat, adjusting his wire-rimmed glasses.

“Dr. Harrison, the Lake Forest clinic has state-of-the-art isolation suites,” Albright said. “The foundation’s endowment covers all expenses.”

“It is a private clinic,” I said. “You want to hide them where I can’t reach them.”

Eleanor smiled, a tiny, chilling movement of her lips.

“It is a highly secure facility for children of privilege,” Eleanor corrected. “Given the mother’s unstable financial situation, it is the only logical choice.”