Cold Marriage, Burning Regret novel · Chapter 16 of 24
Chapter 16: The Board
The Ellery Holdings boardroom had a table for fourteen and a view of the whole lake.
On the twenty-fourth of November, seven people sat at it, and Eleanor sat at its head with her cane across her knees.
I sat against the wall in a chair she had set there for me herself.
Scott sat at the far end of the table, alone, in a dark suit, with a single folder in front of him.
Dillon sat at Eleanor's right hand.
Lydia sat beside him in a pale blue dress that showed her small, certain bump, and she smiled at me across the room.
"Item one," Eleanor said. "The question of succession. Dillon."
"Thank you, Grandmother." He stood and buttoned his jacket. "I'd rather not do this at all. But the board is owed the truth."
He touched a remote, and a screen came down.
A laboratory report filled it, with a letterhead I did not know.
"A prenatal paternity test, collected on the thirtieth of October at a private clinic, under proper supervision." He let the silence sit. "The probability that Scott Ellery is the father of Ms. Penrose's child is ninety-nine point nine nine percent."
A board member gasped.
Another reached for his water.
Lydia lowered her eyes with a small, modest smile.
"The trust is satisfied," Dillon said gently. "Scott keeps the chair. Whatever else has happened in the family this month, the Ellery line goes on."
"A moment," I said.
Every head turned.
"Dr. Sherman is not a member of this board," Dillon said, still smiling.
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