Chapter 447

Evelyn Langley watched the scenery flash by outside the window, her fingers lightly tapping the armrest. She was on a high-speed train back to Linshi for her grandmother Margaret Roland's eightieth birthday celebration.

The birthday banquet was a grand affair. The three Langley brothers had begun preparations early. As the youngest generation, Evelyn was naturally expected to attend.

A week prior, she had emailed her advisor, Professor Eleanor Roland, for leave. The professor, attending an academic conference abroad, had replied with a brief approval across time zones, asking Evelyn to pass along her well-wishes to the elderly matriarch.

"Are you there yet?" Her phone vibrated with a message from her mother, Victoria Langley.

"Twenty more minutes." After replying, Evelyn gazed absently at the bustling crowd on the platform.

The train arrived on schedule. Dragging her suitcase, Evelyn stepped onto the platform and spotted her mother waiting at the exit.

"Where's Dad?" She glanced around but didn't see her father.

Victoria took the luggage, looking weary. "Your father couldn't get away."

"What could he possibly have on a Sunday?" Evelyn buckled her seatbelt, frowning at her mother.

Victoria started the car and sighed. "It's a long story..."

Three days earlier, at the Langley family estate:

Margaret Roland sat regally in the living room, her three children gathered around. The elderly woman tapped her cane. "Richard's place can't accommodate everyone. What do you propose?"

Though Richard Melville's villa was spacious, it often hosted business associates. Housing over a dozen relatives from the countryside simply wouldn't work.

Grace Deross was the first to speak up. "My apartment can take two people."

"That pigeon coop of a two-bedroom, with its garish decor? You'd be torturing them." The matriarch's tone brooked no argument. "Stay out of this."

The burden fell squarely on William Langley and Charles Lorenz.

Patricia Lorenz cut in before her husband could respond. "Mom, we just moved into Lakeside Pearl. The furniture isn't even fully set up yet." She shot a meaningful glance at William. "Didn't the third brother just finish renovating his new place?"

Evelyn's brow furrowed. "So it fell on us in the end?"

Victoria nodded helplessly. "Your father's scrambling to clean the guest rooms and buy supplies."

As the car entered the neighborhood, Evelyn spotted her father hauling bags of groceries into the house. Under the sunlight, his white dress shirt was already soaked through with sweat.