With an edge of a smirk that didn't quite reach a full smile, Lisbeth confessed, "Within our family, I always follow Raines’ lead." Beverley wasn't buying it for a second. She was sure Lisbeth had egged Raines on to send Elfreda off to an out-of-town sanatorium.

To Aurelia, the whole situation reeked of fishiness. If there weren't any issues between Raines and Lisbeth, why on earth would they send Elfreda to a distant facility? It was entirely possible that Elfreda wasn't even in a sanatorium at all but was being held somewhere in secret.

"Lisbeth, how are you and Raines settling into life in Elysium?" Lisbeth replied, "It's all good. Raines hasn't been feeling well, so he spends most of his tat home, taking it easy." Aurelia gave her a piercing look, a thought suddenly taking root in her mind. Maybe from the get-go, Lisbeth had been up to no good, planted by someone as a spy to keep Raines under control.

That would explain why Raines had changed and Lisbeth hadn't batted an eyelid because she knew the man by her side was a facade.

"There's no place like home. You should bring Elfreda back. She must yearn to return to Elysium to spend her twilight years in peace." "I agree. Elfreda should be brought back home." Beverley chimed in, nodding vigorously.

Lisbeth spoke calmly, "Raines worries that coming back to Elysium would dredge up unhappy memories for Elfreda and worsen her depression." "But I thought Elfreda had Alzheimer's and couldn't remember the past?" Aurelia asked pointedly.

She suspected that Elfreda didn't have Alzheimer's at all, and it was just a cover story they'd concocted to silence any suspicions.

A mother knows her son best, and the moment she sensed something off, she'd be suspicious. By claiming she had Alzheimer's, no matter what she said, no one would take her seriously, thinking she was just confused and rambling.

Lisbeth's face remained serene, "Sometimes she forgets and gets a bit muddled, but she can Lisbeth’s expression remained calm as she replied, "Sometimes she becomes a little disoriented and forgetful, but she's not completely lost to her memories yet. She's not in the severe stages of the condition." Beverley sighed, "I've heard that depression can make people more susceptible to Alzheimer's. Poor Elfreda." Lisbeth murmured, "Maybe for her, forgetting is a blessing of sorts?" Sheryl sneered, "That's why women should never mess with a married man. You'll always end up on the losing side. Men are just looking for a bit of fun, and they never take it seriously." "But Fredric did take it seriously, didn't he?" Beverley countered, "He's just like Chad was. Chad was head over heels for Arnold's mom Magnolia and treated her like a queen. Even the most fickle man has his Achilles’ heel, a woman who knows just how to keep him in line." Sheryl's lips twitched viciously, her molars clenching involuntarily.

The comment struck a nerve. Fredric had fun with so many women but never thought about marrying them, except for Jelena, whom he was ready to divorce everything for.

Jelena deserved to rot.

Aurelia gave Sheryl a knowing look, her gaze deep and probing, as if she had seen straight through her facade.

"There are plenty of cunning women in the world. Even if Chad hadn't met Magnolia, there would have been another one. I heard that right after his kidney transplant, he was so smitten with a young nurse that he threw caution to the wind and indulged himself, only to kick the bucket. If he were still alive, that nurse might well have been the next Magnolia." Beverley nodded, "True. Even if Fredric hadn't met Jelena, he'd have fallen for someone else and been completely under her thumb. The world's full of women with schemes." Sheryl's grip tightened around her coffee cup.

As long as she had a son, there was hope. Even if Fredric neglected her, it didn't matter.

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