Elise had to acknowledge she had walked right into Victoria's trap.

Still, she couldn't dismiss the reality that Victoria was definitely using James to threaten her.

Rolling over in bed toward James, Elise studied his small face, peacefully asleep in the soft glow.

It was her nightly ritual when sharing a bed with James—keeping a gentle light on so she could watch him in the darkness and adjust his covers.

Only a true mother would understand that indescribable joy of seeing your child sleeping soundly beside you.

Elise couldn't resist stroking his soft cheeks once more. She silently vowed to protect her son at any cost.

Elise had grown accustomed to sleeping past ten these days, and this morning was no exception.

James remained asleep, likely because he stayed up too late last night, though he looked utterly adorable.

Elise didn't disturb him and carefully slipped out of bed, grabbing her crutch and limping to the bathroom to freshen up before leaving the bedroom, quietly closing the door behind her.

Downstairs, only the household staff moved about the living area. The sight made her momentarily distracted, wondering if William had actually returned home last night.

Perhaps he was still sleeping?

One of the attendants approached her. "Would you like breakfast now, Miss Scott?"

"Let's wait a bit," Elise replied. "I'll eat with James and William since I'm not very hungry yet."

"Actually, Mr. Levine is already awake," the attendant informed her promptly.

Elise felt surprised since the man was nowhere in sight.

The attendant explained further, "He returned to his room since neither you nor Master James were awake yet, and instructed me to notify him when you woke up. I'll go inform him now."

Elise nodded, then reconsidered. "Never mind. I'll go myself."

"Very well, Miss Scott."

Ultimately, Elise still felt somewhat guilty about their argument over James yesterday. Besides, she also wanted to ask about Ethan's condition.

When she reached William's room and prepared to knock, she found the door slightly ajar.

Without hesitation, Elise entered and discovered William standing in the middle of the room, his hair damp from a recent shower.

He turned, sensing someone's presence, and immediately noticed Elise's frozen expression.

Meeting his gaze, she instantly flushed crimson.

As she turned to leave, William suddenly stopped her. "Elise."

She bit her lip and kept her back to him.

He said, "Wait a moment. I need your help."

"Please get dressed first," Elise reminded him.

"You're not losing anything by looking."

But she definitely was!

After a moment, he announced, "I'm decent now."

Elise slowly turned to find William wearing a white bathrobe, loosely tied around his waist.

It felt somewhat provocative, though he wasn't actually exposing anything inappropriate...

"What do you need?" Elise asked.

"Some injuries on my thigh haven't fully healed. Could you help apply this ointment? It's difficult for me to reach properly."

Elise frowned. "When did you get injured?"

"During the car accident before."

"And it still hasn't healed?" Those should have been superficial wounds!

"Which is why it requires extra attention," William replied, as if stating the obvious. "I believe I wasn't careful enough, and it became infected."