Chapter 386

The next morning, sunlight spilled in as usual. Claire didn't wake up too late—after all, she was in the Hughes house now, definitely not as relaxed as she would be at the Fields'. What surprised her was that when she and Grace Hughes came downstairs, everyone was already there, including Victor Hughes, who'd been taken to the hospital the night before. At that moment, he sat at the head of the dining table, casually flipping through the newspaper. Everyone else wore calm, civil expressions, like nothing had gone down the night before. Even Hannah Hughes and Nora Kane were sitting properly at the table, not showing the slightest sign of dissatisfaction. If Claire hadn't caught that flicker of guilt in Hannah's eyes—and the cold fire in Nora's—the second their gazes met, she might've thought she'd just dreamt the whole dinner mess. She didn't dwell on it, though. Acting like nothing had happened, she quietly shifted her gaze away and kept a steady hand on Grace's arm as they came downst