Chapter 94

“You’re overthinking this,” Thomas said flatly. “They’re both grown-ups. Let them sort out their own love lives. From now on, their business is their own.” “Honestly, they’re all a handful. Daughters are so much easier,” Margaret muttered with a sigh, the bitterness in her tone hard to miss. “If that baby had made it, she’d be twenty by now. If it weren’t for your brother…” “Enough,” Thomas cut in sharply, shutting it down without room for debate. “We’re not talking about that again.” Just then, a housekeeper tapped at the door to deliver a message—the eldest son wanted the family to gather for a portrait. Elsie glanced at the cursive calligraphy hanging in the living room. It read: “Devoted father, united brothers, loving couple—a prosperous home.” The strokes were strong and full of life, an obvious mark of skill. It was the final work left by their grandfather before he passed. She really missed the kind old man. Half of the Harding empire today had been built with his own hands. Th