Chapter 42

Eleanor’s POV: I usually kept my opinions about Miley to myself around the Taylors. No matter how close I was with them, I wasn’t family—and it wasn’t my place to interfere too much. But this time was different. With Scarlett’s health hanging by a thread and Everett Robinson already being a handful, the last thing I wanted was to deal with Miley, too. I had no choice but to speak up. In my mind, Mr. and Mrs. Taylor loved Scarlett deeply. There was no way they’d stand back and let Miley keep pushing her around like that. Or so I thought… because what happened next completely blindsided me. On the other end of the call, Mr. Taylor listened quietly before calmly responding, “Scarlett’s smart. She won’t let herself get the short end of the stick.” For a second, I thought I’d misheard him. I frowned, my chest tightening with frustration. I felt genuinely mad on Scarlett’s behalf. “Uncle, seriously? What exactly did Miley do to deserve all this? She’s not even related by blood—and yet you're