Chapter 4

I froze, completely baffled.

Eleanor always claimed she bought her fresh meat here every single day. If she hadn't been here in six months, where did the meat in my daily broth come from? Did it just materialize in our kitchen?

"Oh, we've just been busy at home, so she doesn't get out much," I lied smoothly, trying to mask my confusion. "Wow, your pork looks really fresh today. Give me two pounds, please."

After buying the meat, I visited several other grocery stores in the neighborhood. The answers were all the same—none of the shopkeepers had seen Eleanor in months.

Could there be another market? No, the next closest grocery store was miles away. For an elderly woman who didn't drive and hated spending money on Ubers, it made no sense for her to travel that far.

When I got home, Eleanor’s face paled the moment she saw the grocery bags in my hands. She nervously tried to probe if I had heard anything odd at the market.

I kept my face completely blank. "Odd? No, why? I just bought some meat and came straight back. Did something happen?"

She visibly relaxed, but during dinner, she casually tried to cover her tracks.

"Make sure you drink all the broth, Daisy. Don't look down on it just because there's only one meatball. The ingredients are incredibly rare. I have a friend who sources it fresh from a private organic farm in the countryside and drops it off at our door every morning."

The moment the words left her mouth, I reached across the table with my fork, scooped up the single meatball, and dropped it into Liam's bowl.

"Since it's so rare and nourishing, Liam should have it," I said with a sweet smile. "He needs to recover from his ankle injury. I've been eating this for months anyway; missing one day won't hurt."

Eleanor’s face turned an ugly shade of purple, but she forced herself to stay silent under Ethan's watchful eyes.

Later, while washing the dishes, I stood by the kitchen door and watched her closely. Liam hadn't touched the meatball. And Eleanor, who always claimed to hate waste, didn't eat it either. Instead, she carefully washed the meatball under the tap, dried it with a paper towel, wrapped it in plastic wrap, and took it back to her bedroom.

Why would she save a washed meatball? Was she planning on eating it as a midnight snack?

"What are you daydreaming about? Go to bed," Ethan called out, pulling me from my thoughts. "Stop staring at your phone all night. If you're bored, go read a book in the study. Let's raise our kid to be an intellectual."

I rolled my eyes at him but headed to the study anyway. My insomnia was getting worse, and I blamed Eleanor. If she hadn't kept me out so late today, I wouldn't have slept so long during my afternoon nap, and I wouldn't be wide awake at 3:30 AM.

Sitting in the armchair, I sipped on a juice box and scrolled through my phone. After about twenty minutes, it was nearing 4:00 AM.

I turned off the lamp and quietly opened the study door, intending to slip back into bed. But the moment I stepped into the hallway, a hushed voice from the living room made me freeze.

"Tomorrow, you need to hire someone to pretend to deliver the meat," Eleanor’s voice whispered urgently. "Make sure Daisy sees it so she stops doubting us. You don't want all our hard work to go to waste, do you? This is for our baby, Liam."

"I know, I know," Liam’s voice replied, sounding equally tense. "Our little Leo has been so good inside Daisy's belly. It's a dark method, but since the boy can already interact with us through her stomach, the ritual is definitely working. Our priority right now is to ensure she delivers our baby safely. Her own safety is secondary."

My blood ran cold.

*Their little Leo inside my belly?*

Why was Eleanor calling the baby she had with Liam *ours*?

Was I losing my mind?

Then, Eleanor's voice dropped even lower.

"Liam, don't you dare get soft-hearted now. If anyone finds out, do you think Daisy would ever let this baby be born? We just have to wait until the fruit is ripe. I’m still in contact with the spiritual medium."