Chapter 140

• Seated comfortably in the passenger side of Howard's sleek sedan, she allowed a serene smile to curve her lips, savoring the simple joy of having made a difference.
• The tranquility shattered as her mobile phone buzzed insistently from her handbag. She retrieved it swiftly, peering at the illuminated screen: Wendell Carter—Howard's grandfather. A flutter of anticipation stirred within her. She pressed accept.
• "Charlotte, my dear," came Wendell's gravelly voice, laced with his usual authoritative warmth. "I need you in my study at once. It's rather urgent."