Chapter 756

Adela added, “God willing, sooner rather than later!”

Mentioning Micah was like rubbing salt in Danny’s wounds. Ivy feared the old man might break down again, so she quickly redirected the conversation.

“Hal, why don’t you tell Grandma a story? She must be bored in this hospital room.”

Halley looked a little reluctant, but Ivy whispered in his ear, “If you tell Grandma a story, you get to come home with me tonight.”

“Really?” Halley’s eyes went wide with excitement.

“Of course! I never lie.”

In an instant, he leapt off the couch, quickly straightening his pants before scampering to the bedside. “Grandma, what story do you want to hear? Do you want The Octonauts, Paw Patrol, The Magic Beans, or Diego? I know them all—I can tell you whichever you want!”

Adela couldn’t help laughing at her grandson’s cleverness, and soon the two of them were chatting away, completely absorbed in their own little world.

That evening at dinner, Ivy brought Halley along.

Jamison eyed his nephew, brows furrowing. “What’s he doing here?”

“Having dinner, obviously!” Halley shot back, bold as brass. “Not only am I eating with Aunt Ivy, I’m sleeping over with her tonight, too!”

Jamison’s expression froze, and he gave his wife a long, meaningful look.

Ivy lowered her voice. “His parents are swamped at work lately. He’s been left with the nanny most nights—it’s kind of sad…”

Jamison looked at the kid, who was acting anything but unfortunate, and thought to himself that “pitiful” was a stretch.

When they were getting in the car, Jamison asked, “Where’s your sister? Home by herself, or did she go to your grandma’s?”

“My sister’s at a school event—she’s not home this weekend,” Halley answered crisply.

Mona was at a private middle school with a bustling social calendar; weekends at home were rare.

Katrina’s eyes widened in surprise as she turned to Ivy. “How old is this little guy? He’s so sharp for his age!”

Ivy chuckled, settling into her seat. “That’s just the Ludwig family genes for you. And it’s not just the Ludwigs—his mom’s side is just as impressive.”

Davina’s family came from old money, with generations in politics and plenty of clout.

Kids raised in families like that always seemed to be a step ahead of everyone else. Katrina nodded in agreement. “I bet when you and Dr. Ludwig have a child, they’ll be a little genius, too.”

A child…

With everything that had been happening lately, Ivy hadn’t thought about that in a long time.

At the dinner table, with Halley present, there were plenty of things they couldn’t discuss openly.

But having a child around also brightened the mood and chased away some of the heavy silence.

After dinner, Halley spotted a school of fish swimming in the garden pond and dashed outside to feed them. Ivy and Katrina followed to keep an eye on him.

That left just the two men at the table.

“I heard the Shepherd family is still making a fuss. They’ve hired some flashy defense attorney and are threatening to sue your sister for a huge settlement. How are you guys holding up?” Naylor kept close tabs on the whole mess, worried for his friend.

Jamison sighed. “My brother’s handling most of it. I don’t think it’ll be a problem, but the media storm is going to drag on for a while.”

“Well, Farley Shepherd was the one at fault, so that should work in your favor. And I heard the mistress and her kid have turned on the Shepherds over the inheritance.”

Legally, the estate would be divided according to the will, but the Shepherd family’s company shares were another matter—so many relatives had their hands in the pot.

When money was on the line, family ties didn’t count for much. Siblings would turn on each other, and you never knew who might stab you in the back.

“No surprise there,” Jamison said with a derisive snort. “The Shepherds only managed to look good these past years because they clung to the Ludwigs. Now that everything’s blown up, they can forget about us bailing them out. Short-sighted, the lot of them. All this infighting was inevitable.”

Forget the mistress and her son—give it a few days, and the Shepherd relatives would be at each other’s throats, too.

Out in the garden, Ivy watched Halley while chatting with her friend.

“How’s your mom doing? Is the surgery scheduled?”

Katrina nodded. “Yeah. As soon as the next round of chemo’s done, the doctors want to operate. She’s actually doing a lot better—she can sit up and eat on her own now.”

Katrina’s mother had been badly hurt after a fall, but months of care had finally brought some progress.

Ivy was genuinely relieved for her friend.

“Don’t worry about me, everything’s fine on my end,” Katrina said softly, then hesitated. “But what about you and Dr. Ludwig? Is his family blaming you for any of this? I know Dr. Ludwig wouldn’t, but your in-laws… well, you never know.”

After all, the person who died was their grandson.

And their only daughter had been arrested.

Ivy watched the fish darting through the water, letting out a sigh. “Not for now. His mother doesn’t know anything yet. His father knows, but he hasn’t said much. He’s just heartbroken, anxious, and trying not to show it in front of her…”

Katrina nodded somberly. “No parent should have to bury their child. It’s impossible to accept. I saw Dr. Ludwig at dinner—he looked exhausted, completely worn out.”

“He barely slept last night.”

Katrina understood. With tragedy like this, who could sleep?

“Hal, be careful, don’t get too close to the water,” Ivy called, worried Halley might slip.

The stream was shallow—drowning wasn’t a fear—but it was chilly out, and she didn’t want him catching a cold.

Halley, blissfully unaware of the adults’ worries, called out excitedly, “Aunt Ivy, look! This fish has such a beautiful tail!”

Ivy walked over, smiling at the bright colors flashing in the water.

“Aunt Ivy, do you know what kind of fish this is?”

Ivy shook her head. “I’m not sure, but I can look it up for you.”

“I know! That’s a betta fish. And those red ones are just plain old goldfish.” Halley grinned, clearly proud of himself. He obviously knew all along—he just wanted to quiz Ivy.

Katrina turned to Ivy in amazement. “He really does know everything.”

“Yep, he’s a little expert,” Ivy replied with a laugh.

They were still enjoying the garden when Jamison came outside.

Seeing her husband’s tall, familiar figure, Ivy couldn’t help but smile. “Ready to head home?”

“Yeah. I’ll drop you guys off, then I have to get back to the hospital.”

Jamison turned to his nephew. “Hal, your dad just called. The driver’s waiting to take you home—are you coming?”

Halley shook his head without hesitation. “No, I want to stay with Aunt Ivy! We talked about it earlier!”

Katrina raised an eyebrow at Ivy. “He’s really attached to you, isn’t he?”

“He used to be glued to Jamison, but ever since he met me he’s switched sides. He even says he wants to be our son,” Ivy whispered conspiratorially.

Katrina laughed.

Jamison pulled out his phone. “Alright, then you can tell your dad yourself.”

He dialed his brother’s number and, as Halley came closer, put the call on speaker.