Would she even want to acknowledge him as her brother? The thought made Hans uneasy.
Nora steadied herself and finally spoke. “Brother.”
Just saying the word made her feel a weight lift off her shoulders.
Hans’ eyes crinkled with a gentle smile. “Yeah.”
Eleanor watched, her eyes prickling with jealousy. Even if Nora was Hans’s sister, she couldn’t help the envy eating away at her.
They were both his sisters, but Hans doted on Nora endlessly, while Daniel only grew more distant from her.
“How are you feeling?” Nora asked Hans in a low voice.
“I’ll be fine. Give me a few days and I’ll be back to normal.”
If not for the wound in his chest, Hans would have thumped his own chest to reassure her.
“That knife almost pierced your heart. How could you possibly be fine in a few days?” Eleanor’s eyes welled up again as she spoke.
At the mention of it, Hans’s face darkened a little.
He asked, “Where’s Una? Has anyone found her?”
His voice was clipped, barely concealing his anger.
Nora couldn’t shake a sinking feeling—Hans must have misunderstood Una.
“No, not yet,” she replied.
Hans said nothing.
After a moment’s hesitation, Nora ventured, “You were there. I have to ask—did Una fall into the river because Eleanor pushed her, or did she fall on her own and roll in deliberately?”
Even though Hans had been injured at the time and might not have seen what happened, Nora couldn’t help but ask.
Eleanor’s fingers clenched tightly in her lap, anxiety twisting in her chest.
Hans might not take her side.
The room was silent for half a minute.
Finally, Hans spoke, his voice low. “She fell in on her own. Eleanor had nothing to do with it.”
Eleanor’s eyes widened in disbelief as she whipped her head toward Hans.
Nora pressed her lips together, uncertain.
“And after Una stabbed him, nearly killed him, you’re still taking her side? Do you even have a conscience?”
Nora fell silent.
She knew she shouldn’t have brought it up now, but she was desperate.
Eleanor had tried to kill someone and walked away unscathed, while Una—alive or dead—would bear the weight of attempted murder.
“…I’m sorry,” Nora finally forced herself to step back.
Hans, sounding almost too alert, said, “I want to get some rest. Both of you, please leave.”
Nora left the hospital room in silence.
Eleanor opened her mouth as if to say something, but seeing Hans’s pale, icy face, she thought better of it and slipped out behind Nora.
The room fell eerily quiet.
Hans stared at the ceiling, his face a blank mask, but something dark and violent burned in his eyes.
Una… Did you really want me dead that badly?

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