Of all the people in the Hale family, Issabella Hale had remained the most neutral toward her.
Polite.
Reserved.
Difficult to read.
But never openly hostile.
Still, Elena hadn't expected her to intervene.
Clara groaned.
"You should have seen her."
The memory alone made her wince.
"She practically tore into all of us."
Elena stared.
"All of you?"
"Yes."
A pause.
Then Clara added dryly,
"Apparently, publicly interrogating your future daughter-in-law isn't considered good manners."
For the first time, genuine amusement touched Elena's expression.
Only briefly.
But Clara noticed.
Encouraged, she continued.
"She ordered us to apologize."
Elena tilted her head.
"'Us'?"
Her gaze shifted deliberately toward the penthouse.
"I only see one person sitting here."
The corner of Clara's mouth twitched.
"Fair."
"There were two other men involved."
"There were."
"And yet somehow neither of them are here."
Clara couldn't even argue with that.
