Chapter 447: Clara Whitmore Watched the Scenery Flash by Outside the Window

Clara Whitmore watched the scenery flash by outside the window, her fingers lightly tapping the armrest. She was on a high-speed train back to Fairhaven for her grandmother Ruth Caldwell's eightieth birthday celebration.

The birthday banquet was a grand affair. The three Whitmore brothers had begun preparations early. As the youngest generation, Clara was naturally expected to attend.

A week prior, she had emailed her advisor, Professor Miriam Caldwell, for leave. The professor, attending an academic conference abroad, had replied with a brief approval across time zones, asking Clara to pass along her well-wishes to the elderly matriarch.

"Are you there yet?" Her phone vibrated with a message from her mother, Helen Whitmore.

"Twenty more minutes." After replying, Clara gazed absently at the bustling crowd on the platform.

The train arrived on schedule. Dragging her suitcase, Clara stepped onto the platform and spotted her mother waiting at the exit.

"Where's Dad?" She glanced around but didn't see her father.

Helen took the luggage, looking weary. "Your father couldn't get away."

"What could he possibly have on a Sunday?" Clara buckled her seatbelt, frowning at her mother.

Helen started the car and sighed. "It's a long story..."

Three days earlier, at the Whitmore family estate:

Ruth Caldwell sat regally in the living room, her three children gathered around. The elderly woman tapped her cane. "Raymond's place can't accommodate everyone. What do you propose?"

Though Raymond Harrow's villa was spacious, it often hosted business associates. Housing over a dozen relatives from the countryside simply wouldn't work.

Claire Porter was the first to speak up. "My apartment can take two people."

"That pigeon coop of a two-bedroom, with its garish decor? You'd be torturing them." The matriarch's tone brooked no argument. "Stay out of this."

The burden fell squarely on Daniel Whitmore and Howard Carver.

Denise Carver cut in before her husband could respond. "Mom, we just moved into Waverly Pearl. The furniture isn't even fully set up yet." She shot a meaningful glance at Daniel. "Didn't the third brother just finish renovating his new place?"

Clara's brow furrowed. "So it fell on us in the end?"

Helen nodded helplessly. "Your father's scrambling to clean the guest rooms and buy supplies."

As the car entered the neighborhood, Clara spotted her father hauling bags of groceries into the house. Under the sunlight, his white dress shirt was already soaked through with sweat.