Evangeline paused, cradling her growing belly, and slowly spun to take her phone out of her pocket. She dialed Walter's number. As soon as the call connected...

"I'm sorry, Mr. Walter Gordon, but Celina doesn't want to see you."

Beep, beep, beep!

Evangeline ended the call, leaving Walter with nothing but the tone of a dead line.

Back at the funeral home, Evangeline's gaze landed on the black and white photos again, and the tears started flowing anew.

Julieta was heartbroken to see her like that. With a gentle swipe of her hand, she dried the tears on Evangeline's face and whispered, "Ms. Evangeline, don't be heartbroken..." "Mrs. Lewis..."

In moments like these, the tender words were like a spell, coaxing out all the grief Evangeline had bottled up inside. She collapsed into Julieta's embrace, crying her heart out.

At that moment, Evangeline was not the cherished darling of the Foster family. She was just a girl who had lost her beloved grandfather.

Julieta's hand moved in soothing patterns across Evangeline's back, trying to offer comfort.

She wanted to urge Evangeline not to cry like this, especially since she was expecting a child, and such deep sorrow could harm her health. However, she recalled Yale mentioning the strong bond between Cole and Evangeline as grandfather and granddaughter. The words of comfort were on the tip of her tongue, but Julieta swallowed them, thinking it might be better for Evangeline to let it all out.

Evangeline's tears paused as she realized they were surrounded by guests at Cole's funeral. She felt a wave of embarrassment for her outburst.

Huddled in Julieta's arms, she asked with a muffled voice, "Mrs. Lewis, where's Celina? Why isn't she here?"

Cole had always treated Celina as part of the family, and she should have been there for the funeral.

Julieta felt a twinge of concern too. "I haven't seen Ms. Morris. Maybe something held her up?"

Evangeline was Cole's actual granddaughter, which was why she had been in the funeral procession. They had arranged for a family driver to bring Celina.

"But she shouldn't be this late," Evangeline murmured, a frown creasing her forehead. Considering Celina's unique situation, it was possible that coming to Cole's funeral might have put her in the

middle of another risky situation.

Just then, a black car raced up to the funeral site and came to a respectful halt at the entrance.

Evangeline's gaze followed the noise to the sleek car pulling up, and out stepped Celina, with someone in tow who seemed both new and oddly familiar.

The lady was decked out in a chic, simple white dress made of the softest camel hair, topped with a cozy little cotton jacket.

Together, they stepped out of the car. Celina told the folks with them to hang tight outside before they made their entrance.

As the mystery woman got closer, Evangeline's eyes widened in recognition.

No way it was Elliana Snyder, the overnight sensation and darling of the media.

The Fosters were a big deal in Avalon City, sure, but they had never mixed with the celeb crowd. All of a sudden, there was Celina, pulling out all the stops to bring Elliana into the fold...

Evangeline quickly snagged Celina's arm, her eyes demanding an explanation.

Celina blinked, realizing Evangeline was out of the loop.

She glanced at a black and white photo of Cole, dabbed at her eyes, and spun Evangeline around.

"Weren't you the one begging Mr. Foster to get a star on board?"

She fished out a snapshot from her pocket, and there was Elliana's face, clear as day.

"This is the star Mr. Foster picked out. We were planning the perfect time for her to meet Ms. Snyder when... Well, when everything with Mr. Foster went down. However, i figured, Mr. Foster would've wanted Ms Snyder here, no matter what."

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