How a Dying Woman Rewrote Her Epilogue

Elodie didn't dwell on it.

It was an internal matter anyway-her divorce from Jarrod would never be made public. Nothing about it would jeopardize the terms of their agreement.

Once everything was handled, she retreated to her room for some rest. The industry was bracing for a major shake-up: a high-profile bid was about to be announced, and VistaLink Technologies needed to be prepared for anything.

On the third day, Elodie was heading out to the company's research facility alone.

Partway there, she noticed an unfamiliar call coming in. She answered it through the car's hands-free system. A woman's voice, unmistakably familiar, came through: "It's me. Reba Harcourt."

The name made Elodie nearly hang up on reflex. She had no desire to speak with anyone from the Harcourt family; she didn't get along with a single one of them. There was no reason to keep in touch, and even less reason to wonder about Reba's motives.

As soon as she arrived, Elodie blocked the number without hesitation.

After passing through a security checkpoint, she made her way to a meeting room on the second floor. Inside, Watts and Lily were already waiting.

Watts looked up and smiled, motioning her over. "This way."

Elodie gave him a calm glance, already knowing the three of them were meant to sit together. As she approached, Lily gestured to the seat beside her. "Why don't you sit over here?"

Elodie glanced down; if she took that seat, Lily would be between her and Watts. She didn't mind, so she sat down without fuss.

Watts seemed a little surprised that Lily had jumped in first, giving her an extra look. Lily's hand tightened around her pen, her ears flushed, but she said nothing.

Watts didn't comment, but instead pulled a glass jar from his pocket, filled with handmade candies. He offered it to Elodie, watching her eagerly. "I remembered you like sweet-and-sour things. My family's pastry chef made these they're really good. Thought you might like them. You strike me as someone who gets so busy she forgets to eat, so a little sugar boost can't hurt."

He looked almost proud, as if he'd been waiting for the perfect moment to present his treasure.

Elodie gave him a measured look. "That's not necessary, but thank you."

Watts didn't take offense at her cool tone. He simply placed the jar by her hand. "No need to be polite. The meeting's going to be a long one. If you get hungry, help yourself."

He turned to Lily, offering a sheepish shrug. "Sorry, this was a special gift I had in mind for Elodie, so I didn't bring extras. Hope you understand."

Lily understood perfectly well: this was meant for Elodie, and her lips pressed together as she nodded, unable to find anything to say.

Elodie thought about returning the jar, but people were already streaming into the meeting room. She spotted several executives she'd met before, as well as six other engineers. For now, she set the matter aside and refocused.

The meeting was about the next phase of the project-specifically, the ongoing issue she'd known about for some time: the shortage of SX Alloy.

The country had always been at the mercy of foreign suppliers, with strict import restrictions hampering their future plans.

Clifford, his voice grave, said, "At

present, all manufacturing

processes for this material are held

abroad. We've been trying to develop our own, but that won't happen overnight. For the last few years, we've relied on imports from Sólmaris and Verdania. Verdania, in particular, has refused to export to us, and our demand for this material is only going to increase. So, this is a problem we have to solve."

It was the classic chokehold of technological monopolies-Elodie knew it all too well. The same

roadblock had cropped up years net

ago, an ongoing technical

bottleneck. Relying on Solmaris and Verdania couldn't last forever; the costs would keep climbing. Worse, only three companies worldwide held patents on the mature technologies for this alloy, and if they all refused to cooperate, things could get complicated fast.

Trying to develop a domestic

alternative would take time and resources, not to mention all the bureaucratic wrangling that came with getting government approvals. There was no quick fix-this was going to be a long, drawn-out battle.

"But..." Clifford's gaze suddenly shifted to Elodie.

She looked up, meeting his eyes.noveldrama

He seemed genuinely surprised. "Ms. Thorne, perhaps you're the one who can

help us negotiate this."

Watts's eyes darkened a fraction as he turned to look at Elodie.