How a Dying Woman Rewrote Her Epilogue

Elodie and Alexander both took the following day off, choosing to shut themselves away and rest.

She knew how fragile her health was; pushing herself for no reason had never

been her style.

10:00 p.m.

Jarrod stopped by the house he shared with Elodie that evening.

He paused as he opened the shoe cabinet to grab a pair of slippers.

His dark eyes swept over the shelves, scanning up and down.

Elodie was always calm and a little distant, but she cared about the details of daily life. She loved anything that felt vibrant and alive-so even something as ordinary as house slippers, she insisted on picking out bright, cheerful colors.

Usually, a few pairs in pastel yellow, sage green, or vintage blue would be lined up right next to his black, gray, and white ones.

They were hard to miss.

But now, as he looked, those splashes of color were gone. The cabinet felt strangely empty, dull.

Cara, their housekeeper, came over to take his suit jacket. "Welcome home, sir."

Jarrod closed the cabinet door. "Where are her shoes?"

the cabinet, thinking for a moment before answering, "Mrs. Silverstein came by earlier and asked me to throw them all out. I think she wanted

considered this. That was

Just as he'd expected.

Elodie hadn't come back.

his tie, Jarrod pulled

two hours ago. She still hadn't

busy and hadn't had a chance to respond? He couldn't

he didn't

made his gesture, hadn't

rest, Elodie

the new clients was a tech manufacturing company owned by The Silverstein Group, with the actual production handled by their subsidiary,

review the materials and components. With Alexander away on a last-minute

be uncomfortable. Elodie gave him a small, reassuring smile. "Business is

Group's subsidiaries; there was no guarantee she'd run

admit, Elodie had a remarkable ability to compartmentalize. She never let personal feelings cloud her judgment.

by Jason, the manager. He recognized Esmeralda as one of VistaLink's principal shareholders and greeted them with extra courtesy. "Ms. Mercer,

was a natural at social situations, but when it came to technical specs and contract details, she left it to

partner at VistaLink, Elodie held as much authority as Alexander or

but glance curiously at Elodie he was surprised VistaLink had sent such a young,

his scrutiny but didn't take it to

three years, always keeping it quiet. Jarrod had never brought her to the branch

stickler for keeping business and private life separate,