How a Dying Woman Rewrote Her Epilogue

Chapter 444

The sharp voice sliced cleanly through the tension that had just filled the room, bringing the simmering confrontation to an abrupt halt.

All those accusatory, judgmental, and disdainful stares that had been pinned on Elodie suddenly shifted toward the back of the room.

Even Sylvie and her group turned their heads to look.

When Sylvie caught sight of Henrietta standing tall and composed, her expression changed in an instant.

Maurice's faint smile vanished, replaced by a look of seriousness so swift it was almost jarring.

He even felt a sudden chill prickle across his scalp.

In that moment, Joseph realized exactly how this was about to play out. He pressed his lips together and glanced at Elodie.

"Henrietta?" Grady recognized the old woman-he'd met her a few years back. Now, seeing her arrive, he stood a little straighter, respect rising in his eyes. His grandfather had always spoken of Henrietta with reverence, telling stories of how she'd once been a force to be reckoned with the eldest daughter of a powerful family, shrewd and capable in equal measure.

After marrying Jarrod's grandfather, she had stood beside him as they built an empire together.

But now...

What exactly did she mean with those words just now?

Clearly, with all the unspoken relationships and tangled history in the air, everyone

was a little lost, second-guessing if they'd misheard something.

From the moment Elodie heard Henrietta's voice, her heart skipped a beat.

knowing-deep down-that something irreversible was about to happen

forward, her expression severe and imposing. Even without a word, she

as he spoke first. "Grandmother, I thought you'd

stood with such upright dignity that no one could ignore her presence. "If I'd left, would I have

cold

the first time she'd

nervous sweat. With everyone watching and Henrietta's eyes fixed on her, she pressed her lips together and

things over, he said, "Mrs. Silverstein, I don't think any of this is Mr. Silverstein's fault. We all know

words, Sylvie's

his brow,

to process Henrietta's earlier

which clashed sharply with his. longstanding assumptions about Jarrod and

5

a subtle

let's not go down that road

he just pouring

feeling the old woman's presence press down even harder. Henrietta turned icy eyes toward Grady.

you to her, exactly, to claim

was caught off

the others stared in

Henrietta address

who

since I'm here tonight, why don't you tell everyone-what exactly are you doing here? Are you proposing? To whom? And in

line. Her chest tightened with nerves. "I'm sorry,

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