How a Dying Woman Rewrote Her Epilogue

Chapter 481

When Grady's doubts echoed through the hall, even some of the audience began to waver. They all knew just how astonishing Elodie's presentation had been-by any standard, it was nothing short of world-class.

And Grady did have a point.

How old was Elodie, really? She had only just turned twenty-five. For most people, that's still the age of graduate studies or slogging through the early years of a PhD. Even among prodigies, few would have accomplished more than following in their advisor's footsteps, slowly learning the ropes.

But Elodie? She had already driven major breakthroughs in flight control systems at VistaLink Technologies, producing results that left experts in awe. Not only that, she'd authored academic papers so exceptional that even the leading minds in the field offered their praise. She was decades ahead of her peers-perhaps even ahead of what most would call genius-without the so-called years of experience most deemed necessary.

The more people thought about it, the harder it was to believe.

So when the questions started, it was inevitable that some would begin to doubt. Maybe, just maybe, Elodie was no different from everyone else—maybe she just knew how to play the game, how to claim a crown that didn't belong to her.

Out of the thousands present, some believed, and some didn't.

But they didn't know the whole story.

When Alexander spoke up, Sylvie's carefully constructed calm shattered in an instant. She couldn't hide the shock that flickered in her eyes. She tried to convince herself that Alexander didn't mean what she thought.

But Alexander, hands in his pockets, looked right at her, a smirk tugging at his lips. “Yes,” he said, "these are Elodie's own work."

Only then did Sylvie's composure break completely.

calm and untroubled, as if she had never

to the dean. "We have two more of Elodie's papers that could be valuable for the students here. They're in the Verdant University database. Is it all right if we keep the presentation going a

means," the dean

that

look. "It means we're making sure Mr. Mercer

stage moved quickly. When the journal covers appeared on the big screen,

two papers. Professors had referenced them countless times; everyone knew them inside

at the screen, her face draining of color. So that author she'd noticed during her trip to New York City-that

been published

ago, Elodie

time, glancing at Sylvie's stricken expression before asking, "Ms. Fielding, do you still think Elodie's not qualified to publish papers

Elodie wasn't even a doctoral student, so who, exactly, would have written them

was throwing Grady's earlier accusations right back at him-publicly,

Grady's earlier comment that had put her in the line of fire. She said nothing. A chill crept over her goosebumps rising on her arms

Alexander had never cared for Sylvie's response. All he wanted was for everyone to

was palpable, but

were stunned.

Sterling had taken