How a Dying Woman Rewrote Her Epilogue

"That last time was an accident. You know how cunning Jarrod is-he's not easy to catch off guard. But now... he's finally down. This is the only real chance we'll get to bring him down, and I doubt Mr. Aldridge would want to waste it."

"What are you saying?"

"Jarrod's had an accident. He's in the ICU as we speak. I can give you a lead: The Silverstein Group is in talks with the government over a huge upcoming project- something the board considers critical for the next few years. They can't afford a single misstep. I get what I want, Jarrod loses his seat, and your problem will be nothing."

Sprague laid his cards on the table.

Watts fell silent, weighing his options.

He didn't know the specifics of Jarrod's condition.

But for someone as careful as Jarrod, what could have possibly landed him in the ICU?

Suddenly, Watts asked, "What about Elodie? Was she involved too?"

Sprague sounded surprised. "How did you know? Yeah, she was with him. She got hurt as well."

Silence settled in again.

It was hard to say how long it lasted.

When Watts finally spoke, he steered clear of the subject of Elodie, lowering his voice. "Send me everything you have. This time, I don't intend to fail."

"Of course."

Elodie sat outside the hospital room for a long while, waiting and watching for any sign that Jarrod might wake up.

Ivan watched her, too-watched as she refused to leave, as she stubbornly kept vigil at the door.

he drew a shaky breath, squared his shoulders, and approached her. "Are you hurt? You need

still recovering

she was,

if the ache in his chest was heartbreak

important to you?" Ivan's voice was rough. "Elodie, we

years. How

calm. "Just because we grew up together, does that mean I owe you something? I've repaid every debt I ever had to you. If you want an answer,

I finally understood what it means to truly

Ivan like a punch to the

how ugly things

past, Elodie had neve

Janovent

she had real feelings

the only one still living in the past. I don't want you tangled up in my

jaw clenched. He looked completely lost, as if the ground had fallen

wounded his

didn't feel

he really was

getting out of prison-what a joke

he thought

been the one to drive

say another

turned

went to the

splashed her face with cold

thoughts were