How a Dying Woman Rewrote Her Epilogue

Jarrod glanced sideways at her. "Are you planning to suffocate yourself? Relax a little."

Elodie swallowed hard. "Who does your daughter take after? She's probably past the awkward phase now, right? I never learned how to hold a baby, Jarrod, my heart is about to jump out of my chest."

She started rambling, as she always did when nervous.

Jarrod watched her, then turned his head and covered his mouth, trying to hide a laugh.

"So if she isn't cute, you'll just send her back?"

Elodie shot him a glare. "What, you think this is like returning groceries at the supermarket?"

He just grinned, taking his time. "You must be out of your mind. With genes like ours—especially mine-how could my daughter not be adorable?"

She wanted to snap back, but words failed her.

He wasn't exactly wrong.

And so they bantered, back and forth, the whole way there.

Half an hour later, Elodie found herself in a secluded neighborhood of upscale villas. The area was deserted, and the roads were tricky to navigate.

if it was the cold or

arm around her, pulling her

a science fiction movie, gleaming with high-tech equipment and bustling people. She couldn't even begin to guess how much it cost to keep a place like this

coats approached them-likely the team in charge here. One of them looked from her to Jarrod. "Mr. Silverstein, please

Elodie's hand as they rode the

And then-

room. At the far end, inside a special incubator, Elodie caught sight of

over the months crystallized into reality in that

breathing child-right

registered Jarrod letting go of her

a tiny girl

and delicate. Even as an infant, her nose was perfectly shaped, her

the length of Elodie's forearm-but clearly healthy, her breathing soft

on its own, pressing gently against the glass, as if she could reach through and

tears broke free, streaming down her

filling her

Tears kept falling, unstoppable.

much, loved so fiercely, was safe

down