How a Dying Woman Rewrote Her Epilogue

Watts still had a stack of documents in his hand he must have been on his way to the data center. When he spotted Elodie, relief flickered across his face. He hurried over, his brow furrowed in concern. "You haven't been here for over a week. Said you needed some time off. Did something happen?"

He looked her up and down, his handsome features clouded with worry.

Elodie met his gaze in silence, her mind racing with suspicions she didn't let show.

"I had a miscarriage. I took a few days to recover," she said, not bothering with half-truths or evasions this time. She dropped the news plainly, even if the admission stung somewhere deep inside.

She didn't let the pain show-just looked up at him, open and honest.

Watts' eyes flickered, surprise and discomfort passing through them before his expression settled into something graver. "I'm so sorry. How did that happen?"

He hesitated, lips pressed together. "I'd actually heard from Patricia that you were pregnant. You know, it wasn't easy to process, so I just pretended I didn't know. But now, with you going through something like this..."

Elodie's eyes stayed clear, though thoughts churned beneath the surface.

She'd half expected Watts would pretend not to know about the pregnancy. After all, with Patricia in the loop, it would have been strange for him to be entirely clueless.

Really, her first suspicion had always been Patricia. The incident on the yacht still felt like a splinter in her mind. That night, something had been wrong with her- something more than just the wine. Looking back, after realizing what Patricia was truly capable of, Elodie couldn't help but see her as the prime suspect.

If Patricia had been willing to drug her once, who's to say she wouldn't try again? If Jarrod hadn't been so quick-witted that night... who knows what might've happened? Maybe Patricia's whole aim had been to drive a wedge between her and Jarrod.

And now, losing the baby so suddenly-another "accident," and during the exact days Jarrod was away from Eldermere. If he came back and found out she'd ended the pregnancy without him, what would he think? Especially with the shadow of that night she'd spent in Ivan's hotel room-the kind of thing that set a precedent in people's minds. A lost pregnancy now, and no one would believe it was all just an accident.

And who would want that?

But so far, there was nothing

concrete no evidence to prove it was anything other than a medical mishap. The police were waiting for answers, but without evidence,

mishap

nothing could stick.

She didn't answer Watts' concern directly. Instead, she asked, "I haven't seen

Miss Aldridge around lately. She's been busy?"noveldrama

Watts gave her a long look, not

reading into the question. "Not really

busy. She just made my father

angry, and now he's keeping her on

a short leash. There's someone with

her everywhere she goes-pretty strict household, she's had to low for a while."

Elodie nodded, cool and noncommittal. "Really? He keeps such a tight rein on his adult children?"

Her words were mild, but she measured them carefully. If Patricia was under constant watch, that might explain why she hadn't had the "opportunity" to do much of anything lately.

Watts watched her, his expression unusually serious. Suddenly, he said, "Actually... you know my father."

Elodie looked at him, a little surprised.

Watts continued, now holding nothing back. "My father is Eaton Aldridge. I'm sure you've come across him."

She blinked, taken aback for a moment.

Eaton? The Secretary?

She hadn't realized that Watts and Patricia came from such-impeccable stock. With someone like Eaton Aldridge involved, her suspicions started to feel shaky.

Watts went on, "Growing up with my father's influence, I had more chances to get involved with U.N2 early on always felt like fate kept putting us in each other's path. He lifted a hand to shield Elodie's face from the glare of sunlight slanting in from the side, then looked at her seriously. "I don't know everything you've been through, but I do understand-a mother losing her child, it's a pain nothing can erase. Still, I hope you won't let it swallow you whole. Like I've said before, all signs point to one thing: Jarrod isn't right for you. First it was Sylvie Fielding, now this... Maybe it's a sign to look ahead, to move on."