Elodie had been refining this paper for quite a while now.


    She was stubborn by nature-when shemitted to something, she wouldn''t settle for anything less than her best.


    As for Jarrod introducing Sylvie to the Howards and the Waldrons, Elodie barely spared it a thought.


    She never let other people''s affairs interrupt her own pace.


    During this stretch, Elodie heard from Esmeralda that Sylvie''stest social media post had stirred up a lot of spection. Esmeralda was always tapped into every Eldermere group chat, so she was the first to pick up on the gossip.


    Rumors about Jarrod and Sylvie were already swirling.


    Some said Jarrod introducing Sylvie to the Howard family at this particr moment was his way of sending a message to everyone: Sylvie was about to be Mrs. Silverstein, and no matter what happened with the VistaLink Technologies incident, no one should dare take her lightly.


    There were endless versions of the story, but the core message stayed the same.


    Jarrod and Sylvie were still inseparable.


    Elodie just skimmed the gossip and moved on.


    She stayed in Goldspire for two days.


    Once she got back to Eldermere, she had to head straight to the hospital.


    Her appointment with the doctor was due.


    Before that, Jason called her.


    "Ms. Thorne, the contract termination between Nexus Analytics and Neural Intelligence is pretty much wrapped up. Neural Intelligence isn''t happy about it." Jason didn''t know the whole story-he just thought the change was a little abrupt. After all, Sylvie was the ex-boss''s girlfriend, and he was hoping Elodie would give him some clear direction.


    "Don''t worry about it. From now on, we''re not working with Neural Intelligence at all." Elodie knew exactly what Jason was getting at, so she made it perfectly clear.


    Jason hesitated. "But what if Mr. Silverstein mes us? What if he thinks you''re making things hard for Ms. Fielding..."


    After all, there were already rumors that Ms. Fielding had gone to meet Mr. Silverstein''s family, and Mr. Silverstein was still a shareholder at Nexus Analytics. He wasn''t the boss anymore, but his influence was undeniable. If they got on his bad side...


    Elodie nced at her screen and logged onto the journal''s official submission portal.


    "If he has a problem, tell him to talk to me directly." Her tone was crisp and indifferent.


    Jason couldn''t help but feel a jolt of surprise.


    Ms. Thorne didn''t give Mr.


    Silverstein the slightest bit of


    leeway! That made it clear where the


    boundariesy, and he could finally get things done without second-guessing himself.


    His respect for Elodie only grew-she really had guts!


    He ended the call.


    The third paper was officially submitted.


    She wasn''t sure how long the review process would take, but from


    ence, if a paper was of


    velns


    exceptional quality and depth, the editors would often fast-track


    it.


    Elodie took advantage of a free hour and headed for the hospital.


    Honestly, she dreaded chemo-the whole ordeal was grueling, and every visit required a serious pep talk with herself.


    She arrived at the oncology ward.


    Sitting quietly in the waiting area, she answered a call from Esmeralda.


    "You''re not in the office-where''d you go?"


    Elodie nced at the steady flow of people around her before replying, "Had to step out for something. Why?"


    "Where are you? Nexus Analytics? I coulde with you, if you want."


    Elodie paused, then deftly changed the subject. "From the sound of your voice, this isn''t about work, is it?"