"Noreen took twopanies public on the same day?!"
She desperately wanted someone to deny it, but everyone around her was silent.
No one could give her an answer.
She turned to Bianca, her voice urgent. "Bianca, what''s going on? What did the underwriter say?"
But Bianca could only offer silence.
No one could imagine the suffocating weight in her heart.
This failure was like a huge, cold, wet wrapping tightly around her, suffocating
her, blocking out every sliver of light.
She was utterly devastated.
Only one thought echoed in her mind.
*I''m finished.*
Forrest arrivedte, making his way through the celebrating crowd to Bianca''s side. Unaware of the situation, he asked, "Are the results out?"
Yvonne shot him a cial look. "Couldn''t you have waited until tonight to show up?" From her tone, Forrest could guess the answer.
He tried to console Bianca. "It''s okay. We''ll try again. Most people don''t seed on the first try."
Lillian, her face a mask of misery, whined, "Then how could Noreen do it? Not only did she seed on her first try, she seeded with twopanies!"
"She must be some kind of demon!"
Forrest was stunned.
He instinctively looked over at Noreen.
After celebrating with her team, she had found a quieter corner to call Rosalind Gilmore.
"Mom, I did it!"
In a more secluded corner not far away, Dn had witnessed the entire thing.
Seeing InnoCore sessfully go public, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. He was so happy for her.
But all he could do was stand in the distance, watching her shine, unable to share in her joy.
His phone rang, and the name shing on the screen pulled him back to reality.
He didn''t answer and started to leave.
But before he left, he nced back onest time in Noreen''s direction.
A second wave of cheers had just erupted from her group.
A small smile yed on Dn''s lips as he silently said the words he should have been able to say to her.
*Congrattions, Noreen.*
Unfortunately, all he could do now was watch her from afar and wish her well in his heart.
He had once promised he would never miss any of her important moments.
But from now on, he no longer had the right.
His phone rang again. He lowered his gaze and turned to leave.
Noreen seemed to sense something and looked toward the main entrance.
For a fleeting moment, she thought she saw a familiar figure.
But when she looked again, there was nothing there.
Only after leaving the exchange did Dn finally answer the call, just before it disconnected.
A sweet, feminine voice came
through the line. "Darling, where did
you go
go
woke up and you werent
here."
"I went out to get you breakfast. Didn''t you say you wanted
py? t
s from that little
The woman cooed, "I was just saying
that. I can''t believe you toovet
to heart and went all that way 1.9
it
get
them for me fant
At that same moment in Rivercrest City.
Seymour refreshed the page. When he saw the approval notice, his vision went ck.
"Dad!" Jude panicked, shouting for a doctor.
A team of medical staff rushed in to resuscitate Seymour.
Jude was pushed out of the room.
He sank to the floor, helpless, and gripped his hair tightly in his hands.
Despair. Helplessness.
As the resuscitation efforts dragged on, Jude knelt on the floor, praying desperately.
After a long while, the emergency doctor emerged from the room.
Jude scrambled to his feet, too afraid to speak, his red-rimmed eyes pleading for an
answer.
Finally, the doctor simply shook his head.
Jude copsed back onto the floor.
Gone.
Everything was gone.
He had be the Wilder family''s disgrace.