StarNovelChapter 569 As soon as they left, Patricia paused by her car, glancing in Elodie's direction.
Watts stepped outside and caught sight of Patricia, deep in thought.
He strolled over. "No one saw that coming about her. Now that it's out in the open, she's bound to get attention from the higher-ups. Things just got way too serious for petty games." Watts headed for his own car, tossing out a lazy warning before he left. "Don't kid yourself. You really think Jarrod hasn't figured out what you did that day?" Only then did Patricia actually look at him.
A faint smile curled on her lips, but it didn't reach her eyes.
Sylvie had never imagined she'd one day be summoned to a federal investigation agency.
Endless rounds of questioning.
Cold sweat soaked the collar of her blouse.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtThe whole ordeal dragged on for nearly two hours.
Because it involved classified information, the process was even more strict than usual.
Of course, she would never really confess. She denied everything, which only meant the investigation would be drawn out even longer.
By the tshe finally stepped out of the building, dusk had fallen.
Not a single call from Jarrod during the entire process. Not even a text. He hadn't cto pick her up, either. Standing at the deserted street corner, Sylvie's already pale face looked even more drawn. She pressed her lips together, trying to force down her anxiety. There would be more questioning, more scrutiny, and for now-she'd be under surveillance.
The consequences would be catastrophic.
Her heart sank like a stone.
A government car dropped her home.
Selma was already waiting by the door.
Word had gotten out. Online rumors were already spreading-fast and vicious.
The moment Sylvie walked through the door, she collapsed onto the couch, exhausted.
"This has to be a mistake! Elodie? No way! She's just srookie-she only started a few months ago!" Selma's hands were ice-cold; even she was struggling to process it.
Elodie... linked to U.N2? A woman who, not long ago, was just a stay-at-hmom? Sylvie's lips were bloodless. She drew a shaky breath. "I have no idea! If I don't fix this, I'll be charged with leaking state secrets-a felony. And if it's deemed a threat to national security, I'll be held directly responsible. I could..." Be completely finished.
A crlike that people would be lining up to condemn her. Forget her career- she'd never work in this field again.
Even Selma, usually unflappable, was rattled. She sank onto the chair, muttering to herself, "Why didn't Waldron ever tell you he didn't write that report? This is too much of a coincidence!" Sylvie's mind was a mess. She just couldn't make sense of it.
Elodie was the developer behind U.N2? Even now, it was impossible to believe, let alone accept.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmShe knew all too well how terrifying that truth was.
Elodie was only twenty at the time...
Overnight, the gap between them felt insurmountable. Sylvie-who had always considered herself a prodigy, who had climbed to the top of her field, who had always been so smug around Elodie-was the one left in the dust. In the end, she'd never even glimpsed Elodie's true abilities. She wasn't even worthy of being compared to her.
The realization hit like a slap, shattering all her pride.
In that moment, disbelief twisted into something darker a creeping, Bitter resentment. All she could think about was prison time-years of it. Everything she'd worked for, her entire career, would be ruined.
A terrible thought flashed through her mind.
If only she'd been convicted back when she was charged with slander a against Elodie. Serve a year, behave, get out with her reputation mostly intact Neural Intelligence wouldn't have been affected; she'd still have her dividends. Life would have gone on-none of this would have happened. Sylvie pulled out her phone.
She found Jarrod's number but hesitated, her finger hovering over the screen.
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