How a Dying Woman Rewrote Her Epilogue novel Chapter 149

During this time, Joseph had checked in with her to see if she'd managed to get in touch.

Elodie told him the truth.

Joseph messaged back, "His phone is basically just for show. He spends most of his time off the grid in remote countries—no Wi-Fi, no signal. It's not that he's ignoring you on purpose."

With things laid out so plainly, Elodie couldn't keep pushing.

Honestly, Joseph didn't owe her this favor in the first place.

She was sure that anyone Joseph recommended would be top-tier, but if she couldn't reach them, she wasn't going to just wait around forever.

She needed a backup plan.

So, during her break, Elodie shifted her focus back to tracking down the overseas specialists rumored to be returning to the hospital after the holidays, reaching out to as many contacts and channels as she could.

As for Jarrod—

They hadn't spoken again. Elodie was too busy chasing down leads on doctors to spare much thought for whatever was going on between them.

At the riding club, Sylvie finished a lap around the arena, then swung gracefully off her horse.

Not far away, Maurice broke into applause. "Wow, look at you! Skills like that, you could compete in a real show. Totally badass!"

Octavia, who had been clinging to Jarrod's side, chimed in with wide-eyed admiration, "Is there anything you can't do? You're top of the class and you can ride—seriously, you're a genius!"

"See? My little sister's your number one fan now," Maurice teased, grinning.

He glanced over at Freya, who was absorbed in a handheld game nearby. "Hey, Freya, why not give riding a try? Sylvie could teach you."

Of everyone here, Freya was the only one who hadn't learned.

Joseph leaned toward her. "Want to give it a shot?"

Sylvie stepped forward, smiling warmly. "Don't worry, I'll keep you safe."

Only then did Freya look up—and shake her head. "No thanks. I want to play games with my big sister."

Sylvie's smile faltered for a second. "You have a sister?"

Joseph understood immediately—Freya was talking about Elodie.

Freya nodded. "She's a super pretty friend of mine. She's amazing at games. You guys go ride, I'm not interested."

Sylvie could tell the girl really adored this "sister," and Joseph didn't look surprised at all—clearly, he was in the loop. She grabbed a water bottle from right in front of him and twisted it open. "How come you've never mentioned her before?"

Jarrod shot a casual glance their way.

Joseph paused mid-drink. "It's not important."