Eleanor, Joel, and Byron continued to immerse themselves in the meeting.
Byron had assumed Ian’s abrupt departure would throw Eleanor off her game. To his surprise, not only did she answer every question with pinpoint accuracy, her mind was so razor-sharp he struggled to keep up.
“Eleanor, do you think this method might not be the most effective?” Byron asked, a hint of doubt in his voice.
Eleanor considered it for a moment. “We’ll lose a bit of precision,” she admitted, “but it’s safer for civilian use. For the consumer market, safety should always come first.”
Fifteen minutes into the meeting, Eleanor’s phone buzzed. She glanced at the caller ID—Laird, Simone Langley’s assistant. “Excuse me, I need to take this,” she said to Joel and Byron.
They nodded as she stepped out of the conference room, answering the call with a soft, “Hello, Laird.”
“Dr. Sutton, I’m not sure if I should be telling you this,” Laird hesitated, her voice wavering.
“What’s this about?” Eleanor’s tone softened, sensing something was off.
“It’s about Dr. Langley’s health,” Laird said quietly. “Professor Langley told me not to say anything to anyone, but… I’m worried.”
A chill ran through Eleanor. “What’s wrong with her? Is she ill?”
“I accidentally saw her hospital file last week. It said there’s suspicion of pancreatic cancer.”
Eleanor’s mind went blank for a second, her grip tightening on the phone. “When did she find out?”
“A month ago.”
Eleanor recalled that Ian’s foundation had invited Simone to this summit, but she’d taken leave and said she had personal matters. Now the truth hit her—Simone had been sick all along.
“Eleanor, Professor Langley just called and asked me to come to the hospital with her. I’m heading over now,” Laird added.
“I’ll go with you,” Eleanor said without hesitation.
“I don’t want to impose—Professor Langley didn’t tell you because she thinks your time is too precious,” Laird protested.
“Wait for me in the parking lot. I’ll drive us,” Eleanor replied, already making up her mind.
Laird sounded relieved. “Okay.”
Eleanor ducked back into the conference room, quickly informed Joel and Byron, and hurried out.
Joel and Byron exchanged a look. Joel frowned, noticing the urgency in Eleanor’s expression. Something was wrong—seriously wrong.
Eleanor and Laird rushed to the hospital and made their way to the third-floor corridor. There, Simone sat slumped on a bench, looking exhausted, a folder of medical records in her hand.
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