Semua Bab THE EX-WIFE MAKES A COMEBACK : Bab 51 - Bab 60

Raymond's POV — (Three Years Later)"Mr. Raymond, is it true that gene therapy can cure cancer?"I looked up from the whiteboard where I'd been writing out a basic chemical equation. The question came from Miranda, who was sitting in the third row with her hand still raised like she wasn't sure if she was allowed to ask. Well, she wasn't because it was way beyond their level and not in their academic scheme of work."That's a complicated question,Miranda,” I said."But can it?"The rest of the class was watching now. Fifteen teenagers who'd been half-asleep two minutes ago suddenly paying attention because cancer was more intriguing to them than balancing equations wasn't.I put the marker down. "It depends on the cancer. Gene therapy works by—"And then I was explaining it. Not the simplified version I was supposed to stick to for a high school chemistry class, but the actual science. How you could use modified viruses to deliver genetic material into cells. How you could theoreticall

(LENA'S POV)"Four commitments have been confirmed.”Elena was pacing my hotel suite with her laptop balanced on one arm, and scrolling through emails that hadn't stopped coming in since we got back.I was on the sofa with my shoes off and a glass of water to help my dehydration. The burgundy suit was still on but the fascinator was sitting on the side table where I'd tossed it the second we walked through the door."There are two partnership inquiries," Elena continued without looking up. "One from Germany, one from Singapore. Both want follow-up meetings as soon as possible.”"Good.""Plus, the press coverage is already live. Forbes posted something fifteen minutes ago. Nature Biotechnology retweeted, and The Financial Times wants an interview tomorrow morning."I nodded, too tired to talk. My brain was still catching up to the fact that the event was over and it had gone well. Even more than I expected.Elena stopped pacing and looked at me directly. "Did you see anyone you recogni

(LENA'S POV)"Julian Hart called the main line again this morning."Elena announced, without looking up from her laptop. We were in BioGen's temporary New York office — three rooms on the twentieth floor of a Midtown building that we'd leased for the week. I was reviewing partnership terms from the Singapore inquiry while she was going through the day's schedule.I stopped reading. "And?""We blocked him. Same as yesterday."I went back to the document. "Good.""He was also at the industry breakfast this morning."That made me look up properly. "You went to the breakfast?""I had security positioned there. He tried to approach you, but was intercepted before he got close."I put the document down. "He didn't cause a scene, did he?""No. He backed off when security stepped in. Very polite about it, surprisingly.”I thought about the voicemail I'd deleted two days ago. Bold of him to keep trying."He's going to keep trying," Elena said."I know.""What do you want to do?"I picked the d

(Elena's POV)"You can stop doing that, you know."I looked up from the menu I'd been pretending to read. Daniel Hart was sitting directly across from me at a table I didn't have the liberty to choose."Doing what?" I asked."Treating me like I'm Julian."I opened my mouth to say something but closed it."I'm not him," Daniel continued in a low tone that the other occupants couldn't hear him, but I was. "I've never been him. I just happen to share his last name and I've spent most of my adult life quietly atoning for things he did and I'm tired of being punished for them.”He finished calmly, then picked up his menu and started reading it like he hadn't just called me out for the three years of careful distance I'd been maintaining.I just stared at him, unable to defend myself.****The industry dinner was at the Grand Hyatt. I'd arrived twenty minutes early because that's what I always did. Survey the room, identify key attendees, figure out where the exits were in case anything wen

(Julian's POV)The private investigator's report was lying on my desk next to the biotech division strategy document I was supposed to be reviewing.I'd been staring at both for the last hour. The strategy document had thirty-seven pages, while the Private investigator report had twelve. But I'd read the latter report times and hadn't opened the strategy document once. A real case of misplaced priority.The report contained Evelyn's public schedule for the next 6 monthsThree industry conferences, two investor panels, and one university lecture series. All of it listed with dates, times, locations. Everything I'd need if I wanted to—I closed the report and pushed it to the side of my desk.My therapist's voice was in my head asking the question she always asked: “What do you want to do with this feeling?”I knew the answer. I also knew it was wrong. But I opened the report again.***I sent flowers to BioGen's London office on Tuesday.I'd debated it for three days before calling the