Chapter 826
This was emotional strangulation-slow, relentless, and merciless.
What’s more, even when Jarrod was frantic with worry over Elodie’s
disappearance, the first thing he did when he finally got through to Watts was hit “record.” That tape became irrefutable evidence.
He hadn’t needed to use a single act of violence against Watts.
He simply cut off every route of escape.
If Watts wanted to save himself, he couldn’t return home. Setting foot on home soil would mean instant conviction-his own father wouldn’t be able to shield him. But if he stayed away, he’d be forced to relinquish control of Eldrion Global. Everything he’d schemed and fought for would slip through his fingers. He’d be forced out, disgraced.
All the ambitious business empires he’d built back home-snuffed out in one blow.
He’d always been ruthless, the kind of man who’d stop at nothing. Emotions were a luxury he’d never allowed himself, except when it came to his career. That was where he’d poured every ounce of his passion. He’d always intended to seize Eldrion Global, to cement his foothold, to climb higher and higher.
He was supposed to use the Eldrion Global situation and even Jarrod’s own missteps-as stepping stones onto the political stage, just like his father.
But fate had other plans.
Now, everything was destroyed in an instant.
How could Watts not be furious?
His face was deathly pale, but he understood there are winners and losers in every power struggle. It’s just that his loss came at an unprecedented price.
Fleming watched Watts quietly.
Of course, he’d heard of Mr. Aldridge. Watts had always been the prodigy, the golden boy who left everyone else in the dust. No one would have guessed he’d end up like this.
With that background, that pedigree, and yet-forced into exile.
He’d been utterly routed.
If Watts hadn’t crossed paths with Jarrod, hadn’t set his sights on the same grand ambitions, he probably would’ve been unstoppable.
Jarrod’s lips curled in a faint, cool smile. “Mr. Aldridge, even abroad, you’ll have your hands full cleaning up the mess you made. You’re going to be busy for a long time.”
He spoke softly, then turned to Elodie, gently taking her hand. His voice dropped to a comforting murmur. “It’s over. Let’s go home.”
Elodie slowly came back to herself and nodded, though she still didn’t understand all the details or how things had spiraled to this point. But she knew one thing: today, Jarrod had completely crushed Watts.
Her legs felt weak, barely able to hold her up.
Without a word, Jarrod swept her into his arms, carrying her protectively onto the plane.
The sight of it pierced through Watts like a blade straight to his nerves.
Today’s defeat shattered everything he’d ever built.
And watching Elodie wrap her arms around Jarrod’s neck, resting against him in that fleeting moment-
Something unfamiliar began to surge through the deepest part of his heart.
It was sharp and insistent, needling a heart that was supposed to be cold and unyielding.
He’d never been one for honesty or
openness. People and situations were just tools-so long as the interests were great enough, he could play any role, wear any mask. He’d never known defeat.
Until today.
Today, he lost not just to Jarrod.
He lost to Elodie too.
His grand ambitions, his thirst for power, his unspoken feelings he failed at them
all.
Only now did he truly see the bitterness and fear inside himself.
For Elodie, it turned out he cared more than he’d ever admitted.
That sliver of genuine emotion, buried deep in his pretense, had become the very weapon that destroyed him.
And all he could do was watch as Jarrod led Elodie away.
He couldn’t stop it. He couldn’t change it.
He took a step forward, almost without realizing. Pain shot through his back, threatening to bring him to his knees, but he forced himself to look up, eyes rimmed red, watching as the plane climbed into the sky.
It felt as though he’d lost something he could never touch again.
As though the only piece of his heart he’d ever offered had been handed over the wrong way—and from now on, he’d never allow himself to feel anything more.
This entire operation, Fleming had been acting under orders from above.
His superiors had made it clear: Elodie’s safe return was non-negotiable.
It was his mission.
At the rear of the plane, Elodie still hadn’t untangled all her emotions. She clung tightly to Jarrod’s hand, feeling the warmth of his skin, as if that alone could anchor her to
reality.
Maybe now, it was finally real.
After all, she’d been through a storm of hope and fear. If it hadn’t been for her
desperate belief that Jarrod would survive, she might not have made it through at
all.