Out of nowhere, Elodie was startled.

She stepped aside quickly.

A girl’s anxious voice called from behind her. “I’m so sorry! My drone just

malfunctioned and went out of control. Are you hurt?”

Elodie turned to see a teenage girl, maybe sixteen, dressed in a hospital gown. Her doll-like face, pretty and fresh, was full of concern.

Elodie shook her head. “No, I’m fine.”

The girl let out a visible sigh of relief. “Thank goodness. I’m not sure what happened it suddenly stopped responding.”

Elodie glanced at the rogue drone hovering nearby, then offered the dessert box she was carrying. “Would you mind if I took a look at it for you?”

The girl’s eyes widened in surprise. “Of course not!”

She took the box from Elodie, peeking inside at the small batch of cookies. Her entire face lit up.

Elodie powered down the drone and examined it. “Looks like a navigation system glitch. It’s not following the preset route. Let me check if it’s a gyroscope or sensor calibration issue.”

The girl watched her in awe. “Wow, you really know your stuff!”

Elodie made a few quick adjustments and handed the drone back. “It should be much better now. Want to give it a try?”

The girl launched the drone again, and this time it responded perfectly.

“Freya Delacroix!”

A man’s urgent voice rang out behind them. Elodie turned to see Joseph hurrying over, clearly anxious and out of breath.

At the sight of him, Freya instinctively ducked behind Elodie.

Joseph stopped short, surprised to see Elodie. “Ms. Thorne?”

Elodie asked, “You’re her…?”

“Brother,” Joseph replied, glancing at Freya with obvious relief. “She’s my sister. She’s not well, and she snuck out of her room. I’ve been looking everywhere for her. Thank you.”

Elodie shook her head. “It’s nothing.”

Joseph seemed to sense Elodie’s unwillingness to linger. Her manner was polite, but distinctly reserved.

He pressed his lips together, not sure what else to say.

“Do you two know each other?” Freya piped up, eyes bright and curious.

At the word “friends,” Elodie’s brows drew together almost involuntarily.

She wouldn’t call it that.

If anything, their relationship was… mutually exasperated?

Joseph picked up on her discomfort and hesitated, finally saying, “We’ve known each other a long time.”

Freya glanced between them, puzzled. For some reason, her brother seemed awkward around this woman.

“Could I add you on Messenger?” Freya asked, warming to Elodie. First impressions meant a lot to her, and this woman was clearly brilliant-she even knew how to fix a complicated drone!

Elodie hesitated, and Joseph noticed. “It’s okay-if it’s too much—”

“It’s fine. I’ll scan your code,” Elodie said. She couldn’t bring herself to turn down such a sincere request from a teenage girl.

Freya beamed, her smile infectious. “Thank you for fixing my drone! Maybe I could treat you to lunch sometime?”

Elodie smiled faintly. “It was nothing.”

She nodded toward the cookies in Freya’s arms. “I made those myself. If you’d

like, go ahead and try one.”

Freya’s face lit up even more. “Thank you!”

Elodie finally gave Joseph a polite nod and turned to leave.

Joseph, for reasons he couldn’t explain, blurted, “Can I walk you out?”

Elodie paused, thrown by the offer. “No, thank you.”

He watched her go, gaze lingering long after she disappeared.

He’d always assumed Elodie went out of her way to please Jarrod, and by extension, the rest of them—always gentle, always accommodating, no matter how poorly they treated her.

But now, she seemed completely different.

She was distant, cool, almost as if she genuinely disliked him.

“Hey, big brother?” Freya nudged Joseph, suspicion written all over her face. “Why were you staring at her like that?”

Joseph shook himself free of his thoughts. “Send me her Messenger contact, would you?”

When Elodie got home, she saw a friend request from Joseph waiting for her.

Back then, neither Maurice nor Joseph had ever bothered to add her online- they’d barely even acknowledged her.

What could he possibly want now?

Without giving it much thought, Elodie accepted the request and headed off for a shower.