I Was His Wife, Then His Widow, Then No One's But My Own novel Chapter 225

Back at The Vance Institute of Medical Science, Nora had barely set her documents on her desk when Zelda Vance poked her head out of her office and called her over.

Zelda's expression was noticeably stricter than usual. She held a progress report for the Phase Two trials, several pending options highlighted in bright ink.

She ushered Nora into her office, motioned for her to sit, and flipped the report open, tapping her finger on the section detailing partner hospitals.

"We're launching Phase Two momentarily. Have you given any more thought to our clinical partner? We have to finalize the shortlist this week. We can't stall any longer."

Nora settled into her chair, letting a heavy silence stretch out before she finally spoke.

Her voice carried the distinct, reluctant resignation of someone who had debated the issue to death.

"Mrs. Vance, the absolute best option on the table is Fletcher Medical Center. Their hardware, departmental infrastructure, and clinical resources check every single box for Phase Two. The other candidates are either running obsolete equipment or lack the clinical sample sizes we need. If we use them, our data simply won't hold up to scrutiny."

At the mention of the Fletchers, Zelda's hand froze over the report.

She knew exactly how toxic Nora's history with The Fletcher Family was, and what this recommendation truly cost her.

She closed the binder and set it aside, softening her tone as the awkwardness set in. "Maybe you should run this by Professor Vance first? Selecting a clinical partner is the bedrock of the entire project. He needs to be kept in the loop."

Nora nodded in agreement, though the hesitation never faded from her features.

She and her mentor, Xavier Vance, hadn't had a proper conversation in years. The blistering fallout over her abandoning her research had nearly severed their relationship permanently.

While they had eventually drifted into a tense civility, that jagged thorn remained lodged between them, neither willing to be the first to pull it out.

If she actively pitched a partnership with the Fletchers now, would he assume she was still hung up on the family? Would he think she was using this project as an excuse to rekindle a romance with Finnegan?

She didn't care if he yelled at her. What terrified her was the thought of him seeing her as a pathetic failure.

Zelda saw right through her panic. She walked around the desk and placed a hand on Nora's shoulder.

Her palm was warm and grounding, exactly as it had been years ago when she had first guided Nora into the lab. It offered an inexplicable sense of security, and her voice was steady and empowering.

"Go talk to him, Nora. Rest assured, your mentor might be a stubborn old mule, and he definitely has his grievances about your past, but when it comes to monumental decisions like this, he never lets personal baggage cloud his judgment.

For a fleeting second, Nora felt like she was looking at her younger self, fresh out of school and desperate to learn.

It had been a sweltering afternoon. She had stood in front of Xavier's desk, clutching a stack of files thicker than her arm, too terrified to even breathe.

After finishing a data set, he had snapped his head toward her, his expression even more terrifying than it was today, and barked, "What do you see?"

Back then, Nora was completely green to the industry. Her fundamentals were shaky, and she was cripplingly shy.

She had stared at the spreadsheets for what felt like hours, her mind entirely blank, before finally shaking her head with a flushed face.

Xavier's face had darkened instantly. He slammed his pencil down, swiveled his chair to face her, and unleashed hell.

"You might be new to this field, but do you have any concept of the sheer brilliance of the people you're competing against? If you know nothing, and can deduce nothing, why the hell should I mentor you? There's a line out the door of people begging for this spot. What do you have that they don't?"

Nora had frozen in pure terror, utterly humiliated and unsure of what to do with her hands.

But after dressing her down, Xavier hadn't kicked her out. Instead, he shoved the data sheets closer to the edge of the desk and waved for her to step up.