Chapter 9
The next twenty-four hours were worse than any Elara had ever lived through.
The protests got bigger.
Thousands of people showed up outside the tower.
The FDA launched an investigation.
All of Bennett Pharma’s drugs were put on hold.
The cancer trials were stopped.
Viraflu shipments were seized.
The board of directors called an emergency meeting.
They wanted Elara to step down.
To sign the patent over to Sarah.
To make it all go away.
Elara refused.
“I didn’t build this company to roll over every time a crazy woman with a grudge sends a few emails,” she told them. “We’re gonna fight this. And we’re gonna win.”
But privately, she was scared.
Sarah had thought of everything.
The fake documents were perfect.
They had Clara’s signature on them.
Forged, but good enough to fool every expert the news had talked to.
Sarah had planted stories in every major news outlet.
She’d paid off activists.
She’d even gotten a few celebrities to tweet about it.
By midnight, #CancelBennett was the number one trending topic in the world.
Elara, Julian, and Lila were holed up in the penthouse office on the top floor.
They hadn’t slept in thirty hours.
Coffee cups littered every surface.
Papers were everywhere.
“There has to be something we can use,” Lila said, rubbing her eyes. “Some proof the documents are fake. Some way to prove Sarah is behind all this.”
“Sarah’s too smart,” Julian said. “She covered her tracks. All the emails came from a burner phone. The fake documents were printed on old paper Clara actually used. The signatures are almost perfect. Even our forensics guys say they can’t prove they’re fake without a doubt.”
Elara stared at the Phoenix files on her computer.
Her mom’s research.
Her life’s work.
She thought of the letter.
Fight.
Then she remembered.
The letter had said the research was hidden in the old lab.
Behind the wall of the supply closet.
Behind the brick with C + A + J carved into it.
The USB drive Dr. Carter had brought had the data.
But not the original lab notebooks.
The physical ones.
Clara had kept handwritten notes for every experiment.
Every date.
Every result.
Every mistake.
If Sarah had forged the documents, the dates wouldn’t match the handwritten notebooks.
The test subjects wouldn’t match.
The results would be wrong.
The handwritten notebooks would prove the fake files were lies.
“The old lab,” Elara said, standing up.
“What?” Julian said.
“The original notebooks,” Elara said. “Mom hid them in the supply closet wall. Behind the brick with our initials. If we can get those, we can prove Sarah’s files are fake. The dates won’t line up. The test numbers will be wrong. It’ll be the proof we need.”
“Sarah’s probably got the lab staked out,” Lila said. “She’ll be waiting for you.”
“Let her,” Elara said. “I’m done running. This ends tonight. At the lab. Where it all started.”
She called Detective Miller.
Called Jesse.
Told them the plan.
An hour later, they were on their way to the old lab.
This time, they weren’t alone.
Detective Miller had twenty undercover cops with him.
Jesse had four of his best men.
SWAT was on standby three blocks away.
But Elara still went in alone.
Just like before.
Because she knew Sarah would be waiting.
And she wanted Sarah to see her.
To know she wasn’t scared.
The lab was dark.
Quiet.
Elara walked through the front door.
Her flashlight cut through the darkness.
She made her way to the supply closet.
The door was open.
Light spilled out.
Just like last time.
She walked inside.
Sarah was there.
Standing in the middle of the room.
Next to a hole in the wall.
The brick with C + A + J was on the floor.
Broken.
In Sarah’s hand was a stack of old notebooks.
Clara’s notebooks.
“Looking for these?” Sarah said, smiling.
Elara stopped.
“Give them to me, Sarah.”
Sarah laughed.
“Give them to you?” she said. “Why would I do that? These are the only thing standing between me and total victory. Once I burn them, your proof is gone. The fake documents stand. You lose everything.”
She pulled a lighter from her pocket.
Flicked it on.
The flame danced in the dark.
“No!” Elara shouted.
She lunged.
Sarah stepped back.
Held the notebooks over the flame.
“One more step,” she said. “And they burn.”
Elara froze.
“You’re sick,” she said. “These are Mom’s things. Her life’s work. How can you even think about burning them?”
“Because they’re in my way,” Sarah said. “Just like Clara was. Just like you are. Family doesn’t mean anything, Elara. Not when power is on the line. Clara learned that the hard way. Now you will too.”
She moved the notebooks closer to the flame.
The edge of the top one started to curl.
Smoke rose.
“NO!”
Julian burst through the door.
He ran at Sarah.
She turned.
Swung the notebooks at him.
He ducked.
Grabbed her wrist.
The notebooks went flying.
Elara dove.
Caught them before they hit the ground.
Sarah screamed.
She pulled a knife from her pocket.
Slashed at Julian.
The blade cut his arm.
He grunted.
But didn’t let go.
He punched her in the stomach.
She doubled over.
He twisted her arm behind her back.
Pinned her to the wall.
“Cops!” he shouted. “Now!”
Detective Miller and the others burst into the room.
Guns drawn.
Sarah was cuffed.
She screamed and spat as they led her away.
“I’ll get you for this! You haven’t seen the last of me! I’ll burn everything you love! Just like I burned Clara!”
Elara didn’t listen.
She was holding the notebooks.
Safe.
Unharmed.
She flipped to the date Sarah had used on the fake documents.
Clara’s handwriting was clear.
She’d been in the hospital that day.
Having her appendix out.
She couldn’t have run the tests Sarah’s fake documents described.
It was the proof they needed.
“We got it,” Elara said, looking up at Julian. “We got the proof.”
Julian smiled.
Then he winced.
Held his arm.
Elara’s smile vanished.
“Your arm,” she said. “Let me see.”
She pulled his jacket back.
The cut was deep.
But it wasn’t bleeding too bad.
Then she saw something else.
The tip of the knife had been blue.
“Julian,” she said, her voice tight. “The knife. It had something on it. What did it feel like? Was it burning?”
Julian’s face went pale.
“Now that you mention it,” he said. “Yeah. It stung. Like fire.”
Elara’s blood ran cold.
She knew that blue substance.
She’d seen it in her mom’s files.
It was a neurotoxin.
Slow acting.
Painful.
Deadly in twenty-four hours.
Sarah had planned for this.
If she couldn’t burn the notebooks, she’d kill Julian.
Take Elara’s brother away.
May you like
Just like Margaret had taken him as a baby.
“Call an ambulance!” Elara screamed. “Now! He’s been poisoned!”
