Chapter 177
No.1
The silence in the Aethel boardroom was profound.The black screen at the head of the table reflected the grim faces of the executives.
Elisa didn't linger to celebrate. She turned away from the console and walked toward the heavy glass doors. Standing quietly in the shadows near the exit was Aethel's Chief Legal Officer, a sharp-eyed man named Harrison.
"The audio file you uploaded to the secure cloud from your car was processed exactly as requested,"Harrison reported, his voice dropping to a low, urgent hum. "It was a clear, uncoerced confession from Meredith Hastings. She admits to the physical assault on Allena Mills, and she admits to a conspiracy to frame you for the crime. I had it authenticated and delivered directly to my contacts at the NYPD Major Case Squad."
Elisa stopped, her eyes cold and hard. "And?"
Harrison nodded sharply. "They moved incredibly
fast. They put out a flight risk alert, and Port Authority police intercepted Meredith Hastings at JFK airport trying to board a private jet. She's in custody. And the detectives are serving Dr. Mills with a subpoena for perjury and filing a false police report as we speak."
No.2
Elisa gave a short, stiff nod. "Good." She turned and strode quickly down the hallway.
Miles away, in the luxurious silence of the Mount Sinai VIP suite, the atmosphere was entirely different.
Allena lay back against her mountain of pillows.The panic from the abruptly disconnected video call had faded, replaced by a smug, delusional confidence.She reached out with her uninjured hand and popped a peeled green grape into her mouth, chewing slowly.
Devon was pacing the room, barking into his phone,trying to spin the narrative to his investors. But Allena wasn't worried. August would fix it. August always fixed it. He would buy the JHU board, or he would destroy Aethel. She just had to play the victim a little longer.
Her personal iPhone, resting on the bedside table,
chimed with a sharp, urgent notification.
No.3
Allena picked it up lazily. It was an email marked with a red exclamation point. The sender was the JHU Joint Project Ethics Committee.
She swiped the screen open, expecting a formal apology or a notification that Elisa had been suspended pending an investigation.
Instead, the bold, black letters of the subject line hit her like a physical blow: NOTICE OF PERMANENT EXPULSION AND ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT INVESTIGATION.
Allena's breath hitched. She sat up too fast,ignoring the throbbing in her head.
She read the body of the email. It detailed the fabricated clinical data. It listed the exact timestamps of the Vanguard server hacks. It stated that her medical license was being reported to the state board for review.
The blood drained completely from her face. Her hands began to shake so violently she could barely hold the phone.
No.4
"No," Allena gasped, her chest tightening in a sudden, vicious panic attack. "No, no, no."
She hurled the iPhone across the room. It smashed against the marble corner of the bedside table, the screen shattering into a spiderweb of cracks. She let out a hysterical,ragged scream.
The private nurse stationed outside the door rushed in, her eyes wide with alarm.
Before the nurse could even reach the bed, the heavy wooden door of the VIP suite was pushed open again.
Two men walked in. They weren't doctors. They wore cheap, off-the-rack suits and heavy trench coats.They carried an air of absolute, uncompromising authority that instantly suffocated the room.
The lead man, a grizzled NYPD detective, held up a gold shield.
No.5
"Dr. Allena Mills?" the detective asked, his voice a flat,gravelly monotone.
Allena froze. Her heart hammered against her ribs like a trapped bird. "Yes? Who are you?"
"NYPD Major Case Squad," the detective said,stepping fully into the room. He didn't look at her with sympathy. He looked at her like a suspect."We are here regarding the incident in the Aethel stairwell earlier today."②
Allena forced a trembling smile, trying to summon her victim persona. "Oh, thank God. Have you arrested Elisa Wilder? She tried to kill me."
The detective didn't smile back. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a folded piece of heavy legal paper.
"Actually, Dr. Mills, we are in possession of a verified audio recording," the detective said slowly, his eyes boring into hers. "It clearly identifies Meredith Hastings as your attacker. We apprehended her at JFK airport attempting to board a private jet to a non-extradition country. Now, we need to discuss your role in the conspiracy to frame Ms. Wilder."
No.6
The words hit Allena like a physical strike to the chest. The air vanished from her lungs. A recording.Meredith, that stupid, arrogant old woman, had talked.
The detective stepped forward and dropped the paper onto her lap.
"This is a subpoena," he stated coldly. "You are officially under investigation for perjury and filing a false police report. As soon as you are medically cleared for discharge, you are required to present yourself at the precinct for formal questioning. Do not attempt to leave the city."
Absolute, paralyzing terror gripped Allena's spine.Her perfect plan, her entire stolen life, was collapsing into dust. She wasn't just losing the project; she was going to prison.
She scrambled across the bed, ignoring the IV line tearing at her skin. She lunged for the bedside table and grabbed the heavy, landline hospital phone.Her fingers slipped on the buttons as she frantically dialed August's private number.
The line rang twice before he answered.
No.7
"August!" Allena shrieked into the receiver, her voice breaking into ugly, hysterical sobs. "August, you have to come here! You have to save me! Elisa gave them a recording! The police are here, August! They're
going to arrest me!"
The detective stood at the foot of the bed, watching her pathetic breakdown with cold, professional detachment. He tapped his pen against his notebook, a silent promise that the law was not going to be bought this time.
Allena collapsed back onto the pillows, weeping uncontrollably, realizing for the first time that the monster she had awakened in Elisa was going to swallow her whole. 1