Chapter 8 - The Missing Scientist
Police searched Sherman Biotech.
Leonard Shaw had removed research drives, chemical samples, and animal-testing records.
He also accessed a private database containing Toby’s medical history.
Elijah looked at the screen.
“How did he get that?”
Cassandra had sent him everything.
Toby’s allergies.
His weight.
His previous medications.
Even the address of his preschool.
This was not a plan formed at dinner.
It had been prepared for weeks.
Naomi stayed beside Toby as his liver function worsened.
The reversal treatment stabilized his breathing, but SN-14 had triggered a toxic reaction.
He might require a transplant if the damage continued.
Elijah asked whether he could help.
Naomi answered professionally.
“Your blood type may be relevant later.”
He nodded.
“I’ll do anything.”
She looked at him.
“You said that once before.”
The old wound escaped before she could stop it.
Elijah looked ashamed.
“I know.”
“No. You know what you lost. That is not the same as understanding what you did.”
A nurse interrupted with new results.
Toby’s liver enzymes had stopped rising.
It was the first hopeful sign.
Elijah exhaled.
Then Detective Price entered carrying a file recovered from Leonard’s office.
The folder was labeled WHEELER.
Naomi opened it.
Inside were photographs of her entering the hospital, leaving her apartment, and meeting with a medical ethics board.
Leonard had been watching her.
A handwritten note appeared beneath one photograph.
She knows why Trial 6 failed.
Elijah looked at Naomi.
“What is Trial 6?”
May you like
Naomi closed the file.
“It was the reason I left Sherman Biotech seven years ago.”
