point o

he door b

E

re. But the single look he gave me in the board room.... for a moment, almost made me feel lik

self: that

odern, overlooking the city

ye

few dollars I had saved up that could barely cover the hospital birth.

t opened his eyes and stared at me.... li

have sold his soul to create something that kills.... but I used what I learned from la

icity, lung degradation in humans living in hybrid zones, and a serum for mutation fever. When

e profi

more. I was a name whispered in pharmaceutical spaces,

t our mansion. Private land. Off

ded to expand. I stayed quiet until I owned enough to take

.... I'

, creating a cure is not out of the goodness of my heart, but the influence and power it wou

roaching my office. My do

do

e door softl

irst.? what part of being your boss do you no

ere's something important I

thing we hav

me like he was seeing me for the first time. Tr

I asked breaki

ay anything a

I needed to." I k

"You've made prog

hav

unning tr

s a

ne of the first

ls are for pe

n diagnosed. And I would

to discard me once I had given him what he wanted. And here he was, at my mercy wit

y on him. Not when I

tand the ri

n

in weeks. Possibly sooner. If your nervous system begi

t's a risk I'm w

l not be responsibl

acc

history, and genome sequencing. Testing be

me where

ead scientist Xavier Locke is going to

ho

, my office door ope

, his usual confident stride." The compound statistics ar

noticing

't realize you

Doctor Xavier Locke, lead scient

to Ardonis but it rema

lecular indicators are reacting just as you theorized. Your approach might

e. "Thank you, Xavier,

n added, "I cleared out th

approve th

replied smugly.

' face

u know I can't say no to Chinese food

But not before givin

d, the temperature

d me. "Who i

ientist on this project so, you better treat him with resp

ence th

be cured you know," he said, softer. "I

. "You have no right to

pologizes. "I'm sorr

ut to you when we are r

ets up and t

door he

h

opped looki

't an

lea

xha

wouldn't live as a pawn. Now I bui

just walk back in our lives without re