Chapter 5: The Truth Comes Out

The fire investigator's report went out to the full mailing list fast.

All signs pointed to the fire originating in Elara's lab.

Nothing to do with my area. At all.

But no matter how they questioned her, Elara just shook her head. Quiet sobs.

It wasn't my mistake. You have to believe me.

I stared at the surveillance footage again.

There it was.

Twenty-three minutes before the fire alarm went off, Elara had entered Lab 02 alone.

She was carrying a metal case.

Seven minutes later, she walked out without it.

The report stated that the case contained several experimental batteries that had not been properly registered with the institute's safety department.

The batteries had overheated.

One had ruptured.

The fire had spread from the equipment table where Elara's experiment was running.

My hands went cold.

This wasn't an accident caused by me.

It wasn't negligence on my part.

And Callan knew exactly where the fire had started.

Yet he had stood over my hospital bed and called me useless.

He had blamed me for everything.

I kept scrolling.

The next section of the report was worse.

The night-shift security logs showed that I had completed my scheduled rounds at 11:40 p.m.

I had signed every checkpoint.

The fire began nearly an hour later.

My name had been cleared completely.

Then I saw the final recommendation.

Elara's access to the restricted laboratories was suspended pending a formal disciplinary hearing.

Callan's name appeared directly beneath hers.

He had been listed as the senior researcher responsible for supervising her project.

I leaned back in my new apartment and let out a quiet breath.

For the first time in years, I wasn't there to clean up their mess.

I wasn't there to defend them.

I wasn't there to make excuses.

I wasn't even there to watch them fall.

My phone started ringing.

Callan.

I stared at his name until the screen went dark.

It rang again.

Then again.

I finally turned the phone face down.

A few minutes later, messages started appearing.

Sage, answer me.

We need to talk.

The report isn't what it looks like.

Please don't make any decisions until I explain.

I almost laughed.

Explain what?

That you didn't see me in the fire?

That you blamed me before the investigation was finished?

That you called me dead weight while I was lying in a hospital bed?

Or that you chose Elara every single time and expected me to keep waiting?

I deleted the messages without replying.

The next morning, an unfamiliar number called.

I answered cautiously.

Hello?

Is this Sage Carter?

Yes.

My name is Daniel Hart. I'm the director of the Portland Applied Research Center.

I sat up straighter.

I'd submitted my résumé before leaving the institute, but I hadn't expected anyone to respond so quickly.

I reviewed your application personally. Your administrative experience is impressive, but your references are even more interesting.

I didn't know what to say.

My previous employer wasn't exactly going to praise me.

Mr. Hart continued.

You coordinated laboratory schedules, procurement, conference arrangements, compliance paperwork, travel logistics, and research documentation for several years, correct?

Yes.

And you managed those responsibilities while supporting two principal researchers?

Yes.

Then I think you have been underestimating your own qualifications.

Something tightened in my throat.

No one had ever said that to me.

Not Callan.

Not Elara.

Not even myself.

Mr. Hart offered me a position as operations coordinator.

The salary was more than double what I'd earned as a receptionist.

There was one condition.

I'd have to start within two weeks.

I accepted immediately.

After the call ended, I sat quietly by the window.

Portland was gray and rainy.

But somehow, the rain didn't feel cold anymore.

For the first time, I was building a life that didn't revolve around two other people.

Back at the institute, everything was falling apart.

The disciplinary hearing began three days later.

I wasn't there, but people kept sending me updates.

Elara had hired an attorney.

Callan was trying to protect her.

He claimed the batteries had been approved for experimental use.

The safety department produced records proving otherwise.

Then security footage showed Elara entering the restricted lab after hours.

Her story changed.

First, she said she had gone inside to check on the experiment.

Then she said Callan had asked her to retrieve something.

Finally, she stopped answering questions.

The institute suspended her indefinitely.

Callan wasn't fired, but his position as project lead was removed.

For the first time, the golden duo had cracked.

Then came the part nobody expected.

The institute reviewed the records from the past two years.

They discovered that several of Elara's major research breakthroughs had relied heavily on administrative and technical work that had never been properly credited.

My name appeared repeatedly in the internal files.

Sage Carter—data organization.

Sage Carter—equipment procurement.

Sage Carter—research scheduling.

Sage Carter—experimental documentation.

Work I'd done quietly.

Work I'd never received credit for.

Work I'd never thought mattered.

Apparently, it mattered a lot.

My former supervisor sent me one final message.

You should know that the institute is reopening several project records because your documentation exposed inconsistencies we hadn't noticed before.

I stared at the message for a long time.

Then another message arrived.

This one was from Callan.

Sage, I know you're angry.

I know I hurt you.

But you don't understand what happened.

Elara needs me right now.

I closed my eyes.

Even now.

Even after everything.

It was still Elara.

I typed one sentence.

Then I deleted it.

There was nothing left to explain.

A week later, I started my new job in Portland.

My first morning, I walked into a bright office filled with unfamiliar faces.

Nobody knew me as Callan's girlfriend.

Nobody knew me as Elara's best friend.

Nobody expected me to organize their lives.

They only knew me as Sage Carter, the new operations coordinator.

And for once, that was enough.

I smiled when my new supervisor handed me my first project.

I had no idea that project would eventually bring me face-to-face with someone from my past.

Because the Portland Research Center had just entered a partnership with the very institute I'd left behind.

And the person assigned to lead the joint project was Callan.