Rage

Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

I n the days that follow, the scandal breaks wide open. News outlets explode with coverage of Zenith’s corruption. Arrests are made, and policies begin to change, favoring transparency and women’s health rights. The drug trials are halted for all of Zenith’s products. The paperwork for all drugs that have passed trials is temporarily restricted until the rightful owners can be reinstated.

We found out that Mia's drug during the trial was actually not the same one they were suppressing. When the information was originally leaked that there was a contraceptive with no side effects, there was one small detail that didn’t make it out with the rumor itself. Mia’s doctor had been paid off to put her in a trial that didn’t exist just as a means to an end. To get to me.

The trials that I was investigating were for a new contraceptive, true, but the one they had been suppressing was for men. With the FDA approval for that drug already completed and no side effects whatsoever, they would have lost millions, if not billions, on the hefty list of women’s contraceptives already on the market. Or so they thought.

They quickly pushed up another drug to take its place, which is why I assume Mia got the appetite suppressant side effect. They skipped weeks of pre-trials and proper documentation requirements. I would never have known as much as I do now if Romello hadn’t allowed me to join in with his covert operation.

The real reason she was in the hospital, though, was still me. They had “slipped a mickey” in her trial pack that was an extremely high dose of estrogen, which caused another blood clot to form in her lung; she nearly died because of me. They were using her as leverage, to get to me. To silence me.

The sad part of all of this is that the drug approved by the FDA as a contraceptive for men will likely sit in litigation for years before it ever sees the light of day. Men could take a pill every day, much like women do, but with no hormones interfering and no side effects whatsoever. The trials said that people with a placebo complained of headache, dry mouth, and other things, while those on the drug reported none. None at all.

Nobody knows that Romello isn’t just another rich CEO. He hid his involvement well, and with me as the “fall guy” for the exposure and the story leak, nobody will ever know. Yeah, he needs to find another job, but his multi-million dollar pension says that he has plenty of time to look around.

This news from Zenith won’t tarnish his record because, of course, he had no knowledge of the misdeeds—not publicly. He was brought on to run the business, not any of the criminal activity.

Mia still needs some time until her strength fully returns. We visit the park together, the scent of blooming flowers and fresh-cut grass revitalizing our spirits. I walk next to her slowly until we get to the nearest bench. She has to take blood thinners and has a portable oxygen device until the blood clot in her lung dissolves.

“I’m proud of you,” she says, squeezing my hand.

“Couldn’t have done it without you,” I reply with a smile.

Romello joins us, bringing coffee and pastries. There’s a lightness to him now, a freedom.

“Ladies.” He nods his head at Mia and winks at me.

As we sit together, I feel a sense of peace. The future is uncertain, but for now, there’s hope.