26. Carter
26
CARTER
T he hallway was sterile, the faint hum of fluorescent lights overhead echoing in the quiet. I stood at the door to the conference room, my hand resting on the cold metal handle. The tension in the air was thick, like it had been soaking into the walls for days, maybe weeks. I wasn’t sure what they’d been expecting, but they weren’t ready for this. I could feel my jaw tighten, the familiar anger curling up inside me.
I glanced to my side at Joseph, who stood next to me, his face a mask of concern, but I could see the unease beneath it. He hadn’t said much since the moment we uncovered the extent of what was going on, but I could tell it had shaken him. This was my company, but he was supposed to lead it, protect it—but now everything was on the verge of coming apart.
He exhaled slowly, rubbing his temples as if trying to push through a headache. “Carter, I know this is…a lot, but let’s keep it civil. We need answers, yes, but we don’t want to burn bridges unless we have to.”
I didn’t respond immediately. I didn’t want to be civil. These men had crossed a line. I wasn’t going to let them squirm their way out of this with a few rehearsed words. They had knowingly broken the law, exploited the vulnerable to meet their quotas. And now, it was time for them to face it.
“I’m not here to play nice,” I finally said, my voice quieter than usual, but still firm. “They’ve already ruined whatever goodwill we had left. Whatever’s coming, it’s on them.”
Joseph nodded, his expression hardening. I knew he was worried about the fallout—about the damage this would do to GenOne’s reputation. But it wasn’t just the company on the line. It was everything we’d worked for, everything my father had built. I wouldn’t let these men destroy it.
Without another word, I pushed the door open, the soft click of it echoing in the tense silence that followed. The men at the table stiffened as I walked in. There were five of them, all seated in a neat row, their eyes flicking between one another like trapped animals. Each one of them knew why I was here.
I took my time walking to the head of the table, my footsteps deliberate, my mind focused on the task at hand even though I still hadn’t settled things with Sunny. I didn’t sit immediately, just stood there, staring down at the men who had put this entire operation at risk. They knew what I wanted from them, and now they were going to give it to me.
For a few moments, nobody spoke. I let the silence hang in the air, letting the weight of what was about to happen sink in. It wasn’t an accident. They’d made a choice, a conscious one, and now they had to own up to it. The tension was almost unbearable.
Finally, I spoke, my voice sharp and to the point. “I’m sure you know exactly why I’m here.”
The man closest to me, Miller, the head of recruitment, cleared his throat. His face was flushed, eyes darting around the room like he was looking for an escape. “Carter, we didn’t?—”
“I know exactly what you did,” I cut him off, my voice hard. “You’ve been offering bribes to get people into drug trials. Incentives to boost your numbers. You thought no one would find out. But I found out.”
The men shifted in their seats, their faces a mix of guilt and fear. Miller opened his mouth to speak again, but I didn’t give him the chance. This wasn’t about hearing excuses. I wasn’t here for apologies.
“This wasn’t a mistake,” I continued, my voice ice-cold. “This was a deliberate, unethical, and illegal action. You preyed on the vulnerable. You took advantage of them. And now, you’re going to answer for it.”
Miller tried to speak again, but his words were lost in the rush of anger bubbling up inside me. I couldn’t let them walk away from this. Not after everything they’d done.
“You’re going to be reassigned,” I said, my voice flat now, almost mechanical. “You won’t be handling any more trials. And you’d better pray that’s the extent of it, because what you’ve done here could bring this entire company down. And the authorities will get involved if they have to.”
Miller opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He was trapped, backed into a corner, and he knew it. The others sat frozen, avoiding my gaze, hands gripping the edge of the table like they might fall off if they let go. The air in the room felt suffocating. I wanted to push them further, to make them feel the full weight of what they’d done, but the silence stretched on.
Joseph cleared his throat, stepping forward. “Carter, this is—” He paused, glancing at the men, then back at me. “We need to make sure we handle this legally, carefully.”
I shot him a hard look, my blood still simmering. “Handling it carefully is what got us here in the first place.” I stormed toward the door, my frustration boiling over. “You want to protect them, Joseph? You’ll be the one explaining this to the board when it all falls apart.”
Joseph stepped forward, his hand reaching out. “Carter, wait?—”
I didn’t stop, turning to face him briefly. “Get the answers, Joseph, and don’t mess around with me anymore. I’m done playing nice.”
I stormed to the door and let myself out. This was the exact reason I had never wanted to get involved with company politics. My father knew I was the caring type who could sit by patients’ bedsides and nurse them through ailments. Running the corporate part of things wasn’t in my wheelhouse. I’d let Joseph deal with this, and I’d deal with him later.
I left headquarters, my mind still spinning, when my phone buzzed—Sunny. She thought I’d be at the clinic and wanted to speak with me. I hesitated for a moment, but there was no use putting it off any longer. I’d been anxious about this confrontation, but now I knew what was coming and no one had to tell me. I knew Rick, and I knew he probably told her everything by now. I got in the car and headed straight there, fearing what would come next. Rick wanted me out of Sunny’s life, and he was willing to hurt me to make sure I stayed away. I just hated that Sunny was collateral damage in all of this.
At the clinic, I parked out back, making my way in with a heavy heart. For days, I’d eaten nothing, too stressed and worried to force myself to have an appetite. I’d been focused on the contracts and investigation, while being distracted by fear that my days with Sunny were over. Jackson hadn’t been able to console me, though seeing patients did help a bit.
When I walked into the break room, Sunny sat at the table wringing her hands. Jackson was in a room with a patient, and there were a few more waiting in the waiting area. I should be putting my lab coat on and calling one of them back, but Sunny had to come first. She was more important to me than anything else. Her eyes rose to meet mine and I could see she’d been crying.
Her eyes were puffy, nose red and swollen. It appeared raw, like she’d been using too many tissues. I wanted to scoop her up and hold her, but there was anger in her eyes too and maybe a hint of fear.
“Hey,” I said, settling on a chair I pulled next to hers. We were close enough our knees almost touched, but not quite.
“Carter, I need to know what’s going on. My dad said you have some connection to Kira, and I’m starting to wonder if?—”
“Woah,” I said, cutting her off. Her tone was biting and harsh. “Try to take a deep breath.” My heart hammered against my ribs. It came as no surprise at all. This was my fault. I knew better than to keep a secret from her.
“I don’t want to take a breath, Carter. I want answers.” Sunny’s eyes flashed with anger and defensiveness. “Dad said you aren’t who I think you are. Mom didn’t give me any answer, and now I’m asking you. What is going on?”
I watched the way her chest shook as each heartbeat pulse through it. She backed away when I tried to touch her, standing and pacing the room. I let my shoulders drop and shook my head. I had to be honest with her, though I knew it probably meant her leaving me. She deserved the truth, and I wanted her to know I wasn’t some monster.
“Sunny, please sit down,” I asked, but she kept pacing. I had no choice but to blurt it all out. “My father died about five years ago. When he died, he left me the company he built from the ground up. I’m the owner of that company now, and I run these clinics off the profit, but I don’t run the company. Okay?”
She stopped pacing to narrow her eyes at me. Her hand rose to her hair, finding a loose strand and wrapping it round one finger as I watched her swallow hard.
“What company, Carter?”
A knife plunged into my chest. I closed my eyes and breathed out, “GenOne Pharmaceuticals,” as I let my head hang in shame.
“But that’s who made the drug that killed Kira.” There was a slight whimper in her tone, and I massaged the bridge of my nose in an anxious habit.
“Yes,” I said plainly.
“And you own it? And you knew this and you didn’t tell me?” I heard the rise of her emotion even before she started crying again.
“Please, Sunny.” I stood, reached for her, but she stepped into the hallway. Her lip was quivering, chest still heaving and she shook her head, backing away from me.
“I’m so glad you kept secrets from me,” she blurted out in pain. “Because I’ve got secrets too.”
“What? What do you mean? Sunny, come back here.”
I took a few steps into the hallway, but she turned and stomped toward the back exit, vanishing into the parking lot as the door slammed shut. None of this was supposed to happen. I was supposed to be with her. We were made for each other, and my secret kept ruining that.
And I was so angry with Rick for interfering, but I was angrier at myself for failing. I had no one to blame but myself.