37. Chapter Thirty-Seven Jade
Chapter Thirty-Seven: Jade
I couldn’t shake the unease that clawed at my insides as I approached the imposing glass fa?ade of BioHQ. I was lost in my own thoughts until I saw all the police cruises parked outside. The flashing red and blue lights reflecting on the icy ground felt like a punch in my gut. I knew instantly that something had gone horribly wrong.
But the sirens weren’t on, the lights weren’t even flashing.
The officers were quietly conversing, their breath like smoke in the cold night air. The place was crawling with them, blue uniforms against the stark concrete. Their faces were grim, their eyes hiding secrets that I wasn’t privy to. I felt my heart pound in my chest as I stepped out of the shadows and moved towards them.
The place I had devoted countless hours to was now a stage for something sinister. A charged hush hung over the clusters of my colleagues; their usual morning banter was now just anxious murmurs that skittered through the chilled autumn air like fallen leaves.
“Something’s wrong,” I whispered to myself, my breath clouding in front of me. I quickened my pace, the click of my heels on the pavement sharp and urgent. I hadn’t slept well; images from last night’s heated exchange with Dante kept replaying in my mind—his smoldering gaze, the hard lines of his jaw tensing as he spoke in that gravelly voice that always seemed to find its way under my skin.
The revolving doors spun me into the lobby, and I was hit by an atmosphere thick with anxiety. It wasn’t the familiar hum of productivity but a discordant symphony of hushed voices and the clatter of security measures being ramped up. Detectives, with their keen eyes and notebooks at the ready, stood among our own security staff, who looked more on edge than I’d ever seen them.
“Dr. Bentley,” one of the guards nodded curtly as I passed.
“Morning,” I returned, my voice steadier than I felt. Each step I took resonated against the marble floor, mirroring the pounding in my chest. What had happened? My thoughts raced, trying to connect the dots, but coming up empty.
I let out a slow breath, determined not to let the chaos rattle me. Today, I needed to be the scientist they all knew—the one who solved problems, not the one drowning in them. But as I watched a detective photograph what looked like a broken lock near one of the labs, I couldn’t help but feel I was walking straight into the storm.
“Jade, there’s been a development.” Dr. White’s voice cut through the lobby’s din, and I turned to find him striding toward me, his face etched with concern.
I followed him, my heart thudding in my chest, as we moved away from prying eyes. The nausea that had been an ever-present companion since my pregnancy began seemed to swell, but I swallowed it down. “What is it, Dr. White? What’s happened?”
He took a deep breath, looking at me like he was about to shatter my world. “The security breach from a few weeks ago...” His voice trailed off, and he met my gaze squarely. “It’s been traced back to your ID.”
My blood ran cold, and I felt the color drain from my face. “That’s impossible,” I managed to choke out, the walls of the lobby suddenly too close.
“Where’s your ID now, Jade?” he asked, his eyes scanning mine for any trace of deceit.
“I...I lost it, a while ago. I didn’t think—it was just an ID card.” Panicked, I tried to remember when I last saw it. I usually kept it in my bag, but God…I hadn’t seen it for what I was sure was weeks. Maybe even a month or more.
Dr. White’s brow furrowed. “How have you been getting into the building?”
“Well, I know the receptionist,” I said, confusion lacing my words. “I don’t understand your question.” It was true; Sarah at the front desk would often wave me through with a smile. It never crossed my mind that this casual convenience could be twisted into something so damning.
“Okay, Jade. Okay.” Dr. White’s voice softened, but his expression remained grave. He glanced over his shoulder, assuring our isolation. “We need to keep this quiet. If word gets out to the other families, to the press... it could be catastrophic for BioHQ—and for you.”
“I mean, it’s just an ID card. Surely I can’t be the linchpin of this whole operation…”
“Look, Jade,” Dr. White cut in, his hushed tone urgent, “the stakes are higher than you realize. Your ID grants access to secure areas—areas that were compromised. We’ve got to get ahead of this.”
My head spun. The implications were staggering. Someone out there was using my identity to infiltrate BioHQ’s inner sanctum, and I was the perfect scapegoat. My dedication, my naivete—it all made me an easy target.
“Dr. White, I need you to believe me,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “I haven’t done anything wrong.” My plea hung in the air, heavy with desperation. It was vital he understood—I was as much a victim in this charade as BioHQ itself.
He nodded, his eyes locked on mine. “I know you’re not guilty, but the evidence suggests otherwise.” His words landed like a punch to the gut. “The security footage, the missing prototypes, the breach—it’s all tracing back to you, somehow.”
I felt like I was drowning, each breath more laborious than the last. My mind raced desperately through every interaction, every misplaced trust. Who had I let too close? Who had seen my ID last?
“Jade, listen to me,” Dr. White continued, seeing the panic in my eyes. “We’ll get to the bottom of this. But until we do, you must be careful. Trust no one. Not even Ellie.”
“Ellie?” I balked at the notion. Ellie was more than a colleague; she was my closest friend, my anchor. “She’d never—“
“Everyone is a suspect until proven otherwise,” Dr. White interrupted sternly. “Remember that.”
“But Dr. Harper would never…”
“Jade,” Dr. White leaned in closer, urgency etching his features. “You need to understand the stakes. They’re not just after a scapegoat; they want a confession. And they’ll twist your words to get one.”
His warnings echoed in my head as I entered the boardroom where several of my colleagues had already gathered. There was an unspoken understanding in their furtive glances—the kind that comes when fear is the only common language. The detectives moved like shadows among us, their questions sharp and probing.
Ellie wasn’t there. I wondered where she was for a second, but before I could text her, I heard the sound of my name being called.
“Dr. Bentley?” One of them called out, and the room hushed instantly. It was my turn to face the music, no matter how discordant the tune.
“Ms. Bentley, please take a seat,” one detective motioned to the chair opposite him. His eyes were hard, unreadable.
“It’s Doctor. Dr. Bentley,” I replied.
“Of course, Dr. Bentley,” he corrected himself, a flicker of annoyance crossing his features. I felt a pang of satisfaction - at least I had control over something in this madness.
He folded his hands on the table, creating a barrier between us. “We have reason to believe that you are involved in the serious security breaches that have been occurring.” His tone was flat, but there was an undercurrent of accusation that made me bristle.
“I didn’t...” My voice trailed off, and I took a deep breath. “I didn’t have anything to do with it. I lost my ID.”
“Did you report that?”
“No,” I said. I noticed Edward Rodriguez sitting next to the detective, scribbling his own notes. “I mean, what for? That seemed pointless, and I was busy with other things.”
The detective’s gaze narrowed, his lips forming a thin line. “Dr. Bentley, negligence in reporting lost items, especially ID cards that provide access to secure areas,” he gestured towards the lab’s entrance, “is taken very seriously here. It is tantamount to breaching security protocols.”
“I understand that now,” I replied, fighting the lump in my throat. “But it was an oversight on my part, not a deliberate act of sabotage.”
“Dr. Bentley, your lost ID card could have potentially allowed unauthorized access to the building and its sensitive information,” Rodriguez helpfully said.
I felt a lump forming in my throat. Sarah’s face flashed before my eyes—the sweet receptionist who always let me in without a question. Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes as I thought about what she would think of me now.
“Explain your activities on the night of the breach. October 3rd,” Rodriguez demanded, the hard edge in his voice slicing through the tense air like a scalpel.
Who was he to ask me for an explanation?
“Well, I don’t know exactly, but I think I was at home,” I replied. “Can I check my calendar?”
“Go ahead,” the detective said, the corners of his mouth twitching ever so slightly. I could feel his gaze boring into me as I fumbled with my phone, pulling up my calendar.
“I was... at home,” I affirmed, pointing to the date on the screen. “All night.”
“And can anyone verify this?” He asked, his tone implying skepticism.
“No. I live alone,” I confessed, feeling once again like a cornered animal.
His gaze lingered on me for a moment longer before jotting something down in his notepad. “Interesting,” he muttered under his breath.
“Explain this to me. Why would I steal my own data?” I said, straightening my back.
“That’s what we’re trying to figure out, Dr. Bentley,” Rodriguez replied, his tone devoid of any sympathy. His eyes never left mine, their icy blue stare probing for any hint of deceit.
“Well, I can assure you I wouldn’t jeopardize my own research,” I said, forcing myself to hold his gaze steadily.
“You’d be surprised what people are capable of when money’s involved,” he countered, his voice filled with derision. “A scientist like you could make a fortune selling the kind of information we keep in those labs.”
“I’m not a corporate spy,” I snapped, my patience wearing thin. “I haven’t stolen anything and I haven’t sold anything.”
“If you tell us who you’re working with—“
“I told you, I’m not—“ My protest was cut short as the door to the boardroom swung open. “Do I need a lawyer?”
The detective cleared his throat. “I don’t know, Dr. Bentley. Do you need a lawyer?”
I shook my head. “I have work to do. Can I leave?”
The detective considered that for a second.
“Yes. Dr. Bentley, you’re free to go. But be aware that we’re not done here,” the detective finally said, closing his notebook with a snap that echoed off the sterile walls of the conference room. I blinked, the abrupt shift catching me off guard. My legs, numb from sitting too long, protested as I stood up.
I walked down the corridor, my shoes clicking on the linoleum in a steady rhythm. With each step, I felt a layer of suspicion peeling away, but it was like shedding one cloak only to find another, heavier one underneath. I knew how these things went; the questioning might be over, but the real scrutiny had just begun.
I remained in the crosshairs, and somewhere out there, hidden in the city’s vast underbelly, the real culprit lurked, watching...waiting. And despite the detectives’ grilling, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the worst was yet to come.