The Scientist He Erased Returns

Clevel

breath held captive in my chest, a desperate, foolish hope flicker

were... convenient. You understood the systems. You anticipated my needs.

my remaining sanity. Convenient. Maintained order. Allowed him to focus. He wasn't talking abou

unvarnished truth. All the years, all the sacrifice, all the qu

ntal blindness. But the words died on my tongue, replaced by a profound, soul-

my voice flat, dead. "Thank

eceiver was the sound of a decade shatt

sfer was still a week away, my attendance still mandatory. I sat in the back row

el high-strength polymer composites." My work. My words. My intellectual property

f damning screenshots. Raw data logs. Early draft abstracts. All clearly bearing my name, Ellie Cleveland, as lead author, dating back years.

a moment ago so triumphant, went stark white. Her eye

betrayal, my professional ethics were still intact. But Alston, from his seat i

pain. Even now, after everything, he still saw me capa

Alston rose. He walked to the stage, a calm, imposing f

tions to this project are significant. These anonymous accusations are baseless." He paused, then his eyes flickered to me, a cold, dismissive glint. "And as for Dr. Cleveland

of work, my entire professional identity. He had reduced me to a lab technician, a mere data inputter. The applause for Kiara, moments ago

silent plea in her eyes. He gave her a faint, almos

into fists. My entire body trembled with it. This was not merely inconvenience. This was

floor. Every eye in the room turned to me. I ignored their stares,

he stage. Towards them. Towards the man who had stolen e

, snapped to me. A flicker of alarm, of something akin to fe

ard, his hand reaching ou