Chapter 12
830words
My fingers flew across the keyboard, typing the code I had written years ago as a fail-safe, not against the team, but against corporate espionage. Now, it was a weapon.
Initiating Transfer... Target: Encrypted Private Cloud [Server: TITAN_01]
I watched the progress bar.
Sterling_Knee_Maintenance... Moving... Complete. Rookie_Tyler_Shoulder_Reconstruction... Moving... Complete.
I wasn't just quitting. I was taking my legacy with me. I was taking Liam's career with me.
Once the transfer was done, I typed one final command.
Command: Secure Wipe. Overwrite 7x.
This would ensure that no IT specialist, no matter how expensive, could ever recover the data. It was the digital equivalent of burning the library to the ground.
Are you sure? the system prompted.
I thought about the baby I would never hold. I thought about Liam's voice on the phone: "Sophia has a fever."
I hit Enter.
The screen flickered. Deletion Complete.
It was done. The Glaciers were now flying blind.
Next, I opened my email client. I didn't bother with a polite letterhead.
To: Marcus Kane (Owner), HR Department, Liam Sterling From: Dr. Elena Vance Subject: Resignation and Notice of IP Retraction
To whom it may concern,
I am resigning from my position as Head Team Doctor for the New York Glaciers. Due to the hostile work environment, breach of contract, and the attempted harm against my person, I am terminating all professional relationships with this organization.
Furthermore, all medical protocols, rehabilitation data, and proprietary research developed by me are my sole Intellectual Property. I have removed them from your servers. Any attempt to use my methodologies without my license will result in immediate legal action.
My lawyers will be in touch.
Dr. Elena Vance.
I sent it. The sense of relief was dizzying.
Finally, I picked up my phone. I turned it on for the first time in three days.
The device vibrated violently in my hand, a backlog of hundreds of notifications flooding in at once.
15 Missed Calls from Liam. 22 Texts from Liam.
I opened one.
Liam: "Where are you? The police called about the car. Stop being dramatic and come home."
Liam: "Sophia is freaking out. She thinks you're going to sue her. Call me."
Liam: "Babe, seriously. My knee hurts."
He didn't know about the miscarriage. He didn't know I had almost died. He only knew that his life was slightly inconvenienced.
I didn't reply. I blocked his number. Then I blocked Sophia's. Then Marcus Kane's.
I dialed the one number I had memorized but never dared to use.
The phone rang once.
"Elena?"
Noah Blackwood's voice was instantaneous, breathless. The sound of it wrapped around me like a warm blanket.
"Noah," I said. My voice cracked, dry and unused.
"Thank God," Noah let out a ragged breath. I could hear background noise, wind, engines. "Your phone has been off. I've had my security team scouring every hospital in the Tri-State area. I was about to tear this city apart brick by brick. Where are you?"
"I'm at St. Jude's Hospital," I whispered. Tears, hot and fast, finally began to spill down my cheeks. "Room 402."
"I'm ten minutes away. I'm landing the chopper on the roof. I don't care if it's illegal."
"Noah, wait." I took a deep, shuddering breath. "I... I lost it. The baby. It's gone."
Silence. Heavy, suffocating silence stretched over the line.
"He killed it," I said, the truth finally spoken aloud. "Liam caused the accident. I lost the baby, Noah. I have nothing left."
"You have me," Noah's voice was a low growl, vibrating with a rage so intense it was almost palpable. "And you have a future. I promise you, Elena, I will make him pay for every drop of blood you shed. But right now, I just need to get you out of there."
"Okay," I said. "Come get me."
I hung up.
I stood up and walked to the small closet in the room. My clothes from the accident were there, a pair of jeans and a sweater, stiff with dried blood. I couldn't wear them. I wouldn't wear the evidence of my victimhood.
I put on a pair of simple hospital scrubs. I packed my laptop.
Then, I saw the ring.
The modest diamond band Liam had given me in that Vegas chapel. The symbol of my "marriage."
I picked it up. It felt light. Cheap.
I placed it on the bedside table, right next to the empty glass of water.
I walked out of the room, my arm in a sling, my head held high. I walked past the nurses station, ignoring their whispers. I took the elevator to the roof.
The wind whipped my hair across my face. In the distance, a black helicopter with the Titan's logo, a silver shield, was descending from the grey sky.
It looked like a chariot sent by the gods of war.
I stepped toward it.
Dr. Elena Vance was getting on that chopper. And she was ready for revenge.
