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NICHOLAS BOOTHMAN
Who were they? The "powerful consortium" Dr.
Thorne had hinted at? The pharmaceutical giants,
protecting their multi-billion-dollar empire of
antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs? Or something
even more insidious?
She marveled at the encrypted data. She had to
share it. The world needed this. Millions were
suffering, just as Mallory had suffered. But how? And
to whom?
Her phone buzzed. It was Dr. Aris Thorne, her
mentor. She hesitated, then answered.
"Evelyn? You sound… different. Are you alright?"
His voice was laced with concern.
"I'm fine, Aris. Just… a lot on my mind." She
couldn't tell him. Not yet. Not until she understood the
full scope of the threat. "I need to reschedule my
patients for the morning. I have… a breakthrough I
need to process."
"A breakthrough? That's good to hear. Take all the
time you need. We're all worried about you."
She mumbled a thank you and hung up. Thorne
was a good man, but too ingrained in the system. He
wouldn't understand. Not yet.
She scrolled through her patient list. Who would
be the first? Who was desperate enough, broken
enough, to risk an experimental, unproven therapy?
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