The Year I Stopped Being His novel Chapter 87

"We need to go to the lab first."

"The Vitas Strain... I only have one viable sample. I need to make sure it's still there."

*

The sleek black Maybach merged onto the highway, tearing past the city's graying skyline.

Sloane sat in the passenger seat, watching the blurry streetlights race by. A suffocating weight pressed down on her chest.

Just then, her cell phone buzzed.

It was Josh.

"Sloane, what time are you heading out? I'll come pick you up," Josh's voice crackled through the speaker. It sounded like he was outside amid some background noise. "Are you packed? Did you get the finalized itinerary from the Antarctic base?"

"Josh, I'm sorry. I'm not going," Sloane replied, her tone flat.

"What?" He paused.

"Cancel my flight," Sloane said, closing her eyes. "An emergency came up. I can't leave."

"What kind of emergency?"

Josh's voice tightened with confusion and immediate concern. "Sloane, what the hell is happening? Talk to me—"

"I'll explain later."

Sloane hung up the phone abruptly.

Garrison kept his eyes glued to the road, saying nothing.

The car drove in absolute silence.

*

Half an hour later, the car pulled up outside the research facility at the Red Cross Hospital.

Keycards, fingerprint scanners, three security checkpoints—they bypassed them all. The hallway was dead quiet, save for the low hum of the AC unit. Garrison pushed open the lab doors to find Assistant Dawson sorting through some files.

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