"Let Professor Langley know there''s a meeting this afternoon. And have her bringn in as well."


    Callie hurried out. Left alone, Eleanor leaned against theb bench, her expression grave and clouded with worry. She couldn''t stop thinking about the woman in the hospital waiting for the new drug-a mother clinging to hope, her eyes silently pleading for a chance to live. The weight of that gaze lingered heavy on Eleanor''s heart.


    At three o''clock, the conference room felt thick with tension.


    Professor Langley and Dr. Lyman had arrived early and were quietly discussing experimental data. Eleanor sat at the head of the table, fingers tapping nervously against the polished wood, eyes asionally darting toward the door.


    The meeting couldn''t begin until everyone was there.


    "Mr. Goodwin is here," Callie announced as she pushed open the door.


    Eleanor''s fingers stilled. She looked up.


    "Let''s begin," he said, his voice low,manding.


    Callie gestured quickly. "Mr. Goodwin, please, have a seat."


    "Give me thetest results,”n said, his tone even, but everyone in the room could feel the pressure behind his words.


    Simone nced at Eleanor and gave a subtle nod, cueing her to speak.


    Eleanor straightened, forcing herself to meetn''s gaze. "The results show the drug is triggering an uncontroble immune rejection. If we continue as nned, the risks are enormous."


    The silence in the room was suffocating. Callie and the other researchers instinctively held their breath.


    "So, what do you suggest?"n finally asked, eyes fixed on Eleanor.


    "Start over." Eleanor lifted her chin to meet his stare. "We need to redesign the molecr structure and optimize the targeting mechanism. But that means—"


    "—it means at least double the investment, and a minimum six-month dy," Eleanor finished bluntly. "That''s just my estimate. It could take even more time or money. Mr. Goodwin, you need to be prepared for that."


    Eleanor pressed her lips together, but her tone was all business. "If you force this forward, and something goes wrong in clinical trials, the consequences will be far worse-unless you want to pull my team off the project and hand it to someone


    else."


    Seconds ticked by in frozen silence.


    Dr. Lyman and Simone exchanged uneasy nces. Even they didn''t dare interrupt.


    Eleanor faltered for a moment-he wanted to save Vanessa.


    "You want to say it but I don''t want to hear it," she replied coldly. "If this works, it''s


    not just one life we''ll save. It could be millions."


    You could have heard a pin drop.


    Only Eleanor would dare talk to the chief investor like that.


    "Of course, you can always pull out, cancel my project. I won''t stop you." Eleanor lifted her chin, pride and resolve in her voice.


    "I''m not pulling out,"n said. "But I want your word-you''ll have a new n as soon as possible."


    Everyone in the room exhaled in relief. Simone turned to Eleanor, hopeful. "Eleanor, do you have something new in mind?"