Simone hesitated, a flicker of surprise crossing her face. Was the patient''s identity that sensitive?
Without another word,n turned and walked away.
Eleanor wasn''t in theb at that moment. She''d retreated to her office, rubbing her aching temples, desperate for a moment of quiet.
For six years, whenever Vanessa was involved,n paid special attention. Just now, he''d danced around Simone''s questions, refusing to exin the donor''s purpose. Who else could it be for, if not Vanessa? It was just another one of his calcted moves.
If he admitted the truth, he feared Eleanor might deliberately stall her research and jeopardize Vanessa''s health.
But what truly drove Eleanor wasn''t the chance to save a single life-it was the hope of saving countless patients. That was the mission she''d inherited from her father, his legacy living on in her work.
At three o''clock, Eleanor entered theb. Callie nced at her, concern etched on her face. "Eleanor, are you alright?"
"I''m fine. Let me see today''s data," Eleanor replied briskly.
Callie handed her theb results. Forcing herself to focus, Eleanor flipped through the pages. Suddenly, she stopped at a data set on the sixth page, her breath catching.
She murmured softly to herself, drawing Callie''s curiosity. Callie leaned in, saying, "That''s the batch of hematopoietic stem cell samples fromst week''s leukemia patients. I used the new screening method you suggested-what is it? Something wrong?"
Eleanor immediately moved to theputer, pulling up the raw data, her eyes shining with anticipation. She grabbed a pen and scribbled a string of forms into her notebook.
"Eleanor, did you find something?" Callie''s voice trembled with excitement.
Eleanor''s own voice quivered as she replied, "Thebination works—it''s effective." Without another word, she began working at theputer herself. Callie watched as Eleanor''s fingers flew over the keyboard. Theb was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Finally, the sequencing report printed out.
Eleanor''s hands shook slightly as she picked up the printout. Callie''s eyes widened. "Eleanor, is this real? This identifies and eliminates the leukemia stem cells in the blood with precision?"
"It''s real." Eleanor closed her eyes, thinking of her father''s final research notes- her breakthrough surpassed everything he had achieved.
"Dad, your unfinished work finally has an answer." Tears blurred Eleanor''s vision.
A whileter, Simone arrived. Her hands trembled as she flipped through the report, her voice quivering with excitement. "Eleanor, this is incredible! It''s thirty percent more efficient than any existing therapy."
"And the side effects are minimal-almost zero damage to healthy stem cells," Callie added.
"Eleanor, this could win the Medical Breakthrough of the Year award!"
"It''s all Eleanor''s doing," Callie said with obvious admiration. Every experiment he''d run had been at Eleanor''s direction.
"This Friday, we''ll hold a seminar. I''ll invite leading experts from around the world to witness your results," Simone promised.
Eleanor took a deep breath, steadying herself. "Alright. I''ll perfect the data and make sure everything is airtight."
"I''ll get the detailed records ready," Callie said, rubbing his hands together with excitement.
Back in her office, Simone reyed everything in her mind. Suddenly, she picked up her phone and dialedn''s number.
"Professor Langley."
"Ian, great news—Eleanor''sb just made a breakthrough. We could be ready for clinical trials in a month."
There was a pause, thenn''s calm voice. "Alright. I understand."
Simone blinked, a little surprised at hisposure. Then again,n had always
been the type to stay unruffled, no matter what.
"This Friday, Eleanor''s holding a seminar. You shoulde."
"Okay,”n replied, and promptly ended the call.