When a brilliant scientist uncovers a deadly corporate secret, saving her research becomes a desperate fight to save her own life.
The Last Cloud
Ella Jenson’s knuckles bled white against the steering wheel of her beat-up Civic. In her rearview mirror, the matte-black SUV stayed three car lengths back, matching her every turn off the highway. Nostro Chemical didn’t just play dirty; they buried their mistakes.
Twenty-four hours ago, she had handed her supervisor three months of undeniable data: Nostro’s flagship fertilizer, the cash cow feeding half the Midwest’s agriculture, was directly linked to a surge in aggressive kidney cancers. His response had been swift—a security escort off the premises, a terminated contract, and a confiscated laptop.
They thought they had wiped her clean. They didn’t know about the encrypted cloud drive she’d synced from her phone five minutes before her badge was revoked.
“Nate,” she whispered into her hands-free headset, her voice trembling. “They’re behind me. Two men, tinted windows. They impounded my computer, but I still have the files.”
“Stay on the line, El,” Nate’s voice cracked through the speakers, calm and sharp with ex-Marine precision. “Where are you?”
“Heading toward the old quarry road. I thought I could lose them, but my engine is knocking.”
“Listen to me,” Nate said, the rustle of a jacket and the jingle of keys backgrounding his tone. “The quarry is a dead end. Pull into the abandoned gas station at the mile marker. Hide the phone, lock the doors, and don’t look back. I’m five minutes out.”
Her engine sputtered. The black SUV accelerated, pulling alongside her, forcing her off the pavement onto the gravel shoulder. Dust kicked up, blinding her view. Ella slammed on the brakes as the SUV swerved in front, blocking the road.
Two tall figures stepped out into the twilight, heading straight for her door.
Over to You, Writer! What happens when Nate arrives—or does Ella take her fate into her own hands before he can? How does her story end?
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