Chapter 98

Claire's POV The whispers started a few days later. I heard them in the cafeteria, saw the looks in the hallway. At first, I attributed it to my usual paranoia—after months of Nicole's harassment and Adrian's manipulations, I'd become hypersensitive to any perceived slight or suspicious glance. But when Helen, a colleague from the research division who rarely spoke to anyone outside of work meetings, approached me during lunch with genuine concern etched across her features, I knew something was seriously wrong. "Claire," she said quietly, sliding into the chair across from me in the nearly empty cafeteria. "You look confused. Haven't you checked your phone today?" I frowned, reaching into my lab coat pocket. "I've been in the clean room all morning for the enzyme stability tests. Why? What's going on?" Helen's expression grew more uncomfortable. "You really should look. It's... everywhere." My hands trembled slightly as I unlocked my phone, immediately seeing dozens of missed notifica