Obsession in the Ivory Tower

Chapter 8: Ethan's Discovery

The next day, Lena found Ethan in the main lab, hunched over a microscope. "Hey," she said. "I need to talk to you."

Ethan looked up, his eyes bloodshot. "Where have you been? I've been trying to reach you for days."

Lena bit her lip. "I was with Dr. Hale."

Ethan slammed his notebook shut. "I told you to stay away from him! He's dangerous, Lena. Really dangerous."

"I know about Eleanor Bennett," Lena said quietly.

Ethan's eyes widened. "How? Did he tell you?"

Lena nodded. "He says it was an accident. That Wentworth betrayed him."

Ethan scoffed. "Of course he does. Listen, Lena, I did some digging. Eleanor wasn't the only one. There's a whole list of students who worked with Julian and then... disappeared."

He pulled out a flash drive. "I hacked into the university's archives. Take a look."

Lena plugged the drive into a nearby computer. A spreadsheet popped up, listing names, dates, and project codes. "Oh my god."

"Julian's been running these experiments for years," Ethan said. "Using students as guinea pigs. And get this—all the projects are funded by a company called NeuroTech."

Lena's heart stopped. "NeuroTech? The biotech firm that gave him the grant?"

"Exactly." Ethan leaned in. "I think NeuroTech is using Julian to develop this interface for military applications. Memory manipulation, behavior control—imagine what an army of soldiers with that technology could do."

Lena felt sick. "But Marcus—he's a veteran. Is he part of this?"

"Probably." Ethan sighed. "Lena, we need to go to the authorities. Now."

Lena shook her head. "We can't. We have no proof. Julian will just deny it, and we'll end up like Eleanor."

"Then what do we do?" Ethan asked.

Lena took a deep breath. "We get proof. Solid evidence that can't be denied. And we do it without Julian knowing."

She glanced at the door, half-expecting Julian to appear. "Meet me tonight at the old observatory. Bring everything you have."

Ethan nodded. "Be careful, Lena. Julian's not someone to mess with."

Lena forced a smile. "I know."

But as she left the lab, she couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching her.