Chapter 46
Chapter 46:
Across the city, in the sterile, brightly lit underground laboratory of Apex Bio, the atmosphere was something else entirely.
June stood over a centrifuge in a crisp white lab coat and safety goggles, her eyes fixed on the digital display as a vial of bright blue liquid spun at a dizzying speed.
Brogan Clements walked into the lab carrying two paper cups of black coffee. He held one out to her.
“You have been staring at that screen for thirty hours,” Brogan said, a warm note in his voice. “If you don’t sleep, you’re going to collapse before the gala tonight p>
June accepted the cup. The heat seeped into her cold fingers.
She looked up at the main monitor. The final stability metrics flashed across the screen in bright green numbers.
A genuine, breathtaking smile broke across her face — the first real smile in weeks.
J𝗼in 𝘵𝗁𝘦 𝖼𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂ոі𝘁𝗒 а𝘵
“It stabilized,” June whispered. “The second-generation neural blocker is ready. We can present the full data tonight p>
Brogan did not look at the screen. He looked at her face — at the way the fluorescent light caught the quiet, hard-won determination in her eyes. His admiration was raw and entirely unguarded.
“Tonight,” Brogan said softly, with absolute certainty, “the whole of New York is going to know your real name, June p>
The grand ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria was a sea of glittering chandeliers and gold-leafed ceilings. It was Friday night — the pinnacle of the Global Bio-Tech Summit — and the room was packed with Wall Street titans, medical pioneers, and the city’s elite.
Camera flashes exploded near the entrance as Cole Compton walked in. He wore a bespoke tuxedo that fit his broad shoulders with precision. Clinging to his arm was Alycia in a dramatic white lace gown, the blinding Van Cleef diamond necklace catching every light in the room. Right behind them came Susan and Richard Beasley, Susan holding her new Himalayan Birkin conspicuously high against her chest, ensuring every photographer in range captured the exotic leather.
Alycia flashed a practiced, sorrowful-yet-brave smile for the cameras and absorbed the attention like a sponge.
On the far side of the ballroom, June stood quietly in the backstage preparation area near the audio-visual control booth, going over the final presentation slides with Dr. Zhang. She wore a minimalist, long-sleeved black velvet gown — no logos, no plunging neckline, no jewelry. Yet the stark contrast of black fabric against her pale skin made her look devastating. She looked like a blade sheathed in velvet.
She was not hiding. The sheer scale of the crowd and the blinding press cameras simply kept her out of Cole’s immediate line of sight.
Halfway through the dinner service, the lights dimmed. The host took the stage and announced that Apex Bio had achieved a revolutionary breakthrough in neural repair.
The room erupted in applause as Brogan Clements walked to the podium.
At the VIP table near the front, Susan Beasley rolled her eyes and reached for her champagne. She leaned toward the socialites seated beside her, a condescending smile arranged carefully on her lips.