Toxic Air, Toxic Love—His Regret Came Too Late

A toxic gas leak erupted in the research institute. When I finally found the last gas mask, I realized it had been replaced with a child’s toy mask.

I pounded desperately on the locked hatch door:

“Ethan Miller, open the door! Mom is still inside, her health is fragile—if this continues, she’ll die!”

Just a door away, my husband tenderly embraced Chloe White, his little protégée, holding in his hand the very gas mask I had searched for in despair.

He ignored my pleas for help, a mocking smile tugging at the corner of his lips:

“Rachel Carter, when Chloe’s research won the International Science Award Gold Medal, you reported her for fraud. You got her banned from the academic community, and she was bullied online for an entire year!”

“You’ve always claimed that blind mother of yours is your most precious treasure. Well, now it’s time you learned what it feels like to lose the most important thing in your life.”

The poison invaded my body, weakening my limbs, and I collapsed to the ground. Still, I forced out a final hoarse scream:

“Ethan, you bastard! The one lying in there is your own mother!”

But Ethan sneered:

“Rachel, so this is how low you’ll stoop when you’re desperate—lying through your teeth.”

“Pity. I’ll admit your scientific skills are strong, but your acting skills are pitiful.”

Blood welled in my eyes as I roared:

“I’m not lying, Ethan! Mom came today to cook for me, to deliver lunch in person! When the gas leak started, she tripped, broke her leg, and now she’s lying helpless in the corner. If you don’t save her soon, it’ll be too late!”

Before Ethan could respond, Chloe covered her mouth and let out a tinkling laugh:

“Margaret Miller is New York’s richest woman, a CEO worth billions. Everyone knows she never liked you—why would she personally cook you a meal?”

“Rachel, the gas must have gone to your head. You’re completely insane.”

My vision darkened with rage. Ignoring Chloe’s taunts, I slashed my wrist with a lab syringe. The blood and pain kept me awake.

I turned my gaze back to my husband, still begging:

“Ethan, if you won’t open the door, then at least give me the gas mask! I already hit the emergency alarm—if Mom can just hold on ten more minutes with the mask, the medics will arrive.”

But his eyes glinted strangely. Following his gaze, my heart plummeted. Ethan had cut the signal wires!

Then, with icy eyes, he tore the last gas mask in half before me and crushed it underfoot. My final hope shattered along with it.

“Back then, when you exposed Chloe, she begged you to let her go. And what did you say? That as head of the Research Institute, you couldn’t tolerate someone desecrating national resources!”

“Chloe’s fraud only cost the government a few million dollars, but you still got her expelled from the entire academic world!”

Three years ago, leveraging Margaret’s funding of my project, Ethan had forced Chloe—his childhood sweetheart—into my institute, polishing her résumé with my work.

If Chloe had behaved quietly, I might have turned a blind eye. But she stole my entire team’s data to win that award!

As a researcher serving the United States, living on taxpayer money, I could never tolerate an academic fraud in my lab!