chapter2

The next morning when I entered the lab, Chloe was sitting in my chair.

Her back was to the door, staring at my computer screen. As I walked over, she'd just clicked open a data folder—containing experimental results I'd organized last month.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

She jumped, turning around with that practiced innocent expression on her face. "Ella! Ryan told me to familiarize myself with your work progress. He said I need to supplement some background materials for next week's group meeting."

"This is my computer." I said. "And my data."

"Lab resources are all shared." She stood up, pushing the chair back to its original position, movements slow and deliberate. "Don't be so tense, I'm not going to steal your stuff."

As she left, I caught the scent of her perfume. It was that anniversary gift Ryan gave me last year—I'd said it was too strong and didn't use it. Turns out he'd given it to her instead.

I sat down and entered my password to log in. Everything looked normal until I clicked on the lab's shared file system.

The popup box made me freeze.

"Access denied. Your account has insufficient permissions."

I tried three times, same red text each time. Yesterday I could view all project files, today I couldn't even open the most basic experiment logs. My name was still on the member list, but the permission column had changed from "Administrator" to "Guest."

Chloe's permissions had been upgraded though. I caught a glimpse of her login interface she hadn't closed—her account had an "Advanced Member" tag.

I took a deep breath and opened my email. The inbox held a system notification sent at dawn, subject line "Account Permissions Adjustment."

The email was very official, saying this was to improve data security and optimize team collaboration.

The sender was Ryan's administrative assistant, but the approver column bore his signature.

My hand paused on the mouse for a few seconds. Then I closed the email and took my flash drive from the drawer.

Fortunately, I had a habit of backing up the most important things locally.

I started copying data, folder by folder.

At the midday group meeting, Ryan had Chloe report on "recent research progress."

She stood up and opened a presentation file.

The title on the first page made my stomach tighten—it was the preliminary conclusion I'd just organized last week, hadn't told anyone yet.

"Through analyzing existing data, I discovered some new patterns." Chloe's voice was sweet and confident. "This is very inspiring for our next research direction."

The phrases she used were identical to what I'd written in my notebook.

I looked at Ryan. He sat at the head of the long table, hands clasped on the surface, a slight smile on his lips. When Chloe made a key point, he even nodded, that "I'm so proud of you" nod.

After the meeting, I cornered him in the break room.

"What Chloe just presented was mine." I said. "She shouldn't be publicly sharing those findings without my consent."

Ryan sighed, that "here we go again" sigh. "Ella, Chloe's just learning. Your data is the lab's common property, we need team spirit."

"Team spirit doesn't include letting her pretend those are her discoveries."

"She's not pretending." His voice hardened. "She's reporting on behalf of the team. You're too sensitive, always taking credit too seriously."

He turned and left after saying that, going to catch up with Chloe who'd already walked to the end of the hallway.

I heard him say, "That was very well presented, let's discuss some details further."

Back at my seat, my phone vibrated. A message from Mara.

"Ella, it's been a while. How are things? Last time you said that model was close to a breakthrough, still going well? I've always felt if you weren't staying there, you'd have had much better opportunities by now."

I looked at those words, my nose suddenly stinging.

Mara was someone I'd met at an academic conference, leader of the Antarctic research team.

Two years ago she'd asked if I wanted to apply for their project. I said I needed to stay at school to help Ryan establish his foothold.

She'd said then, "Is stopping for him worth it?"

I knew the answer now.

I typed back: "Not going well. My data permissions were revoked, others are publicly claiming my discoveries."

Less than five minutes after sending the message, her call came through.

"Ella," her voice came through the receiver, steady and strong, "I need you to listen carefully. From now on, don't conflict with anyone. Quietly back up everything you can get—experiment logs, emails, anything that proves your work. I'll give you secure storage space."

"Why help me?" I asked.

"Because I've seen your previously published work. You're talented, you shouldn't be treated this way." She paused. "And I hate seeing people waste their talent. Pack your things, prepare to come to Antarctica. It's cold here, but at least it's clean."

After hanging up, I logged into an encrypted storage website using the link she sent. I uploaded screenshots of today's permission notice, meeting records, and the audio I'd secretly recorded of Chloe's presentation.

With each file uploaded, that pent-up fire in my chest cooled a bit, becoming something more solid.

Like ice, hard and sharp.

Before leaving work, Chloe came to my workstation again.

This time she was borrowing my specialized reference book—out of print, I was the only one in the department who had it.

"Ryan said my theoretical foundation in this area needs strengthening." She said with a smile. "You don't mind, right?"

I handed her the book without saying anything.

After she left, I opened my calendar. Seven days until departure for Antarctica.

Time enough. Enough to take everything that belongs to me, enough to leave all the evidence of how they bullied me.