Chapter 2
Three days flew by.
I spent seventy-two straight hours in the lab, and finally cracked Linda's solubility issue. The PEG-400 and ethanol mix at a 3:7 ratio shot up to 96%.
The data was so impressive that everyone broke out into applause.
But over at the Langley family, things were clearly not going so well.
That afternoon, when I went to pick Evan up from daycare, the teacher pulled me aside.
"Mrs. Sinclair, today a woman showed up wanting to take Evan home. She claimed to be his stepmom. We didn't let her take him, but she was pretty pushy," said the teacher.
I squeezed Evan's hand a little tighter.
"What did she look like?" I asked.
"Fairly young, sunglasses, drove a white Land Rover. Said her last name was White," she replied.
It was Claire.
"From now on, unless I'm the one picking him up, don't let anyone else take him," I instructed.
"Understood." The teacher nodded.
I bent down and gently touched Evan's head.
"Did anyone scare you, honey?" I asked.
Evan shook his head. "That lady said she's my new mom. But the teacher wouldn't let me go."
"Good. You only have one mom."
Evan nodded firmly.
That night, once we got home, I changed the door code to our apartment.
My phone buzzed.
David, whom I'd blocked earlier, texted me from a new number.
David: [Nora, Claire only wanted to check in on Evan. No need to be so uptight.]
I shot back: [Don't touch my son.]
David: [He's a Langley.]
I stared at that message for five seconds.
Then I dialed my lawyer, Mark Saunders.
"Mr. Saunders, I want to amend the custody agreement. Add a clause that no one can see Evan without my approval. That includes David and anyone associated with him," I said.
"Mrs. Sinclair, that's pretty tough. Mr. Langley may not accept it," Mark warned.
"If they push back, we'll settle it in court."
"Alright. I'll have the notice sent out first thing tomorrow," Mark said.
After hanging up, I found Evan building blocks on the living room floor.
He'd made a square little house with two tiny figures standing at the door.
"Mom, look! This is our house. This is you, and this is me," Evan said, pointing.
There was only two of us.
My chest tightened, but I quietly sat beside him.
"You did an amazing job," I praised.
The next day, the lawyer's letter landed at the Langley family.
David called while I was elbow-deep in an experiment.
"Nora, what's the deal with this lawyer's letter?" he demanded.
"It means exactly what it says," I shot back.
"Evan's my son too."
"Sure, but custody's with me. If you want to see him, you ask first. If you bring Claire anywhere near my kid, I'll see you in court."
"Don't you think you're overreacting?"
"How many times have you actually looked at Evan in the last five years? Do you remember his birthday? His blood type? Ever bothered to check what he's allergic to?"
He went dead silent.
"He's allergic to mangoes. First reaction was when he was two and a half. It was the middle of the night, two a.m. I carried him to the ER all by myself. Where were you then?" I demanded.
He didn't speak.
"You were shacked up at Claire's apartment," I said.
I hung up without waiting for a reply.
James strolled over, coffee in hand, and passed me a cup.
"Handled it?" he asked.
"Yeah," I said.
"You look like you're finally back to yourself."
"Back to myself?"
"Sharp."
I took a sip, feeling the warmth, and headed back to the lab bench.
At four, Linda rushed over, practically glowing with excitement.
"Dr. Sinclair, the new animal test results are in. Every-other-day dosing bumped efficacy from 62% to 89%. Liver toxicity? All clear," she reported.
I grabbed the report, flipping through each page.
"Perfect. Get the IND paperwork ready," I said.
"IND? Already?" Linda blinked.
"The data's solid. I'll write up the Phase I protocol tonight."
The whole team exchanged looks, jaws dropping.
IND was the Investigational New Drug application.
Once that was approved, SN-7 would go straight into human clinical trials.
That meant we were a few steps from hitting the market.
James set his coffee down, eyes on me.
"Nora, you realize once the IND goes out, your name's gonna be everywhere," he said.
"I know," I replied.
"Everyone in the industry will know you're the brains behind SN-7."
"So be it."
*****
It took two weeks to get all the IND paperwork ready.
Three things happened during those two weeks.
First, Claire officially moved into the Langley Estate.
I found out on social media. David's cousin, Emily Langley, posted a bunch of photos with the caption: [Welcome home, Claire.]
In the pictures, Claire was in a cream-colored dress, standing in the living room of Langley Estate, Samuel and Sophie each holding one of her hands.
Eliza was right there too, smiling like she'd won the lottery.
That spot? Three weeks ago, it was mine.
I scrolled past the post without a second thought and went right back to my lab data.
Second, Harmony Pharmaceuticals came knocking again, this time throwing out a 150 million dollar offer.
I turned them down, again.
Henry sounded genuinely confused on the phone.
"Ms. Sinclair, it's 150 million dollars, upfront," he clarified.
"Mr. Warren, I was pretty clear last time," I said.
"Ms. Sinclair, running clinical trials takes a mountain of cash. And with your company's size, no offense—"
"My funding isn't your problem."
"Then can I ask how you're planning to cover the clinical trial costs?" he pressed.
"You can't."
After I hung up, James handed me a glass of water.
"Honestly, funding is a real headache. Once the IND's approved, Phase I alone will eat up at least 10 million dollars," he said.
"I know," I replied.
"How much do you have on hand?"
"Two million in my personal account. 2.5 million in the company account."
"Still not enough."
"Which is why there's a third thing."
I pulled a file out of the drawer.
James took it, glanced at the first page, and shot to his feet.
"You bundled and licensed out those three patents?" he asked.
"Overseas licensing for SN-3 and SN-5. Total fees: 15 million dollars. The money lands in our account the day after tomorrow," I said.
"When did you negotiate this?
"Every night these past two weeks, after Evan was asleep."
James stared at me for a long moment, something unreadable in his eyes.
"Nora, how did you even survive those five years with the Langley family?" he asked.
"Other people just raised three kids. I raised three kids and secretly read research papers and wrote patents," I said.
"And during the day?" he asked.
"During the day, I cooked, did laundry, dropped the kids off, picked them up, made health tonics for Eliza. At night, after everyone was asleep, I'd sit in the kitchen, scrolling through databases on my phone."
James didn't say a word.
"Five years. I never stopped," I said softly.
The third thing happened on Friday afternoon.
I was in the lab, going over the IND paperwork, when the front desk called.
"Dr. Sinclair, someone's here to see you," the receptionist said.
"Who is it?" I asked.
"He says he's your former father-in-law."
I paused for a moment.
It was Richard Langley, Eliza's husband.
He was the real head of the Langley family.
"Send him to the conference room," I said.
I took off my lab coat and headed downstairs.
When I pushed open the conference room door, Richard was already inside. He wore a gray trench coat, his hair streaked with silver, but his presence was calm and commanding.
His assistant stood quietly behind him.
"Nora, have a seat," Richard said.
I sat down across from him.
"Is there something you need, Mr. Langley?" I asked.
"Heard you're working on a new drug?" he asked.
"Yeah."
"SN-7？"
I raised an eyebrow, surprised he knew the project code.
"Richard, you're really well-connected," I said.
"People in business always have their ear to the ground. Nora, if your drug really works, it'll be a game-changer," he replied.
"So?"
"Langley Pharmaceuticals is looking for new projects right now. I'm here to talk about a possible partnership."
I leaned back in my chair.
"Richard, I'm divorced from your son," I said.
"I know," he replied.
"Then you should also know why we got divorced."
Richard was silent for a couple of seconds.
"David really did you wrong," Richard said.
"Did me wrong? That's an understatement. He made me raise two kids from another woman for five whole years," I shot back.
"That's why I'm here strictly for business, nothing personal."
"Nothing personal?"
I stood up.
"Richard, please leave. No one from the Langley family or any of your companies will ever do business with me," I said.
Richard looked at me, silent for a long moment.
Finally, he stood up and grabbed his coat.
"Nora, you've changed," he said.
"I haven't changed. I've always been this way. It's just that during those five years with the Langley family, none of you ever bothered to notice me," I replied.