Truth in the Bones

Under the spotlight, I held up the reagent bottle of the "Newborn" experimental drug and spoke into the microphone in a steady, grave voice: "This will be a milestone in the history of human medicine." No sooner had the words left my lips than a sudden commotion erupted at the back of the room. Nancy Shaw's father, hunched and determined, pushed a small cart through the security guards' blockade and charged straight toward the stage. "Chris Lewis! Stop right there!" Nancy's father's voice was hoarse, raw with grief and fury. The entire hall fell into stunned silence, every camera fixated on the stage. With a sudden, furious motion, Nancy's father whipped off the black cloth covering the cart, revealing a pale skeleton inside a transparent specimen box—silencing the room in shock. "This is my daughter, Nancy Shaw!" Nancy's father slammed both hands onto the specimen box, his knuckles white. "She died on the Lewis Group's drug trial bench! Four hundred and thirty-seven drug tests—each one tearing apart her organs and tissues!" My grip tightened around the reagent bottle, forcing myself to stay calm. "Mr. Shaw, I understand the pain of losing your beloved daughter, but you must not confuse right and wrong." "I'm the one confusing right and wrong? You're the one distorting the truth!" Nancy's father shouted, his eyes blazing with anger. "Nancy Shaw took 20 million public funds from my company five years ago and eloped with another man." I spoke deliberately, word by word, "How could such a treacherous thief possibly be our drug trial subject?" Nancy's father was stunned, then grew even more agitated: "You're talking nonsense! Nancy is not that kind of person! You're the one who forced her!" He lunged at me, trying to grab my collar, but the security guard held him down firmly. "Take him away." I waved my hand, my voice cold. "Chris Lewis! You deserve no peace! You'll pay for this!" Nancy's father's roar slowly faded away. Assistant Bruce hurried forward: "Mr. Lewis, should the press conference continue?" "Continue." I gripped the reagent bottle tightly once again. Bruce turned around to calm the crowd: "Ladies and gentlemen of the press, the disturbance a moment ago was caused by unauthorized individuals and has been handled. The press conference will now continue." I cleared my throat and said, "The clinical data for the newborn special-effect drug has undergone rigorous review. All trial participants signed legal agreements, and the entire process was monitored by a professional medical team." A reporter immediately pressed, "Mr. Lewis, Mr. Shaw claims his daughter, Nancy Shaw, participated in 437 drug trials. Does that name appear in the trial records?" "No." I answered firmly, "The list of trial participants is public and verifiable—this name does not exist." "Then how do you explain this skeleton?" Another reporter pressed the question. "Perhaps they mistook the person, or it's a deliberate frame-up." My voice was icy cold. "I will have the legal department launch an investigation." The press conference ended reluctantly. I ordered Bruce, "Dispose of that specimen box." "Mr. Lewis, could this cause problems down the line?" Bruce hesitated. "Do as I say." I emphasized my words firmly. In the empty conference hall, that skeleton hung like a shadow behind my eyes. I was filled with doubt: how did that woman, who vanished five years ago with embezzled funds, end up as cold bones?