The Year I Stopped Being His novel Chapter 539

The wind rustled through the bare branches of the sycamore trees outside, casting a flurry of dry, scratching sounds against the glass. Sunlight filtered through the twigs, illuminating Garrison's pale but profoundly calm face.

"I know," he said evenly. "I'll be that person."

Vanessa's brow twitched, but she quickly masked her reaction.

"You need to think this through, Garrison. You know better than anyone what this means!"

"Not only will your medical license be revoked, but you'll be stripped of your position on every ongoing research project. You'll face a total blacklist from the academic community—and that's to say nothing of the prison time. Unauthorized human experimentation is a serious offense. Once the charges are formalized, administrative detention will be the absolute minimum. If deemed severe, a felony conviction is guaranteed."

"And beyond the legal ruin, you'll be buried alive by the media. They won't care about the technological breakthroughs of Project Evernight. They'll paint you as a lunatic—a deranged scientist playing God with human lives. You'll become the next Vivienne, only a hundred times worse."

"Your reputation, your social standing, everything you've painstakingly built over your entire life—it will all be destroyed."

Garrison fell silent. He stared down at his half-cold latte, absentmindedly stirring the liquid. The milk foam had completely deflated, leaving only a shallow ring of brown bubbles at the rim.

He watched the tiny bubbles pop, one by one. A sudden, cynical smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he murmured to himself, "Maybe this is just karma."

"What did you say?" Vanessa didn't catch it.

"Nothing." Garrison looked up, his amber eyes locking onto hers with unwavering certainty. "I'll take the fall for all of it."