Page 9 of Silent Dust
Charlotte's gaze swept over the scene. She nodded toward the medics. “Get her ready for transport. I want her at the hospital now. Monitoring her vitals—oxygen—everything. We’re not wasting time.”
Then, Charlotte bent down, her voice softening with a hint of reassurance, though her eyes still held a chilling intensity. “We’ll get through this,” she said, as if reciting a script.
Flora watched her, confused. Charlotte had shifted gears. The act was effective, but something was off; she just couldn't place it.
As the Narcan coursed through her system, Flora felt a flicker of hope. She needed to stay focused. With every passing second, Flora felt her grip on consciousness wavering, but she was determined to hold on long enough to ensure that the truth about this chemical threat would not be buried along with her.
Her thoughts strayed to her family. She could see Stephan’s face, strong and resolute; Rhys’s intelligence shining through his serious demeanor; Kenzi’s boundless energy radiating joy; and Amelia’s mischievous grin that always managed to lighten the mood. Yet, alongside those comforting images came a wave of sorrow. She felt the weight of guilt settle heavily on her chest, a reminder of the things she hadn’t shared with Stephan, the anger and frustration she had bottled up inside that had caused a rift in their relationship. She had let her fears and insecurities build walls between them, and now, in this moment of desperation, she regretted not confiding in him.
A desperate plea formed in her mind: she had to get home to them. She needed to mend what was broken, to bridge the gap that had grown between them. She wanted to tell him everything about the fears that haunted her, the burdens she carried alone. She had to make it back to him, to show him that she was still there, still fighting for them.
4 – CHARLOTTE
A wicked smilecrept across Charlotte’s face, one she fought to suppress but couldn’t completely smother. It was a smile fueled by pure ambition, a delicious thrill coursing through her veins at the thought of finally stepping into the spotlight. Soon everyone would see her true worth—how indispensable she was, how she had been waiting patiently for her moment to shine. Flora’s absence would leave a vacuum, and Charlotte was more than ready to step in and claim it.
Charlotte lounged in her car behind the ambulance, her eyes fixed on the scene through the windshield. She watched as the vehicle pulled into the hospital bay, doors swinging open to reveal the flashing lights and hurried figures inside. A wicked smile tugged at her lips, one she fought to suppress, but it refused to fade. Her fingers tapped a slow, rhythmic beat against the steering wheel, each tap echoing her mounting anticipation. Soon, she thought. They’ll see. Everyone will see who truly holds the power here.
The ambulance’s engines hummed as it coasted to a stop, and then the doors swung open, releasing a flurry of activity. Charlotte’s gaze narrowed, her heart pounding—not with nerves but with something darker, more ravenous: the hunger tobe recognized as the irrefutable authority. It was almost intoxicating.
Flora’s fight was dragging on longer than she liked, but she was patient. Every second that ticked by was a moment her rivals underestimated her, a chance to deepen her own hold on the future.
Her mind drifted back nearly four months—a rainy afternoon in that same coffee shop near the beach. She had been waiting for her usual order when a cluster of men entered, moving with easy confidence. Bear and his team. She recognized Bear immediately—Flora’s husband—from her visits to the medical examiner’s office. His presence seemed to fill the room effortlessly.
Across the shop, seated at a small table, was Wally Mintor. She noticed the way his gaze was fixed, almost reverently, on Bear. His hands trembled subtly as he fidgeted with a napkin, darting nervous glances between Bear and the entrance. There was longing in his eyes, desperate and raw, paired with an aching invisibility. Another unseen player—one she could see but no one else did.
In that moment, Charlotte’s mind clicked. Wally’s fragile obsession with Bear, his yearning to be noticed—it was a weakness waiting to be exploited. A tool she could use to sweep away Flora, to clear the path for her own ascent.
She had approached him soon after, weaving herself into his world under the guise of friendship, planting seeds of confidence and ambition. Over months, she groomed him carefully, making him reliant, making him believe she alone saw his worth. He was unaware he was becoming a pawn in her grand design.
Charlotte leaned back, studying her reflection in the dark glass of the dashboard, her face a mask of poised confidence, shadows dancing across her features. Flawless hair, impeccable makeup, that subtle tilt of her chin—the picture of control. Sheenvisioned herself walking into the office, heels clicking with purpose, her voice steady and commanding. They’ll call me first, she thought. The case everyone whispers about. The recognition, awards, honors—those were already hers in her mind’s eye.
Her thoughts spun faster than a well-oiled machine gone haywire—visions of colleagues nodding with deferential silence, whispers of admiration swirling like a secret chorus behind her back. She pictured herself commanding the room, the unrivaled expert everyone turned to when the impossible cases landed. Titles and accolades were mere trifles; in her mind, she was already the brilliant forensic mind solving mysteries others couldn’t. Flora’s struggles? Mere footnotes—obstacles easily crushed beneath her ascent. Across hushed hallways, her name—Charlotte—was spoken in awe and quiet reverence, the one who never failed, who cracked the unsolvable.
Her gaze flicked back to the road, shadows stretching and twisting beneath the streetlights, echoing the fierce hunger coiling within her. Patience was a brittle mask, barely concealing the cold fire driving her. The recognition she craved wasn’t idle chatter; it was the emblazoned beacon summoning her to the most high-profile, career-defining cases. The cases no one else could solve. The honors, the fame, the legacy—all waiting to be claimed.
Her fingers traced the steering wheel with restless precision while her mind raced ahead, plotting every move with relentless clarity. This waiting was a prison—this lull a calculated pause before her inevitable conquest. Flora’s resilience was nothing—a mere blip soon to be erased by her brilliance. Her rise? It wasn’t just certain—it was fated. She needed only the perfect moment, the right fracture in the facade to break through as the undisputed authority.
Finally, as the frantic bustle outside began to wane, Charlotte shifted, steadying herself. The engine’s quiet snick punctuatedthe silence like a starting gun. The car slid effortlessly into motion, blending into the night’s current.
But in her mind, the real case was just beginning. She would be called first, hailed as the mind who saw what others missed, solving secrets locked tight. The expert. The legend.
And soon, the world would have no choice but to answer.
5 - BEAR
Link’s voicecrackled over the secure SAT phone. All teammates, via earpieces, tuned in.
“Incoming transmission, secured channel,” Link announced.
A hush fell over the room, the air thick with anticipation. This was the moment they’d been waiting for—orders confirmation, a decision pending. Then, Michaels’ voice cut through.
“Bear, it’s Michaels. I’ve got some… tough news. Do you want the team to listen or speak privately?”
Bear glanced around the room, his heart pounding in his chest. He could see the concern etched on their faces, the unspoken bond that tied them together. “We’re family,” he replied, his voice firm despite the turmoil inside.
“Flora… she was exposed to Silent Dust during an autopsy.” Michaels’ words carried a weight of grief that settled like a stone in Bear’s gut. A cold shiver ran down his spine, the words echoing in his mind.
Flashes of Flora flooded his thoughts—her focused demeanor as she bent over the body, her hands precise and steady. He later recalled snippets of Michaels explaining the crystalline tissue, the undetected nick in her PPE, the invisible particles that hadinfiltrated her system. The reality of the exposure hit hard; the Dust was airborne, and it had immediately affected her lungs.
