Chapter 11 - The Fake Aunt
“Rebecca Turner” was not a person.
The number routed to a Northshore compliance desk.
The email address routed to Kara Pike’s team.
Why create a fake maternal aunt?
Emergency authorization.
If an adverse event occurred and neither listed parent could be reached, the study protocol allowed an alternate family contact to approve transport to the designated clinic.
That was already questionable.
The fake aunt made it worse.
Kara denied creating the entry.
Audit log identified:
Dana Rusk.
Clinical manager.
Dana said Dr. Hale instructed staff to ensure every pediatric subject had redundant family contacts.
“Did he tell you to invent relatives?”
“No.”
“Then why did you?”
“Some families did not have alternates.”
“Then leave the field blank.”
“The system would not advance enrollment.”
Another required field defeating truth.
Dana chose completion over accuracy.
The fake contact appeared on five pediatric subjects.
Not only Leo.
That meant the practice was systematic.
Northshore’s general counsel placed Dana on leave.
NerveLine suspended Dr. Hale from study operations pending independent review.
The Redwood transaction paused.
No acquisition announcement.
No massive collapse.
Due diligence simply stopped.
That alone cost the companies leverage.
Money pressure moved upward now.
The same people who demanded children complete ninety days suddenly had time for investigation.
Jennifer filed for divorce from Greg.
Not because the company told her anything.
Because the phone, documents, and Leo’s statements made returning unsafe.
Greg contested temporary financial arrangements.
He also asked through counsel for supervised contact with Leo.
The court deferred broader decisions pending child welfare review.
Leo did not want to see him.
That mattered.
Not always decisive legally.
But heard.
Jennifer struggled with guilt.
Not because she caused the implant.
Because she missed things.
Weight loss.
Fear.
School dismissals.
Greg’s scanner.
“Why did I believe him?”
Thomas answered carefully during one follow up visit.
“Because he gave you explanations that sounded ordinary.”
“I should have looked.”
“Maybe.”
She stared.
He continued.
“But looking later is not the same as authorizing what happened.”
He did not give her a slogan.
He gave her the distinction.
Jennifer needed that.
Then the forensic team decoded more of Greg’s reader.
A secure file contained research instructions not present in the official training portal.
PDF:
N09 Enhancement Plan.
Author:
Simon Hale.
Recipient:
Greg Turner.
Hale had communicated directly with Greg.
Why?
Because N09’s data was unusually valuable.
The plan recommended:
Controlled fasting window.
Cold exposure through normal outdoor activity.
Timed academic frustration.
Social rejection simulation.
No physical force.
No confinement.
No threats.
The protocol was deeply disturbing for unsupervised home use even with disclaimers.
One line:
Caregiver should maintain natural authority dynamic.
Another:
Subject should not perceive task as research challenge where possible.
In other words, Leo was not supposed to know when stress was being induced for data.
Ethically explosive.
Greg adapted it brutally.
Cold exposure became standing outside without a jacket.
Academic frustration became tearing homework and making Leo redo it.
Social rejection became telling him Jennifer was disappointed.
Natural authority became fear.
Then Greg asked Hale by message:
Can I use garage time? He hates being alone there.
Hale:
Absolutely not. Review limits.
Greg:
Produces clean spike.
Hale:
No confinement.
That message helped separate responsibility.
Hale designed troubling research.
Greg violated explicit boundaries.
Then, two weeks later:
Greg:
Garage works best.
Hale did not respond.
But the server continued accepting the data.
No one stopped enrollment.
Silence became operational consent.
Then one final file surfaced.
N09 FAMILY VALUE.
Not stress value.
Financial.
Northshore planned to pay Greg an additional 40,000 dollars after the Redwood diligence phase if N09 data were selected for the acquisition package.
Greg had never told Jennifer.
His real potential compensation was over seventy thousand dollars.
May you like
No wonder he panicked when Thomas touched the cheek.
Continue to the next part: Greg stood to earn far more than the disclosed study payment if Leo’s data helped sell the technology.
