Chapter 9 - The Anatomy of CrueltyBy 2:00 AM, the isolation ward had transformed from a prison into a trauma suite.
Dr. Thorne, Rachel, and Chloe stood around Goliath in the treatment bay. The overhead surgical lamps flooded the horse's neck in pure, sterile light. Rachel held the lead rope, her fingers rhythmically stroking the bridge of Goliath’s nose while Chloe administered a gentle, legitimate intravenous sedative.
"Why didn't you come to me directly, Chloe?" Dr. Thorne asked as he scrubbed the infected tissue with povidone-iodine.
"Tyler made sure I knew that his father had dinner with the university chancellor every month," Chloe said softly, keeping her eyes fixed on Goliath’s fluttering eyelashes. "He cornered me in the feed barn. He told me that if I said a word, he would ensure my veterinary license was blacklisted before I even graduated. I panicked. I took the thumb drive, hid it on Goliath because I knew Tyler was terrified of him, and tried to drive home. He followed my car... he ran me into the ditch on Route 9."
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Rachel felt a cold shiver run down her spine. "That's why Tyler staged the break-in at the Dean's office. He thought Chloe had left the drive in the department files."
"Cruelty is rarely an isolated incident," Dr. Thorne remarked, his scalpel deftly incising the superficial layer to drain the pocket of infection. "It begins with small compromises—a forged signature, an overlooked symptom, a feeling of superiority. Left unchecked, it turns humans into monsters."
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