Page 33 of Fractured Devotion
“Thank you, Dr. Varon.”
She moves to turn away, then pauses. “I reran the calibration script on the secondary channel. That’s why the readings appear cleaner this morning. If there’s still noise, I can reprogram the threshold filters manually.”
I study her for a moment longer.
“Have you been sleeping, Mara?” I ask.
She stills. “I’m fine.”
Her reply is too fast. Too firm.
“We need clarity,” I say. “Not endurance.”
Her jaw flexes, and for a moment, I think she might argue. But then she nods and says, “Understood.”
When she leaves, the office feels emptier. It feels like the absence of something I hadn’t realized grounded it.
Alec steps inside moments later.
He looks good today. More composed than usual. Or maybe just harder to read. He wears black slacks and a charcoal shirt with the sleeves rolled to the elbow, and his expression isunreadable. There’s a strain around his mouth, like he hasn’t slept either.
“You got to the clinic early,” he says.
“So did you.”
He walks over and leans against the edge of the desk. “You always come in before the lights are on?”
I shrug. “Couldn’t sleep.”
He nods, like that explains everything. And maybe it does. Maybe neither of us needs to ask what it is we’re trying to outrun. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a flash drive, turning it between his fingers.
“Reyes gave this to me,” he says.
I tilt my head. “Why?”
“He didn’t say. He just slipped it into my palm and walked away.”
“That doesn’t sound like him.”
“No. It doesn’t.”
I hold out my hand, and Alec passes the drive over without a word. I insert it into the secure port, bypassing my usual encryption. A folder opens.
I find archived trial logs and my early notes. Things I never thought I’d see again.
My throat tightens as I scroll.
“These were sealed. Some of this was destroyed before the tribunal. How does he have it?”
Alec doesn’t answer. He doesn’t have to. The silence between us is heavy, tangled with memory.
I close the folder. “Why now?” I ask. “Why would he give it to you?”
“Maybe he thinks you need to remember who you were.”
“And who was I, Alec?”
He pauses, then says, “Brilliant. Dangerous. And completely alone.”
