THE DISCOVERY
The clinic was located in a converted storefront between a check-cashing service and a liquor store that opened at 6:00 AM for the early shift workers. Sophia had passed it a hundred times without noticing, her eyes focused on destinations rather than the spaces between them, her mind occupied with calculations that left no room for observation.
Today she noticed everything. The peeling paint on the door frame, the flickering fluorescent light in the waiting room, the plastic chairs that had supported generations of anxiety. The receptionist was young, maybe twenty, with dyed blonde hair and a tattoo of a bird on her wrist that suggested aspirations beyond this counter, this clipboard, this fluorescent-lit purgatory.
"Name?"
"Sophia Hart. I have an appointment."
The rece
