The motel air conditioner sputtered weakly against the heat.
Katherine sat at the small table, flipping through Lily's hospital file. Her eyes lingered on the ECG printouts, the jagged waves whispering countdowns she couldn't ignore.
A knock came.
She froze.
Then—“It's me," Aiden called softly.
She opened the door. He held two paper bags and a coffee.
“I didn't know if you ate."
“Lily's napping."
“I figured." He stepped in and looked around. “This place is…"
“Quiet," she finished. “Anonymous."
They sat opposite each other. Neither touched the food.
“I got a call this morning," Aiden said. “The ethics board filed our clearance request. We're officially approved for phase one. Zahra's team starts calibration tomorrow."
Katherine exhaled. “Then it's happening."
“Yes. But Meredith
