At BioQuant, Jonathan Vale and Ashley Renfield reran the sequence Catherine had corrected earlier that morning.
The results appeared one after another across the monitors.
Jonathan leaned forward while Ashley watched the screen almost without blinking. One graph stabilized. Then another. Finally, the simulation completed without a single error.
"It worked," Ashley whispered.
A slow smile spread across Jonathan's face.
"Of course it did." He folded his arms, unable to hide his excitement. "Now we can finally prepare for the trials."
He wasn't even surprised anymore.
Whenever Catherine corrected something, it worked.
Without saying another word, Ashley gathered the pages covered in Catherine's handwritten notes. A lighter clicked open, and a small orange flame licked the corner of the first sheet.
Jonathan instinctively glanced around the laboratory. It was empty. The other researchers and technicians had left already.
