Chapter 3

Friday afternoon, Milo's teacher called me. He was wheezing badly after his nap, and the medicine box in his backpack was empty.

The spare inhaler had run out the week before, and Katherine had promised to replace it.

She had forgotten.

I called her three times, but there was no answer. She hung up on my fourth call, then sent a message.

Katherine: [I'm in a product planning meeting. Handle it yourself.]

Katherine still had the car, so I grabbed the medicine and rode my scooter to the school.

Halfway there, it started pouring.

Near the entrance to the overpass, a sedan crossed the solid line to change lanes. I had no time to swerve, and my handlebar clipped the car's side mirror.

The scooter crashed onto the side of the road.

My helmet struck the median barrier and cracked.

I sat on the ground for several minutes to steady myself. Then I reached into a puddle and retrieved the medicine before anything else.

The packaging was soaked, but the inhaler still worked.

The traffic police called an ambulance. I asked them to contact the school, then sent Katherine my location.

Ten minutes passed before she replied.

Katherine: [Gabby already went to pick him up. You can't even deliver medicine without something going wrong. You've been nothing but trouble lately.]

…

At the hospital, the doctor diagnosed me with a mild concussion. I needed six stitches in my left leg and had to stay for observation.

That night, Milo's teacher called to tell me he had used his inhaler and was stable.

I asked where he was.

She hesitated for a moment. "Mr. Connors picked him up. He said he's the boy's father."

I offered no explanation.

After I hung up, I saw that Katherine had posted a video on Instagram.

In the video, Gabriel sat with Milo at a dessert shop. A cup of ice cream sat in front of Milo.

Gabriel gently wiped cream from Milo's mouth. The caption read: [No matter how busy I am, I'll always make time to be there for him.]

Someone commented on how patient the boy's father was.

Katherine replied: [He's always been great.]

I saved the video, then reminded her that Milo had just suffered an asthma attack and shouldn't be eating anything cold.

She responded with a voice message. "Gabby asked the staff. It's room temperature. The kid just had a scare. What's the harm in a little treat? Worry about yourself first. Don't make us go to the hospital to take care of you again."

A nurse's aide asked if I wanted her to notify my family.

I said no.

…

At 9:00 p.m. that night, August called. He had already reviewed the raw experimental records I had submitted.

"The institute has reserved a position for you as project lead. We can arrange the equipment and a full team. The only requirement is that the core technology cannot remain with the original company," he said.

I looked down at the bandage on my leg. "The technology never belonged to her company in the first place. All they ever had was a partial, intermediate version."

I had kept the complete set of iteration parameters and the control program with me the entire time. The product Gabriel had developed using that patent could pass laboratory testing. But once it entered mass production, the margin of error would increase with every batch.

"When can you start?" August asked.

"The 10th of next month. Milo's transfer paperwork is already underway," I replied.

He promised to have housing and a laboratory ready for me.

After the call, I signed the offer confirmation and sent it back.

…

Three days later, I was discharged.

Katherine never showed up. Instead, she sent her assistant with a bank card that supposedly held 4,000 dollars for my medical expenses.

I checked the balance. There was only 1,000 dollars on the card.

The assistant looked embarrassed. "Ms. Sommer has been busy preparing for the launch event. Finance might have entered the wrong amount."

I handed the card back.

Just then, an email invitation arrived on my phone. The sender was Gabriel.

Gabriel: [We would be honored to have Mr. Lawson join us for the celebration of our new low-temperature energy-storage materials and witness our achievement firsthand.]

A promotional poster was attached to the invitation. Gabriel stood in front of the laboratory equipment, with the title "Chief Scientist" displayed beneath his photo.

The banquet was scheduled for the 28th.

I checked the date and replied: [I'll be there.]

…

On the night of the 28th, I removed the bandage from my leg and headed to the hotel.