Chapter 3

A line of text popped up on the screen: [Starling Project Team: Core Member.]

I paused for a couple of seconds and then tapped into the permissions management panel.

It read: [Main Repository Admin: Eloise Dixon.

[Primary Data Reviewer: Eloise Dixon.

[Partner Tech Liaison: Eloise Dixon.

[Midterm Review Respondent: Eloise Dixon.]

My name was listed after every single entry.

Yet on the stage today, the first author wasn't me.

I turned on my computer and started downloading the handover form, following the usual steps.

Before my fingers even touched the keyboard, the office door swung open.

Antonio walked in, drenched from the rain, his tie askew.

Gwen followed right behind him, clutching the trophy and bouquet.

A few team members lingered in the hallway, not daring to come in.

When Antonio saw me sitting at my desk, his tight jaw relaxed a little.

"I knew you'd come back," he said with certainty, the same way he had a hundred times over ten years.

After every argument, I'd always find my way back to the lab, because the project was still ongoing, because he was still there, and because I couldn't bring myself to let all our efforts go to waste.

He thought this time would be the same.

I opened the handover system.

"I'm here to hand over the files," I said.

Antonio walked over to my desk and pressed his palm down on the mouse.

"Eloise, are you done making a scene?" he said.

Gwen stood by the door, biting her lip.

"Eloise, I know you're not feeling great. But the project defense is next week, and the partners are coming. If you walk away now, Antonio's really going to be stuck," Gwen said.

I looked at Gwen.

"You're the first author," I said.

Gwen's eyes immediately glistened with tears.

"But I've only been back for a year. There are still so many details I'm not fully familiar with," she replied.

I smiled.

"Then why did you sign off on it?" I pressed.

Gwen clutched the trophy.

The edge of the trophy pressed against her arm, leaving a red mark.

Antonio frowned.

"I made the call on the authorship. Why are you taking it out on her?" he said.

I wasn't taking it out on anyone.

I slid the mouse out from under his hand and opened the folder.

There were twelve top-level directories: Raw Sample Records, Equipment Calibration Logs, Phase Three Failure Data, Partner Meeting Minutes, Ethics Supplementary Statement, and Pre-Clinical Safety Assessment.

Every folder had a date next to it.

Some dates were three in the morning. Some fell during Christmas. Some lined up with the days my father was in the hospital.

Gwen glanced at them, and her face stiffened.

Antonio kept his eyes on the screen, his tone softening.

"Look at this. You've got everything sorted out. Eloise, you keep saying you're quitting, but deep down, you can't walk away from the project," he said.

I put the handover form up on the shared screen.

"These are the materials cleared for public handover from the institute's server. I'll make sure everything's transferred according to protocol," I said.

Antonio's gaze darkened.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

I clicked on another tab.

I said, "My personal lab notebooks, draft calculations, unpublished algorithm iterations, and informal emails with the overseas team aren't part of the project's public assets.

"If you need to reference them in the future, you'll have to submit a formal request to me through the proper channels."

The office went dead silent.

One of the young team members standing by the door sucked in a breath.

"So what about the adaptive parameter model for next week's defense—" he started.

But before he could finish, someone next to him tugged at his sleeve.

Antonio looked at me, his voice low.

"Eloise, the model is part of the project," he said.

"The final code for the model is in the main repo," I replied.

I pulled up the repo permissions.

"Every version's been tracked. You guys can use it," I said.

Gwen asked in a low voice, "So why was the model changed like that? Which parts match up with the failure data sets? And where's the explanation for all this?"

I met her gaze.

Her eyes wavered.

Antonio immediately said, "Gwen is just asking."

I printed out the handover form.

The printer hummed, spitting out sheet after sheet of white paper.

"The explanations are in my lab notebook. Before every defense, I'd always put together the highlights for you all. But that's not happening anymore," I said.

Antonio's fingers tightened.

"Do you really have to go this far?" he said.

I picked up the papers and signed them one by one.

"Just doing things by the book," I said.

Gwen stepped closer, her voice soft.

"Eloise, Antonio always says you're the one who keeps the team together. You know, if something goes wrong with the project next week, it won't just be me who looks bad," she said.

I finished signing the last page and clicked the pen shut.

The sound was sharp and clean.

"Dr. Clark, you're the first author now," I said.

Gwen's face went even paler.

Antonio finally lost his temper.

"Eloise, you're taking it out on the whole team," he snapped.

The people by the door didn't even dare to breathe.

I slid the handover form over to him.

"Sign for it," I said.

He didn't take it.

So I placed the papers right in front of him.

"By 3 PM, I'll transfer the permissions for the public files to you. By noon tomorrow, my desk will be cleared out," I said.