Chapter 35

Kelsey POV

The police precinct smelled the way television shows always depicted it: a nauseating blend of burnt coffee, ozone from ancient printers, and the sharp tang of sweat.

I had spent the drive to the station staring blindly out the passenger window, watching the world blur past in meaningless streaks of color. I saw pedestrians waiting at crosswalks, couples laughing outside restaurants, and teenagers lingering under streetlights. They were all going about their ordinary lives, perfectly unaware that my universe had collapsed.

For the longest time, I thought memory was like a light switch—either dark or blindingly bright.

I was wrong. But sitting in the scuffed, sterile quiet of this precinct, the final barrier in my mind gave way, and the warmth of my past rushed in to melt the remaining ice.

I didn't just remember my name or the divorce contract—I remembered us. I remembered the original synchronization blueprints I had built for h