Her framework rejected anomaly.
“This is trauma patterning,” she stated. “You’re assigning meaning to coincidence.”
She maintained distance from the infant.
However, she observed one inconsistency.
The infant’s gaze.
It did not wander randomly. It fixed repeatedly.
On David.
That night, Ruby stayed.
At 3:17 AM, she woke without expectation.
Same activation.
Same directional certainty.
She approached the room.
Door open.
David at the crib.
Again.
“You shouldn’t be afraid,” he said.
“I’m not afraid,” she replied.
He corrected her.
“Not him. The part that stayed.”
The model shifted.
