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Ryan.
    Her heart began racing wildly and she felt sick to her stomach. How could she have messed up so terribly already? She began cataloging all the mistakes she'd made, all the times the other two candidates had made her look bad. The more she thought about it, the more convinced she was of her own failure. She was so preoccupied that, when she finally heard what Letizia said to her, it took her brain a full minute to process the words.
    "Your mother's been in an accident," Letizia repeated. She hunched over, bringing her eye-level with Dara, and Dara saw a flicker of concern pass through her master's gaze.
    "My mother? What?" Dara felt like the floor dropped out from under her. Her knees buckled, throwing her weight forward, making her lean heavily on Letizia.
    "Whoa there," Javier said, helping Letizia to steady Dara. The two of them eased her into a chair.
    "What do you mean she's been in an accident? Where? Where is she? Take me to her!" Dara cried, leaping up. Letizia restrained her with gentle hands, forcing her back into the chair.
    "You can't see her right now. She's been taken to the med center," Letizia said, her voice as gentle as her hands had been.
    "How bad is it?" Dara whispered, terror making it difficult for her to even form the words.
    "I don't know. I'm sorry. All I do know is that it's very serious."
    Raising a shaky hand to her temple, Dara felt the dampness on her face and swiped at tears she hadn't realized she was crying.
    "My father, I need...I need to find my father." She made a move to get up but, once more, Letizia restrained her.
    "Your father is at the med center with your mother. I spoke to him directly; he's the one who asked me to let you know. He wants you to stay here."
    "What? Stay here? I don't... I can't..." Her thoughts were so jumbled that she couldn't make sense of them, but she did know that what she wanted more than anything was to get to her mother.
    "Your father said there's nothing you can do for your mother right now. There's nothing anyone can do. He wants you to stay here and keep working."
    "Keep working? How can I keep working right now? I..."
    Letizia glanced around the room, a frown on her face. "Come with me."
    As Dara tried to rise to her feet, her knees shook. Looking around once more, Letizia put an arm around Dara's shoulders, allowing her apprentice to lean against her as they moved out of the engineering area. Letizia led Dara into an unused conference room and closed the door.
    "Letizia, I can't stay here. You know that, right? I have to get to my mother," Dara said, crying in earnest.
    "I understand." Letizia's expression was sympathetic. "But your father insisted he wanted you to stay here. He said that you worked hard for this and Head of Engineering Andersen would appreciate your dedication."
    The words set off a bomb inside of Dara, and she understood why her master had led her to a secluded area. Grateful for the privacy, she allowed herself to slowly fall apart, her entire body heaving with the violence of her sobs.
    "They were your father's words, you understand," Letizia said softly. She had a supportive grip on Dara's elbow and Dara had the wild sensation that if Letizia let her go, she would float up and away.
    "How could he think... How can I possibly concentrate right now?"
    Letizia was quiet for a long moment. "Productivity is a good means of focusing the mind and forgetting what troubles us. There is peace and fulfillment in productivity. This is something all good Contributors, like your father, understand."
    "Does the Head of Engineering know about this?"
    "Yes."
    "What did he say?"
    "He said you should do what you must."
    "I should do what I must?" Dara repeated dumbly, looking at her master. Letizia's eyes were cold. "What does that mean?"
    "It means he's leaving the choice to you."
    "And he'll evaluate me based on my choice?" Dara asked, realization dawning on her.
    Letizia simply nodded, and Dara's stomach heaved so forcefully that she ran to