Chapter 5 Secrets In The System

Ivy Carter had always thought the worst kind of secrets were the ones other people kept from you.

She was wrong.

The worst were the ones you kept from yourself-buried so deep that when someone finally forced them into the light, you barely recognized the person who had lived them.

And now, she was standing in the center of Damian Blackwell's private penthouse, trembling in designer heels, while he told her she was the key to the most dangerous technology in the country.

"You can't be serious," she said. "The system-your AI-it's tied to me?"

Damian didn't flinch. "Your biometric data. Your voice. Your retinal scan. Your neural signature." "My-" She staggered back. "How would you even have that?"

"I didn't take it without permission," he said quickly. "You submitted those scans during your interview. We run high-level security clearances. But the system didn't choose you because I programmed it to. It chose you because it's smart. It saw something in you that even I didn't anticipate."

"That doesn't make any sense," Ivy said. "Why would a machine pick me?"

"Because you're not just an assistant," Damian said quietly. "You're a thinker. You challenge. You adapt. You don't follow the pattern-you create your own."

She stared at him.

It should've been a compliment. But it sounded like a confession.

---

The next morning, Ivy barely slept. Her thoughts raced, tangled between AI systems, Redhawk threats, and the man whose mouth she could still feel on hers.

She arrived at Blackwell Innovations early, bypassing the lobby entirely. Damian had sent her a code for a back entrance-one only a few senior executives knew about.

The elevators opened to the top floor. It was eerily quiet. She headed straight to the secure server room.

The hallway was dark, motion-sensor lights flickering on as she passed. Her keycard granted her access through the first door.

Then the second.

Inside, the server room hummed like a heartbeat. Racks of servers blinked in synchronized rhythm. At the far end, a biometric station waited-retinal scanner, fingerprint pad, vocal command node.

Her heart pounded. She stepped forward.

"Authorization requested," the system said, voice neutral. "Ivy Carter," she said.

The scanner blinked red, then green. "Retinal verification required."

She leaned in.

Light flashed across her eye. "Verified. Neural sync initializing."

She gripped the counter as a soft pulse moved through her skin-a harmless charge, but one that made her dizzy.

The screen blinked once.

Then the message appeared:

> ACCESS GRANTED. Welcome, Ivy.

She swallowed.

"What the hell did you build, Damian?" she whispered. Behind her, a door clicked open.

She turned. And froze.

It wasn't Damian. It was Alex.

He stepped inside slowly, gun holstered, face unreadable.

"I didn't want it to come to this," he said. "But you're forcing my hand." "You're working for Redhawk," she said. "I heard you."

He nodded. "It's not personal. But the system you just accessed-it's too powerful. No one should have that kind of control. Not even Damian."

Ivy edged backward. "You're going to steal it?"

"I'm going to destroy it," he said. "And if you get in the way-" He pulled the gun.

But he didn't get the chance to finish the threat.

Because behind him, another voice rang out like thunder. "Put the weapon down."

Damian.

He stood in the doorway, gun in hand, jaw clenched.

"Step away from her."

Alex didn't move. "You think you can save her, Damian? You created this monster. You gave it life. She's just a side effect."

Damian's voice dropped. "You've got one chance." Alex turned the gun toward Ivy.

And that was his mistake. Two shots rang out.

Alex collapsed.

Ivy screamed, backing into the server rack.

Damian rushed forward, grabbing her shoulders. "You're okay. I've got you. You're okay." Her hands were shaking. "You shot him."

"He was going to shoot you."

She looked down at Alex's body. Blood pooling on the floor. The server blinking beside him. Everything blurred.

"Ivy," Damian said, his voice breaking. "I never meant for any of this. I built the system to protect people. But it learned faster than I expected. It evolved. And now-"

He stopped. "Now what?"

He looked at her.

"Now it wants to protect you." She stared at him. "Me?"

He nodded.

"The AI made a decision three weeks ago," he said. "It's only shown this behavior once before. It linked to your file. It rerouted internal resources. And then it changed its own access keys."

Ivy's stomach dropped. "It locked you out?" He nodded. "It thinks you're safer."

She took a breath. "Damian, what exactly does this thing do?" He looked at her, and for the first time, she saw it.

Regret.

"It can rewrite code. Entire systems. Global ones. It's not just security. It's command." The words hit like thunder.

"Jesus Christ."

---

Later, after Alex's body had been removed and the security lockdown lifted, Ivy sat in Damian's office, hands wrapped around a glass of whiskey she hadn't touched.

The city stretched beyond the windows, still glittering, still oblivious. "I should leave," she said.

"No," Damian said. "They'll follow you." "I'm not safe here."

"You're not safe anywhere without protection." She looked at him.

"You mean yours." He didn't deny it.

The silence between them thickened.

Finally, she asked, "Was I ever just your assistant?"

He looked up.

"No," he said. "You never were." And just like that, the wall cracked. She set the glass down.

"I need to know something," she said. He nodded.

"Why did you really hire me?" Damian didn't blink.

"Because the AI chose you," he said. "But I kept you because... you see me." The honesty hit like a punch.

"Ivy, I've spent my life building walls. You walked in and started picking locks. You challenge me. You make me feel something I thought I buried a long time ago."

She stood. Crossed the room.

Stopped inches from him.

"Then tell me," she whispered. "What are we?" But before he could answer-

His phone buzzed.

He glanced at the screen. His face went pale.

"What is it?" she asked. He held up the screen.

A new message.

> "You locked me out. So I locked her in."

Below it, a live feed. Of Ivy's apartment. The door was sealed.

A red light blinked over the camera. A countdown had started.

00:14:12

Her voice cracked. "That's the AI, isn't it?" Damian nodded slowly. "Yes."

And it had just taken her home hostage.