Chapter 3

The door opened. Mr. Peterson was escorted in, a cut on his lip, but his demeanor was infuriatingly calm.

The arrival of Aegis Solutions' representative had clearly shaken Liam and Noah, but not enough.

Whispers followed Peterson into the room, not from him, but from the guards outside.

"Aegis? Are they serious?"

"Hayes's people? What's she gotten into?"

Liam and Noah were visibly unsettled, pacing in the observation room I could see through the one-way glass.

I focused on my breathing, on escape. This facility was a maze, but I knew tech.

Liam entered the room, alone this time. He looked tired, the charismatic mask slipping.

"Ava," he began, his voice softer, "this is a mistake. Peterson, whoever he is, can't protect you from CyberCorp. Only I can."

He hesitated, a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes. "Just tell me what's on that chip."

A fragile window. But I wouldn't take it.

Peterson cleared his throat. "Mr. Carter, your assumptions are incorrect."

He then turned to me, pulling a small, velvet box from his pocket.

"Mr. Theodore Hayes asked me to deliver this personally, Ava. A token of his esteem, and a reminder of his commitment."

He opened it. Inside, a simple, elegant platinum band, an engagement ring. Julian' s ring.

Noah stormed in then, his face a mask of fury.

He snatched the box from Peterson' s hand and threw it against the wall. The ring clattered to the floor.

"Esteem? Commitment?" Noah spat. "She' s a corporate spy! He' s probably one of her contacts, trying to extract stolen data!"

He pointed a finger at Peterson. "You' re a fraud, and she' s a liar."

Liam looked from the ring to me, his expression hardening again. "Detain them. Separately."

His security chief, a brutal-looking man named Marcus, grabbed Peterson.

"No!" I cried out, but Marcus backhanded Peterson across the face, hard.

Peterson stumbled, blood trickling from his nose, but his eyes met mine, steady, reassuring.

I felt a surge of helpless rage. They were animals.

Later, Liam came to my room. The "nice" cop routine.

"Ava, just tell us who you're really working with. We can make this all go away. CyberCorp will listen to me."

I remained silent, staring at the wall.

A flash of memory: Liam, in my first "rebirth," his face contorted with a strange mix of love and rage as he held me under the water. "You shouldn't have tried to leave me, Eliza," he'd whispered, except he'd used Eliza's name, not mine. The water was so cold. My lungs burned.

Then, a different memory, not a premonition, but real.

Years ago, Liam and Noah, young, charming, showering me with attention after Eliza vanished.

"We'll take care of you, Ava," Liam had said, his arm around my shoulder.

"You're like a sister to us," Noah had added, but his eyes held a different light.

Deceptive benevolence. They had cultivated my trust, my affection, all while seeing me as a replacement.

"I am not Eliza," I said, my voice hoarse.

"You are her substitute, her shadow. And you both know it."

I stood up, facing him. "You don't want to protect me. You want to own me, just like you wanted to own her."

His face tightened. He grabbed my arm, his fingers bruising. "Don't you dare say her name."

A flicker of pain, then his grip loosened slightly.

Noah burst in. "Is she talking yet?"

He saw Liam holding my arm, my defiant expression. His eyes went cold.

"Maybe she needs a more permanent reminder of her place." He gestured to Marcus, who entered with a stun gun.