Chapter 1

Seraphina Vance, CEO of Aethelred Innovations, stood with Elias Thorne, her CTO and co-founder.

They looked out over Silicon Valley from their office window.

Aethelred was their creation, a leader in biotech and AI.

People called them a power couple.

Seraphina was the driven leader, Elias the quiet genius.

"Mess with Elias, and Seraph will end you," was the whisper in the industry.

Their current focus was "Project Chimera," an AI designed with strong ethics.

It was their shared dream, their future, almost like their child.

Seraphina squeezed Elias' s hand.

"We're building something amazing, El."

He smiled, a rare, warm thing. "We are, Seraph."

That was their golden age.

Then, the storm hit.

Not a literal storm, but a corporate one.

A hostile takeover bid, brutal and unexpected, threatened to tear Aethelred apart.

Or maybe it was industrial espionage, a massive attack that nearly crippled their systems.

Panic filled the boardroom.

Seraphina fought, day and night, Elias by her side, trying to protect their company.

Just when things looked darkest, Julian Croft appeared.

Seraphina knew him from an old, failed venture.

He presented himself as a consultant, a miracle worker.

He proposed a series of daring, possibly borderline illegal, maneuvers.

Desperate, Seraphina agreed.

Against all odds, Julian' s plan worked. The takeover was averted. Aethelred was saved.

Seraphina felt a crushing weight of gratitude.

She owed Julian, immensely.

Julian didn' t let the opportunity pass.

He found Seraphina alone, looking exhausted but relieved.

"Seraphina," he said, his voice smooth and concerned. "There's something I need to tell you."

He looked pale, almost fragile.

"I'm dying, Seraph. An aggressive cancer, untreatable."

Seraphina stared, shocked.

"My last wish," Julian continued, a faint tremor in his voice, "is to see a project I conceptualized with you, years ago, come to life here at Aethelred. To feel your professional esteem one last time."

Seraphina' s mind raced. Julian' s old ideas were often flashy but ethically dubious. Elias would hate them. The board would question them.

But he was dying. He had saved her company.

"I need to repay you, Julian," she said, her voice low. "But how?"

She couldn't just hand him a major project, not without raising alarms.

An idea, desperate and dangerous, formed.

She would feign a breakdown. Extreme stress, compromised judgment.

It would explain her sudden favoritism towards Julian, her irrational decisions.

She confided in Ms. Albright, her loyal executive assistant.

"It's temporary, Evelyn," Seraphina insisted. "Just until Julian... passes. Then I'll make everything right with Elias. He'll understand."

Ms. Albright looked deeply concerned but nodded slowly. "If you're sure, Ms. Vance."

Seraphina wasn't sure, but she pushed the doubt away. This was a debt she had to pay.

Elias watched Seraphina change.

The vibrant, decisive woman he loved became erratic, stressed, almost a stranger.

She announced Julian Croft was joining Aethelred in a senior advisory role.

Elias was wary. He remembered Julian' s reputation.

Then, Seraphina, citing her "burnout," promoted Julian to oversee key strategic initiatives.

Elias found himself sidelined.

His team was reassigned to Julian' s projects.

Julian, with Seraphina' s silent backing, began to publicly question Elias' s past contributions, suggesting his methods were outdated.

Elias tried to talk to Seraphina.

"Seraph, what's happening? This isn't you. Julian's ideas are..."

"Elias, I can't deal with this right now," she'd snap, rubbing her temples. "I trust Julian's instincts. He saved us."

The worst came when Julian proposed a new flagship project, one that required diverting all resources.

It was flashy, aggressive, and skirted several ethical lines Elias held dear.

To fund it, Seraphina announced Project Chimera, their "child," was being indefinitely shelved.

Elias felt a part of him die.

He was forced to work on aspects of Julian' s project, tasks that felt like a betrayal of everything he believed in.

His principles, his "heart's blood," were being drained for Julian.

Elias felt lost, confused by Seraphina' s transformation and cruelty.

He couldn't understand why she was destroying everything they had built, including their relationship.

He needed answers.

Late one evening, he walked past Seraphina' s office. The door was slightly ajar.

He heard voices. Seraphina and Ms. Albright.

He paused, not meaning to eavesdrop, but then he heard his name.

"Elias is suffering, Ms. Vance," Ms. Albright said, her voice full of concern. "And Project Chimera... it meant so much to him."

"I know, Evelyn, I know," Seraphina's voice was weary, strained. "But Julian doesn't have much time. That terminal diagnosis... it' s aggressive. This is the only way I can repay him for saving the company. Once he's gone, I'll fix everything. I'll make it up to Elias. He just needs to hold on a little longer. This fake breakdown, this stress... it's all an act to give Julian what he wants before he dies."

Elias froze.

Fake breakdown. Julian' s terminal illness. Her plan to "fix things later."

The world tilted.

His suffering, the sacrifice of Chimera, Seraphina' s coldness – all a calculated deception.

Not for her, not for Aethelred, but for Julian. A manipulator.

The pain was a physical blow, stealing his breath. It wasn't grief; it was something colder, sharper.

The love he felt for her, the trust, shattered into a million pieces.

Elias didn' t storm in. He didn' t shout.

The next morning, he walked into Seraphina' s office. She looked surprised to see him.

His face was calm, but his eyes held a profound, quiet sorrow that chilled her.

"Seraphina," he said, his voice devoid of its usual warmth. "I overheard you and Ms. Albright last night."

Seraphina' s composure cracked. Her eyes widened. "Elias, I can explain..."

"No," he said softly. "You can't. Not this. I can't live in this... charade."

He placed a single sheet of paper on her desk. A formal resignation letter.

"I'm leaving Aethelred. And I'm leaving you."

"Elias, please, don't do this. It's not what you think. I love you." Her voice was desperate.

He looked at her, and for a moment, she saw the man she loved, the pain in his eyes.

Then it was gone, replaced by a distant resolve.

"The Seraphina I loved wouldn't do this," he said. "Goodbye."

He turned and walked out.

Within hours, Elias Thorne had vanished.

He emptied his personal accounts. He meticulously erased his digital footprint associated with "Elias Thorne."

It was as if he had never existed.

The "soup" of oblivion, in his own way, had been drunk.