Introduction

I opened my eyes to a sterile hospital room after three years in a coma, a miracle, Dr. Reed called me. My memory, a slow agonizing puzzle, was finally whole. I remembered everything.

The first person I saw wasn' t my fiancé, Mark. It was my old professor, Dr. Reed, holding my hand, her face a mix of relief and concern.

Mark Harrison was waiting at the entrance of our house, looking older, his face etched with ambition, not grief. He didn' t rush to hug me, didn' t even smile.

"Ava," he said, his voice flat. "You're back."

Then she emerged: Chloe Davis, my old rival, now standing on my doorstep with a triumphant smile, her arm wrapped around Mark' s. On her wrist, my patented smartwatch gleamed.

"Chloe has been a rock for me," Mark announced, looking at her with practiced adoration. "We're engaged."

A month after my car crash – a supposed accident – he was engaged. A month after that, her company acquired a crucial patent from my firm.

From inside, Spark, my AI companion, spoke. Its warm, inquisitive voice now clipped, devoted to Chloe. My home, stripped of my art, my books, everything that was me.

"Chloe has taken over the company and our lives," Mark snarled, his patience gone. "You'll just have to accept it." He expected tears, but I felt only relief.

The fog was gone. I saw him for what he was.

"Okay," I said, my voice calm and even. "I accept it."

He stared, confused. I was not the woman he thought he had destroyed. My purpose here wasn't to reclaim a lost love, but my life's work.

Then came the child' s wail. Chloe rushed out, blaming my "legacy systems" for a scratch on a boy named Alex.

"It wasn't a malfunction," I stated, pointing to the error log. "The command came from your smartwatch, Chloe. You probably held Alex's arm just a little too close to it."

Her face went pale, then contorted with manufactured fear for Mark' s benefit.

"You are unbelievable," Mark spat, blocking my path. "Something you could never give me."

"I want access to Spark," I demanded. "I am the creator."

"You have no rights!" he yelled. "Spark is not your company's property, Mark," I replied, my voice dangerously low. "Spark is mine."

He knew that wasn' t an empty threat. He knew what I was capable of.