Chapter 3

Back in my car, the cold, mechanical voice returned, a chilling companion in my solitude.

`[System Alert: New life path available. Choice required.]`

`[Option A: Expose the truth, seek justice, and reclaim your life.]`

`[Option B: Complete the mission. Donate the bone marrow. Erase all emotional ties and achieve system completion.]`

I stared at the dashboard, my hands gripping the steering wheel. Option A was what any sane person would choose. It was the path of righteous anger, of fighting back.

But I was tired. So incredibly tired. The thought of fighting them, of more confrontation, more lies, more pain, was exhausting. What life was there to reclaim? A life built on a lie? A life where I was a pawn in someone else's sick game?

I laughed, a hollow, empty sound.

"Option B," I whispered to the empty car. "I'll do it. Let them have it."

`[Warning: Option B carries a high risk of self-termination. Confirm selection?]`

"Confirm," I said, my voice flat. Let it end. Let them take what they want. Then, I would be free.

I drove to the hospital. Not for me, but for them. I needed to see it, to see the family I had been sacrificed for.

In the pediatric oncology ward, I heard them before I saw them. Nurses were cooing, talking in hushed, admiring tones.

"Mr. Miller is such a wonderful man."

"I know! To take in his deceased wife's sister and her sick children... he's a saint."

"And Ashley is so brave. Fighting her own illness while caring for her kids. They're a perfect family."

A perfect family. The words cut through the sterile hospital air.

I rounded the corner and saw them through the glass window of a patient room. Ethan was there, standing next to a hospital bed where a small boy lay sleeping. He wasn't in his wheelchair. He was leaning over, stroking the boy's hair. Ashley was on the other side of the bed, holding the hand of a little girl who looked pale and frail.

Ethan looked up and his eyes met Ashley's. He gave her a small, reassuring smile. It was a look of such genuine love and shared purpose that it stole the air from my lungs. They looked like a real family. A husband, a wife, their two children, united against the world.

And I was the outsider. The ghost haunting their perfect picture.

The system's initial verdict on my wedding day flashed in my mind. `System Failure`. It wasn't just about losing Mark. It was about this. Because of that day, because of Ethan's "rescue," I had lost the chance to ever have this. A family. A husband who truly loved me. Children. That future had been stolen from me and handed to Ashley on a silver platter.

I pushed the door open and stepped inside.

The idyllic scene shattered. Ethan's face went rigid. He instinctively moved to block my view of Ashley, a protective gesture that spoke volumes.

Ashley, however, composed herself instantly. Her face transformed into a mask of gentle, wounded concern.

"Chloe," she breathed, her voice soft and full of fake sympathy. "You came. I'm so glad you're okay. We were so worried."

She looked so fragile, so innocent, clutching her daughter's hand. The perfect victim. The brave mother. She was a master of her craft.

"I can't imagine how you must be feeling," she continued, her eyes welling up with crocodile tears. "To find out about Ethan... it was all for me. He was just trying to protect me." She subtly shifted, making sure I could see the IV drip in her own arm.

Ethan stepped forward, his face a mess of conflicting emotions. He tried to take my arm, his voice dropping into that familiar, soothing tone he used to manipulate me.

"Chloe, honey, let's go home. We can talk about this. I can explain everything."

He was still playing the part. The loving, if deceitful, husband. He was trying to manage the situation, to smooth things over, to keep his perfect little world intact.

I looked from his desperate face to Ashley's triumphant, pitying gaze. I saw the two sick children in the bed, the unwitting justification for all this horror.

My heart, which I thought had turned to stone, felt a final, crushing weight.

But my mind was clear. My decision was made. I would not be moved by his lies or her performance. They wanted my bone marrow? They would get it. And then, I would be done with them forever.

I pulled my arm away from Ethan's grasp.

"There's nothing to explain," I said, my voice devoid of any emotion. "I'm here to see the doctor. To schedule the donation."