Chapter 2

The gala officially began. Waiters moved through the crowd, serving the main course from silver platters. The air filled with the rich, savory scent of grilled meat.

A large screen on the wall displayed a promotional video. It was for AuraTech' s newest, most profitable venture: lab-grown meat. The video boasted of its ethical production and superior quality.

David' s voice narrated the video, cool and confident. He spoke of innovation, of a future free from traditional farming. A future he had built.

I looked down at the plate of an influential guest I was serving. The perfectly seared piece of meat sat in the center. A chill ran down my spine as a horrifying realization dawned on me. The cellular replication algorithms, the very foundation of the lab-grown meat' s biological process, were also part of the code he had stolen from me.

It was an extension of my work, twisted and repurposed. They weren' t just wearing my family' s legacy; they were eating it. The thought was so grotesque, so vile, that my stomach churned.

I stumbled, my hand shaking. The tray of glasses I was holding clattered to the floor, shattering on the polished marble.

The noise drew everyone' s attention.

A security guard grabbed my arm, his grip like iron. "Watch what you' re doing!" he snarled, shoving me back.

I lost my balance and fell hard, my head hitting the floor. Pain flared through my skull.

Through a haze of pain, I saw David look over. Our eyes met for a fraction of a second. There was a flicker of something in his expression-annoyance, maybe a hint of recognition-but he quickly looked away, dismissing me as a clumsy caterer. He turned back to his conversation, not sparing me another glance.

Chloe watched the whole thing, a contemptuous smirk on her face. To her, this was just entertainment.

The guard hauled me to my feet, his fingers digging into my arm. "Get back to the kitchen. You' re done for the night."

As he dragged me away, I heard one of David' s top executives, a man named Marcus, raise his glass.

"A toast!" he declared loudly. "To David, and to the end of the Miller Textile era! Their outdated methods are history, and their assets are now fueling our future!"

The crowd cheered. Someone else shouted, "It' s delicious! Who knew their legacy would taste so good?"

Laughter erupted. They were celebrating the destruction of my family, feasting on the spoils of their corporate raiding.

The guard shoved me into the chaotic heat of the kitchen. My head was pounding, my body ached, but the physical pain was nothing compared to the seething inferno of rage and humiliation inside me.

I was trapped, forced to listen to their cheers and laughter, a helpless witness to my own desecration. The system malfunctions I had triggered were just the beginning. They would pay. They would all pay.

Hours later, the gala ended. I was taken back to the detention facility, not to my sterile room, but to an interrogation chamber. It was cold and dark.

David was waiting for me.

He leaned against a metal table, the picture of calm authority.

"That was a pathetic display tonight, Sarah," he said, his voice devoid of any emotion.

I said nothing, just stared at the floor.

"All of this drama," he sighed, gesturing around the room. "Your family' s company was failing. I gave their assets a new purpose. I gave you a safe place to land. And this is how you repay me? By causing a scene?"

The sheer audacity of his words stole my breath.

"Our relationship... it was a fling, Sarah. A stepping stone. You were useful for a time. I thought you were smart enough to understand that."

He called our love, the years I dedicated to him, a 'fling' . He dismissed the future we planned as a simple transaction.

"I know you' re angry," he said, his tone softening into something almost condescending. "But you won' t do anything. You can' t."

He stepped closer, his shadow falling over me.

"Because deep down, you still love me. You' re broken, but you' re still mine. You' ll never be a threat."

He truly believed it. He believed he had crushed my spirit so completely that I was incapable of fighting back. He saw my pain as a sign of weakness, not the fuel for a coming storm. The arrogance was staggering.

He turned to leave, pausing at the door.

"I was going to come and see you properly tonight, check on you," he said, as if it were a great kindness.

Just then, his phone buzzed. It was Chloe. I couldn' t hear her words, but his face softened.

"I' m on my way," he said into the phone. He hung up and looked back at me, a final, pitying glance. "She needs me."

The door slid shut, leaving me alone in the darkness.

I heard the faint, distant sound of their laughter as they left the building together, heading for the life that should have been mine.

Outside my window, the decorative lights of the AuraTech tower pulsed with a soft, rhythmic glow. They were powered by my code. The entire building was a monument made from the bones of my family' s legacy.

And it was all about to come crashing down.