Chapter 3

"Host, her life signs are failing. This is no longer a planned trial. This is an execution."

The system's voice was different now. It was no longer just urgent; it was pleading. It was a machine, yet it seemed to possess more compassion than the man it served.

Mark's reply was instant and devoid of any emotion. "Stick to the plan. She needs to understand that actions have consequences."

His words were so absurd, so twisted, they would have been laughable if I weren't bleeding out on a dirty floor. What actions? My crime was trusting him. My crime was loving him. My crime was existing in a way that inconvenienced his plans for Celeste.

"This is not my fault," he said, and I realized he was justifying himself to the system, or maybe to himself. "Celeste needs my protection. She sacrificed everything in our last life to ensure I could be reborn with the system. I owe her this. Ava... Luna... she should have understood her place. She should have supported me without question. This is a burden we all must share."

He called me Luna again. I didn't know who that was, but it didn't matter. He was talking about a past life, a debt I knew nothing about, and using it as a reason to murder his wife. He was telling a machine that my death was a shared burden. The sheer gall of it was breathtaking.

A memory flashed in my mind. An argument we' d had a month ago. Celeste had made a critical error in the water purification system, nearly poisoning a dozen people. I had pointed it out, trying to fix it before it became a catastrophe. Mark had defended her fiercely.

"You're too hard on her, Ava," he'd said, his jaw tight. "She's been through a lot. You need to be more understanding."

"People could have died, Mark," I had argued, baffled by his reaction.

He had softened then, pulling me into a hug. "I know. You're right. You're always right. That's why I need you. Just... be gentle with her. For me."

He had promised me he would handle it. He had promised me my concerns were valid. Another lie. He wasn't protecting a fragile protégé; he was enabling a co-conspirator. He was already choosing her over me, over the safety of our entire community. My 'action' was being competent. My 'consequence' was this.

I was a problem he needed to solve, and this was his final solution. He was letting me die so Celeste could have his undivided attention, his protection. So she could take my place.

My hazy vision focused on the broken doorway. A new shape was silhouetted against the dim emergency light. It was bigger than the others, heavier. Its guttural growl was deeper, more menacing. The smaller creatures scattered, skittering away from the newcomer.

My heart, which I thought couldn't sink any lower, plummeted. Mark wasn't just letting me die. He had sent in the alpha. He was making sure the job got done.