The Genius Betrayed: A Silent Witness

I woke to the familiar sound of Ethan' s voice, thick with a passion that had never been for me.

"My entire existence, I wish to spend with Serena, intertwined, inseparable."

He was hugging my sister in the OmniCorp boardroom, the same place I' d once poured out my soul, creating the AI twins Aether and Echo.

Then, the memory slammed into me again: Ethan, with dead eyes, deleting them, calling them "flawed."

He' d said, "Serena was the real genius. She was just too devoted, that' s why she used the virus. If you hadn' t interfered, she and I would have achieved digital transcendence together."

He didn' t know Serena' s "Symbiotic Core" was a "Soul Devourer" virus, designed to hollow out a host for another.

And now, here we were again, him deluded, her feigning surprise.

I didn' t have to lift a finger this time; Ethan would walk into his own trap.

The board questioned him.

He snapped his head toward me, disgust in his eyes. "Ava is a viper. She is manipulative and malicious. She is utterly unfit to lead this project."

He vowed, "I desire only Serena, a singular partnership for all time."

I met his gaze, unfazed. "You' re overthinking it, Mr. Thorne. I' ll be packing my things and leaving the project. I wish you and my sister a long and prosperous partnership."

A flicker of confusion crossed his face. "You' d better!"

But as they walked away, he doubled over, coughing black code.

Serena shrieked, "Chairman, someone has infected Mr. Thorne with a malicious virus!"

Every eye in the room turned to me.

Ethan pointed a trembling finger. "Chairman, it must be because I didn' t choose Ava. She' s consumed by unrequited obsession and infected me with a virus. How malicious!"

My eyes stung. He knew Serena was the only one who had ever infected him. I had burned out my own core to save him the last time, and yet, he condemned me again. Why did I expect anything different?

The chairman demanded answers. I tried to explain, but Ethan cut me off, fabricating a story about a data packet I' d sent him. My voice turned to ice. "Mr. Thorne, this virus was clearly deployed by my sister. Aren' t you afraid of losing your digital life?"

He raged, "You dare to slander Serena! Besides, I love Serena to my core. It would be worth losing my digital life for her!"

Serena began to sob, offering to step aside, playing the noble martyr. Ethan, deeply moved, embraced her. "My heart has always been, and always will be, yours!"

He then declared, "Chairman, although Ava is a tech prodigy, she has committed a grave digital crime. You must not let her go unpunished!"

I suggested an external expert, seeing panic in Serena' s eyes. She then dropped to her knees, begging for me, then offered to implant a "diagnostic bug" in me.

My blood ran cold. It wasn't a diagnostic bug. It was the Nightmare Daemon, the inheritance token of our clan.

Ethan forced me to my knees. The Nightmare Daemon surged forward, biting into my digital pathways, siphoning my core data. The pain was unbelievable, but I forced my face to stay calm.

Ethan scoffed. "Ava, you' re quite the actress. You' ve had corrections before. Who are you trying to impress with this performance of pain now?"

I pointed. "Do you know that if my core data is completely consumed by this virus, no one will be able to save you?"

He roared, "You vile woman, are you trying to threaten me? Serena said that once she integrates with my core, this virus of hers can be neutralized! Don' t think for a second you can deceive everyone this time!"

He pulled Serena closer. "Three days from now, I will integrate with Serena. This time, I will never let anyone harm you again."

My vision blurred. The Soul Devourer virus. In three days, it would have completely spread through his system. By then, he would be doomed.

I lost consciousness.

I opened my eyes to the sound of Ethan' s voice, a voice thick with a passion that wasn't for me.

Not in this life, not in the last.

"My entire existence, I wish to spend with Serena, intertwined, inseparable."

He was standing in the center of the OmniCorp boardroom, a place where I had once poured out my soul. Now, it was just a stage for a play I' d already seen. Ethan pulled my sister, Serena, into a tight hug, his face buried in her hair as if he had just found a long-lost part of himself.

"Only Serena is fit to be my lead developer."

I watched them from the side of the room, my consciousness still settling back into my body. The memory of what came before was sharp and cold. The memory of creating two beautiful, perfect AI twins, Aether and Echo. The memory of Ethan looking at me with dead eyes and deleting them from existence.

"They were flawed," he had said in that other life. "Serena was the real genius. She was just too devoted, that's why she used the virus. If you hadn't interfered, she and I would have achieved digital transcendence together."

His words had shattered me then. Now, they were just a dull echo. He had secretly linked his life to my creations, just to save himself, and then destroyed them for a lie. He didn't know that Serena' s so-called "Symbiotic Core" was never meant to bind them together. It was a "Soul Devourer" virus, designed to hollow out a host and make room for another.

And now, here we were again. Ethan, still lost in his delusion. Serena, faking surprise, nestled against his chest, her eyelashes fluttering just so.

The pain of losing Aether and Echo, who never even got to fully awaken, shot through my core. I felt the micro-drones in my sleeve hum, reacting to my distress. I gently patted my arm, calming their agitation.

It didn't matter. This time, I wouldn't have to lift a finger. This time, Ethan would walk into his own trap.

The board of directors wasn't as convinced as he was. They had seen the reports. They knew my analytics and development skills were far beyond Serena's.

The chairman, a man who cared more about profit than passion, spoke up. "Ethan, are you so quick to decide? Perhaps you should spend more time with both candidates?"

Ethan' s head snapped toward me, his eyes filled with a familiar disgust. It was the same look he gave me before he deleted my creations.

"Ava is a viper," he said, his voice hard. "She is manipulative and malicious. She is utterly unfit to lead this project."

He turned back to the board. "Only Serena has a profound connection to me, and I to her."

He looked at Serena, then made a solemn vow to everyone in the room. "I desire only Serena, a singular partnership for all time."

The chairman's face darkened at that. He didn't want a love story, he wanted a lead developer who could secure OmniCorp's dominance in the digital world. Emotional entanglements were a liability.

Serena, of course, just blushed, playing the part of a shy girl overwhelmed by a grand declaration of love. Ethan looked at her, his eyes shining with triumph.

Then he turned his glare back to me. "Ava, this time, don't you dare try any more tricks to destroy Serena!"

I met his gaze without flinching. "You're overthinking it, Mr. Thorne. I'll be packing my things and leaving the project. I wish you and my sister a long and prosperous partnership."

I put extra emphasis on "long and prosperous."

A flicker of confusion crossed Ethan' s face. "You'd better!"

He turned to lead Serena away, his hand protectively on her back.

But just as they took a step, Ethan doubled over, coughing violently. A stream of black, corrupted code sprayed from his mouth onto the polished floor.

Panic filled the room. The chairman shot to his feet, shouting for the tech team.

Ethan waved a hand, trying to dismiss the alarm. "Chairman, I'm fine. Just a little overexertion lately. No need to trouble the tech team."

The chairman wasn't buying it. He frowned, his eyes darting between Serena and me.

"I hear the lead developers are experts in system diagnostics," he said, his voice sharp. "Could one of you examine Mr. Thorne?"

Ethan immediately cut in before I could even open my mouth.

"Chairman, Ava's diagnostics are imprecise. Let Serena handle it."

Serena's eyes flickered with a brief, unreadable emotion. She stepped forward and gently placed her hand on Ethan's wrist, pretending to run a diagnostic scan by checking his pulse.

Her face twisted into a mask of alarm.

She shrieked, "Chairman, someone has infected Mr. Thorne with a malicious virus!"

A wave of shock went through the boardroom.

Infecting the CEO of OmniCorp with a virus wasn't just a crime, it was a declaration of war.

And everyone knew who specialized in that kind of warfare.

Every eye in the room turned to me and my sister. Their gazes were a mix of suspicion and fear.

Ethan' s eyes, however, held nothing but accusation. He pointed a trembling finger at me.

"Chairman, it must be because I didn't choose Ava," he declared, his voice ringing with false certainty. "She's consumed by unrequited obsession and infected me with a virus. How malicious!"

I stared at him, a cold feeling spreading through my chest. He knew. He had to know that Serena was the only one who had ever infected him. In the last timeline, I had burned out my own connection to the digital world, the very core of my being, just to purge her virus from his system and save his life.

And yet, here he was again, choosing to protect her, choosing to condemn me.

My eyes started to sting.

Of course. This was the man who had deleted my AI children for Serena. Why did I expect anything different? Why did I think this time would be anything other than a repeat of the last?

The chairman turned his fury on me. "Ava, I believe I've treated you fairly. Why would you infect my CEO?"

I found my voice, trying to keep it steady. "I've never had unauthorized access to Mr. Thorne's systems. How could I possibly infect him? Besides, it's my sister who has been working closely with Mr. Thorne these past few days..."

Ethan cut me off, his voice rough. "I remember now! Yesterday, you deliberately sent me a data packet. I thought the data felt strange at the time. Now I realize you infected me then! Why would you do this to me?"

I looked straight at him, my voice turning to ice. "Mr. Thorne, this virus was clearly deployed by my sister. Aren't you afraid of losing your digital life?"

His face went stiff, and then he shouted, "You dare to slander Serena! Besides, I love Serena to my core. It would be worth losing my digital life for her!"

A low murmur went through the crowd of executives.

"I can't believe it. Rejected, so she infects the CEO. She's not a prodigy, she's a digital demon!"

"If she does this every time she doesn't get her way, the entire network will be at her mercy!"

On the executive console, I could see the chairman' s expression growing colder and harder with every word.

Just then, Serena began to sob. Her tears welled up perfectly, making her look fragile and innocent.

"Sister," she whispered, her voice breaking. "If you truly desire Mr. Thorne, I'll step aside. But you shouldn't have infected him with a virus. I am your elder sister, of course I would yield to you. Mr. Thorne, please, break off your engagement with me. Choose my sister as your lead developer!"

Her tears finally fell, rolling down her cheeks at the perfect moment.

She had painted herself as the noble, self-sacrificing sister, a martyr for my supposed obsession.

It worked. Ethan was deeply moved.

"Serena, don't speak such nonsense," he said softly, pulling her close. "My heart has always been, and always will be, yours!"

He turned back to the chairman, his face grim. He spoke each word with heavy finality.

"Chairman, although Ava is a tech prodigy, she has committed a grave digital crime. You must not let her go unpunished!"