Chapter 2

The next day, I visited the lab where the memory chip had been developed.

Its history struck me as deeply ironic. The lead researcher, Kier Long, had once been a struggling student from a working-class background. Alan had rejected his application for sponsorship. At the time, our company had only just found its footing, and we could sponsor only a limited number of students.

Alan had chosen to sponsor Sophia instead, claiming he saw my younger self in her. He had claimed he could not turn his back on that.

I could not bring myself to let Kier's brilliance wither because of the circumstances of his birth, so I funded a research lab out of my own pocket and gave him a chance to build something of his own.

After that incident with Alan, Kier devoted himself to his work with relentless focus. Within a month, he created the memory chip. Meanwhile, Sophia spent that same month trying to get into Alan's pants.

"Ms. DeLisle, the chip will cease to function in less than forty-eight hours. The data I've gathered so far is not promising," Kier said, pushing his glasses up with a worried frown.

He handed me a report. "As I mentioned before, if we force the chip to operate beyond its extended lifespan, it will cause irreparable neural damage to Mr. Faust."

He expected me to panic. He still believed I was the same woman who would trade her soul to the Devil to save Alan's life.

How quaint. I had changed.

"I suppose we'll see what happens," I said, closing the report.

My tone caught him off guard.

"Uh, listen. I have a backup solution to—"

"That won't be necessary." I picked up my purse. "Just store the data."

I did not need to imagine what would happen once the chip began to fail. Alan would fall back into the same reckless patterns as before. This time, I would not follow him into ruin with an equally foolish choice.

Alan called me shortly afterward. He demanded that I attend this year's graduation ceremony at our alma mater, John Goldbook College.

"We've always attended together. I'm not interested in fueling rumors before we're even formally divorced."

Please. He only wanted to protect Sophia's reputation. If she appeared in public with a man who was still very much married, what would people say? She was a lecturer at the college, after all, though she owed that position entirely to Alan.

The problem was that rumors about the two of them had already spread. The gossip had long since taken hold.

Not that I intended to shatter the illusion Alan was trying to maintain. Things could spiral out of control if we were not careful.

…

Sophia was already on campus when I arrived. The moment she saw me, she masked every trace of malice and pressed a hand to her stomach in feigned anxiety. "S-Selena! You're here…"

She always delivered a D-lister's performance when she knew Alan was watching, careful to conceal her true nature. True to form, Alan sided with her every time.

I once told him Sophia had killed the baby by shoving me to the floor. He had accused me of exaggerating to frame her.

Now he stepped in front of her at once, shielding her with his body. "Don't cause a scene, Selena. You're supposed to be educated. Don't forget that."

I pressed my lips together. Another threat. How tiresome.

I pushed past him. "Excuse me. You're in my way."

Alan stared at me, stunned. He had not expected such composure. "Selena, what's—"

"That was all my fault, Selena!" Sophia cut in. "I've prepared a short clip as a surprise for you!"

I had no idea what she meant. The answer came when she took the stage as the emcee.

A video began to play.

She claimed it had been created with the help of generative AI and adapted from a real kidnapping case many years ago.

A young gold-digging woman had been lured abroad under false pretenses. A crime syndicate captured her. They subjected her to relentless abuse. The camera lingered on her face as she screamed, shrieked, and gasped in pain.

The video showed no explicit nudity, yet it horrified the entire hall.

The woman in the footage had my face.