Chapter 6: The Ghost in the Machine

The keycard felt sharp against Elara's palm. It was a reminder that she was not a guest or a pawn, she was a thief. The hallway of the Sterling estate was really quiet. It was so quiet that it felt scary. The air was thick with the smell of sandalwood and the sound of a security system.

Every step Elara took on the marble floor sounded loud to her. She reached the door at the end of the hall. This was not Julian's bedroom, it was his room. Even the senior staff were not allowed to enter this room. Elara's breath caught as she used the keycard to unlock the door. The door made a sound and then a loud thud as it opened.

Elara went inside. The door closed behind her. It made a sound that made her stomach feel weird.

The room was really different from the rest of the estate. It had lights on the floor and big screens on the wall. There were no family pictures or books, machines and computers. Elara did not go to the desk she went to the server terminal. Her fingers were shaking as she touched the screen. "Come on Mom... Where are you?" she whispered quietly.

Elara typed fast on the keyboard. She used a code to get past the login screen. She had seen Julian use this code a days ago. The screen showed a lot of information: reports, files and documents.

Then she saw a folder. It was locked with a password and was called PROJECT AMARANTH.

Elara used the keycard again to get access to the folder. Her mother's picture appeared on the screen. But it was not a picture, it was a special medical diagram. Elara's blood felt cold. The treatment was not a cure, it was not a drug. It was a machine that was being put into her mother's body. Julian was not helping her mother, he was using her body to test a machine.

Elara's mother was not a patient, she was a machine. The treatment was not to help her, it was to see how much the machine could handle before it broke.

"You shouldn't have seen that, Elara."

The voice was calm and cold. It came from the doorway. Elara froze, her heart beating fast.

Julian Sterling was standing there. He looked sharp and scary. He did not look angry, he looked disappointed. He leaned against the door. Said, "Is she even human to you anymore?"

Elara turned to face him. She held the keycard tight. "Or is she something you can use?" she asked. "You lied to me. You told me this was a trial, not an experiment on a living person."

Julian walked into the room. The blue light made his face look sharp. He did not get angry, he just said, "She would be dead without me. That is a fact. The contract you signed was not just for her care, it was for her to become something. I am giving her a future that nature did not give her."

"You're turning her into a machine!" Elara said.

"I am making her better " Julian said. His voice was low and calm. He took a step closer to Elara. "You made a deal to save her life. I am keeping that deal.. Now that you know what is going on, things have changed. You can give me the keycard. We can forget this happened.. You can keep it and you will be in trouble."

Elara looked at Julian's hand. Then, on the screen. She saw her mother's picture. Realized that she could not walk away. Julian owned the one thing she could not leave behind.