Chapter 4: The Price of Survival

Anastasia stood in front of the small parlor window, watching the pale morning light spill over the brick rooftops of Chicago.

Right now, eight hundred miles away in New York City, Daniel and Sophie were probably together, sipping champagne in executive suites, completely oblivious to the fact that the woman they murdered was drawing breath in a completely different city. Her mother's legacy, the family enterprise she had poured her blood and sweat into, they had stolen it all.

It's good that I am here in Chicago, far away from them, she thought, her eyes narrowing into cold slate. Here, I can build my empire from scratch without distraction, until I am strong enough to return.

"Miss Whitmore?"

Marcus's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. She had already spoken to him earlier about needing a place of her own, and he stepped into the room with a small key ring.

"I spoke with my landlord down the block like you asked," Marcus said softly. "He has a small, furnished studio available immediately. One room, a small kitchenette, a private bath, a bed, and basic furniture. It's modest, but it's clean, $250 for the first month."

"That's perfect," Anastasia said without hesitation. "I just need to run to the National Bank terminal down the street to claim my debit card, and then I'll pay the landlord."

She walked to the local National Bank terminal, where the process went smoothly. She retrieved her official debit card, loaded with her initial $500 capital. On her way to pay for the studio, she stopped at a neighborhood shop to purchase an extra set of clothes so she wouldn't have to rely solely on the simple trouser and blouse she had been wearing since leaving the hospital. The clothes cost her $30, leaving her with $470.

With her new clothes in a paper bag, she turned down the street toward her new apartment.

Suddenly, her vision rippled.

[ EMERGENCY MISSION DETECTED ]

[ OBJECTIVE: Save the critical target dying beside you. ]

[ TIME LIMIT: 20 MINUTES ]

[ REWARD: $3,000.00 USD (Direct Deposit) ]

[ FAILURE PENALTY: SYSTEM LOCKDOWN & SEVERE NEUROLOGICAL STRIKE ]

Anastasia stopped dead in her tracks.

She turned her head. Slumped against the brick wall of a narrow alley sat a man. His clothes were filthy, torn, and coated in street grime, his hair matted over his face. He looked entirely homeless, his body trembling uncontrollably on the damp concrete.

Anastasia's initial reaction was a surge of pure disgust. The stench of wet pavement clung to him; every executive instinct in her body recoiled from touching someone in that state.

Then her eyes locked onto the glowing numbers floating in the air: $3,000.00.

That figure was real financial leverage.

"Three thousand," she muttered under her breath, hardening her heart. "I can endure anything for three thousand."

She stepped forward, reaching down to grab the man by his shoulders. "Hey. Can you hear me? Are you okay?"

The man offered no response, his jaw locked, his teeth chattering violently. Realizing he was completely unresponsive, Anastasia slung one of his heavy, trembling arms across her neck. She gritted her teeth, using all her strength to drag his weight down the sidewalk.

She hauled him up the steps of her new apartment building. Marcus was no longer there, so she paid the front desk manager the $250 rent deposit from her cash balance, leaving her with $220. She took the key, dragged the stranger inside her new studio, and dropped him directly onto the bed.

She hurried out to grab hot coffee for him. When she returned and set the cup on the table, her eyes fell on the man and her heart sank.

His lips had turned blue. His skin was pale as marble, and when she touched his hand, it felt like holding a block of ice. Hypothermia.

She looked up at the floating air.

 [ MISSION STATUS: PENDING... ]

 [ TIME REMAINING: 08:45 ]

The System hadn't granted the reward. Simply bringing him inside wasn't enough; the objective was to save him. If the timer ran out, the neurological strike would devastate her brain.

He needs body heat, her mind raced. His core temperature is failing.

There was no time for blankets or a heater. Anastasia took a sharp breath. She unbuttoned her blouse and stripped off her clothes down to her undergarments. She stepped up to the bed, unzipping his heavy, filthy coat and peeling away his soaked shirt to expose his bare chest.

Clenching her teeth, she climbed onto the bed, lay directly over his trembling body, and pressed her bare skin against his freezing torso.

She pulled his trembling arms around her, holding him tightly to transfer her body heat into his chest. As the intense cold of his skin shocked her warm body, a soft, involuntary moan escaped her lips from the overwhelming sensation and intimacy of their close contact. She held him firm, enduring the discomfort as the minutes ticked away.

Gradually, his violent chattering slowed. His breathing equalized, and natural warmth began to return to his skin.

PING.

 [ EMERGENCY MISSION COMPLETE ]

 [ TARGET STABILIZED ]

 [ REWARD: $3,000.00 USD TRANSFERRED TO REGISTERED ACCOUNT ]

 [ CURRENT FINANCIAL BALANCE: $3,220.00 ]

The cyan light faded.

Anastasia immediately pulled back, sliding off the bed. She grabbed her clothes and quickly dressed herself, before collapsing onto the edge of the mattress with her back to him.

Hot tears spilled over her cheeks.

She covered her face with her hands, her shoulders shaking with quiet humiliation. "Look at what I'm doing..." she sobbed into the quiet room. "Stripping my clothes... doing this just to survive..."

Her humiliation turned into sharp, venomous rage.

"It's because of you, Daniel... you and Sophie..." she whispered, her knuckles turning white. "You took everything from me. I swear on my life... I will ruin you both. I will make you crawl and beg for your lives..."

Behind her on the bed, the man stirred. His dark eyes fluttered open as clarity returned to his mind. Seeing the weeping woman sitting on the edge of the bed, he reached out a hesitant hand to touch her shoulder to catch her attention.

The second his fingertips touched her skin—

FLASH.

A sudden, violent shockwave erupted inside his mind: A high hotel balcony at night... a woman standing near the railing... another woman stepping up behind her and shoving her hard over the edge, sending her falling into the dark void below, while a man stood right beside her watching it all happen.

The man gasped violently, ripping his hand back as if scorched by fire. He scrambled backward across the bed, stumbling to his feet and backing into the far wall, his chest heaving as absolute terror filled his eyes.

What was that flash? he thought, his heart hammering in horror as he stared at her back. Why did I see that when I touched her?!

Anastasia spun around in shock, staring at his frantic, terrified reaction.