Chapter 3

Julian' s cruelty escalated.

Ms. Albright, Seraphina' s assistant, had always been quietly loyal to Elias.

She still maintained some of Elias' s old, secure, off-network research archives, believing Seraphina might one day want to revisit them, or perhaps for Elias, if he ever returned.

Julian found out.

He couldn' t access them directly, but he knew Ms. Albright could.

He confronted her, not in Seraphina' s presence, but alone.

When she refused to grant him access, citing confidentiality and Elias' s explicit instructions from years past, Julian' s demeanor changed.

Later that day, a critical system that Julian' s team was "beta-testing" suffered a catastrophic failure, wiping out weeks of their work.

Julian stormed into Seraphina' s office, his face a mask of fury and distress.

"It was sabotage, Seraphina! A deliberate act!"

He then presented "evidence" – cleverly manipulated access logs that seemed to implicate Ms. Albright. He even hinted that she might be acting on behalf of a bitter, departed Elias.

"She was always too loyal to him," Julian said, his voice laced with sorrowful accusation. "I tried to warn you. She must have resented my project taking precedence."

He then clutched his chest, a pained expression on his face. "The stress... this is too much." He even managed to produce a few tears.

Seraphina looked at the "evidence," her mind clouded by Julian' s supposed illness and her own manufactured stress.

She didn' t question it. She didn' t investigate.

Her loyalty, so distorted, was now fully tethered to Julian.

She summoned Ms. Albright.

"Evelyn," Seraphina said, her voice cold, a tone Ms. Albright had never heard from her before. "Julian' s project has suffered a major setback. The logs point to unauthorized access from your terminal."

Ms. Albright was stunned. "Ms. Vance, I would never... That' s impossible."

"Julian believes it was deliberate," Seraphina continued, ignoring her assistant' s denial. "He believes your loyalty to Elias might have... clouded your judgment."

"That's not true! He' s lying!" Ms. Albright protested, aghast.

"I need your full cooperation, Evelyn. And I need you to apologize to Mr. Croft for the disruption and damage caused." Seraphina' s gaze was hard, unforgiving.

Ms. Albright looked at Seraphina, the woman she had served loyally for over a decade.

She saw no recognition, no trust, only the reflection of Julian' s manipulation.

Explanation was futile.

"I... I apologize for any disruption my actions may have inadvertently caused, Mr. Croft," Ms. Albright said, her voice barely a whisper, the words tasting like ash.

Seraphina nodded curtly. "See that it doesn't happen again."

The clear bias, the lack of due process, was staggering.

Ms. Albright felt a chill. Seraphina was lost.

Julian, emboldened, pressed his advantage.

Later that week, he approached Seraphina with a new "problem."

"Seraphina, my dear," he began, his tone grave. "There's a critical component for Nightingale. Extremely rare, volatile. The only known sample is in Aethelred' s deep storage, a relic from some obscure early research. It needs to be retrieved and prepped. It's... delicate work. Highly dangerous if mishandled. The slightest error could be catastrophic – a small explosion, release of toxic elements."

He paused, looking at her with troubled eyes. "Normally, a specialized hazmat team would do it. But the protocols are so complex, it would take weeks to get them cleared and prepped. Weeks I don't have." He coughed, a dry, rasping sound.

"The person retrieving it needs intimate knowledge of our old storage cataloging system, the one Elias designed. And frankly, they need to be... expendable, if something goes wrong."

Seraphina felt a knot of dread.

"Who did you have in mind, Julian?"

Julian looked away, as if pained to suggest it. "Ms. Albright. She knows those archives better than anyone. And after her... recent lapse in judgment... perhaps this is a way for her to demonstrate her renewed commitment to Aethelred. And to me."

It was a monstrous demand, disguised as a practical, albeit risky, necessity. Retrieving that component was akin to a death sentence if mishandled.

Seraphina felt a flicker of her old self, a pang of horror.

Ms. Albright had been with her since the beginning. Loyal, discreet, efficient.

To send her on such a mission...

But Julian' s pale face, his subtle reminder of his "limited time," the immense "debt" Seraphina felt she owed him...

She looked at Julian, then at the schematics he' d brought for the "Nightingale component."

Her internal struggle was brief, a candle snuffed out in a gale.

"Alright, Julian," she said, her voice flat. "Instruct Ms. Albright. Emphasize the critical importance and the... necessary precautions."

She rationalized it. Evelyn was competent. She would be careful. And Julian needed this.

Her permission was a cold, decisive command.

Ms. Albright received the directive with quiet resignation. She knew what this was.

She didn't protest. She simply nodded, her face pale but composed, and went to prepare.

The retrieval was an ordeal.

The deep storage vault was old, poorly ventilated. The component was housed in a decaying container.

Ms. Albright, wearing a standard lab coat rather than full hazmat gear (Julian had insisted it would "slow her down" and full gear wasn't "immediately available for her clearance level"), worked meticulously.

The air was thick with the smell of ozone and something acrid.

Julian watched via a remote camera feed, from the safety of a control room, Seraphina by his side, though Seraphina mostly stared at a blank screen, unable to watch directly.

The first attempt to stabilize the component for transport caused a small chemical reaction.

A puff of greenish vapor escaped. Ms. Albright recoiled, coughing, her eyes watering.

"Contamination protocols breached. The sample is compromised. Start again with a fresh extraction procedure," Julian' s voice came through the intercom, devoid of concern, only irritation.

Ms. Albright, her hand trembling slightly, had to neutralize the first sample and begin the painstaking process anew.

The second time, a miniature electrical arc from her tool to the containment unit caused another minor incident.

A sharp, burning pain shot up her arm. She bit her lip to keep from crying out.

"Clumsy," Julian muttered, loud enough for Seraphina to hear. "The integrity of the casing is now suspect. That sample is also useless. Try the third reserve unit."

Ms. Albright' s breathing was becoming labored. Her skin felt clammy.

She moved to the third unit. Her movements were slower now, less precise.

She finally managed to extract and secure it, her body screaming in protest.

As she placed it in the transport carrier, Julian' s voice came again. "The sensor readings on that one are fluctuating. I can't risk it. It' s probably also compromised. We' ll have to source externally. This has been a complete waste of time."

He switched off the camera feed.

Ms. Albright was left in the vault, surrounded by failed attempts, her body aching, the taste of failure and toxins in her mouth.

She had been forced to repeat the torment, for nothing. Julian' s sadism was clear.

Seraphina felt a wave of nausea but said nothing. Julian looked genuinely disappointed.

"Such a setback," he sighed, shaking his head. "Poor Evelyn. She really tried."