Chapter 2

"The company is on the verge of collapse," I said, my voice steadier than I felt, "my AI is the only thing keeping Thorne Dynamics interested, I have the financials, the projections."

I clutched my tablet, ready to show them the red, the undeniable proof of their desperation.

One of the older board members, a crony of Ethan's father, sneered.

"Fear-mongering, Miss Chen, trying to make yourself indispensable."

"Call Marcus Thorne," I pleaded, "he' ll confirm, the deal hinges on me."

I fumbled for my phone, my hands trembling.

Ethan laughed, a cruel, mocking sound. "Still trying, Ava?"

He strode towards me, snatched the phone from my hand.

"No more calls," he said, and with a sharp crack, he smashed it under his heel.

The pieces scattered across the polished floor, like the fragments of my life.

The audience gasped, some looked away, uncomfortable.

Ethan then produced a folded paper from his jacket.

"And speaking of suitability," he announced, his voice dripping venom, "I have here a medical report, detailing Ava' s... unfortunate condition, her infertility."

He didn' t read it, he just waved it, a flag of my supposed failure.

Mrs. Harrison, Ethan' s mother, surged forward, her face contorted with rage.

"You barren wrench!" she shrieked, her hand connecting with my cheek in a stinging slap.

"You deceived us, you deceived my son!"

She grabbed my hair, yanking my head back, her nails digging into my scalp.

Pain, sharp and blinding, mixed with the burning shame.

Brittany Miller then stepped forward, a triumphant smirk on her face.

"And that' s not all," she said, her voice saccharine, "Ava didn' t even create that AI, she stole the core concepts from me, from my graduate thesis."

Lies, more lies, piling up, burying me.

"She even seduced professors at MIT for grades," Brittany added, "everyone knew she' d do anything to get ahead."

My mind reeled, Brittany had been a junior at MIT, someone I barely remembered, a face in the crowd.

Now, she was rewriting my history, assassinating my character with practiced ease.

Ethan put his arm around Brittany protectively.

"Brittany' s AI design is far superior, and more importantly, it' s hers."

He looked at me with utter contempt.

"You were always just a charity case, Ava, a project, and you failed."