Chapter 27 – Ellie
My fingers fly over the keyboard as I try to assess the damage. The screens flash red, warnings cascading faster than I can read. Every server hums with tension, and I can feel the heat radiating through the room. All I can do now is think fast and work with what I have.
I hadn’t anticipated the system failing this quickly. The cascading bomb I built was designed as leverage for my escape—not immediate destruction. Yet somehow, it has activated ahead of schedule.
Samantha’s modifications are to blame. Her changes were deeper, more invasive than I realized, creating instability.
The lab has descended into controlled chaos. Analysts shout at one another, scrambling to isolate corrupted sectors, trying desperately to save data that’s already compromised.
I lean into the illusion, pretending to assist, my voice calm, directing them toward false solutions while I quietly accelerate the failure from behind the firewall. Since it has begun, I’d better make the most of it. Every second counts. Every corrupted byte brings me closer to a clean exit.
Mike is already here.
When I saw him in the facility, I tried so hard to keep my expression blank because Katerina was watching. But in that moment, all I could think about was how handsome he was and how reckless he was for coming in here alone just to save me. His presence complicates everything.
Such a beautiful, stubborn man.
“Everyone, leave!”
I jump at the voice and look up to see Katerina in the doorway, eyes locked on me. She looks furious in a way I’ve never seen before.
Everyone scrambles out of the room except me, because I know she’s here for me.
Her heels click across the floor, deliberate and slow, echoing against the lab walls. “Do you have any idea what you’ve just done, Ellie?” Her voice is low, controlled, but it cuts sharper than any blade.
I keep my fingers on the keyboard, eyes steady on the monitors. “Yes. And I’m using it to get out.”
“Get out?” Her lips curl, a mix of fury and disbelief. “You think you can play me from the inside? From here?”
For the first time, Katerina’s composure falters.
Her precise, calculated demeanor wavers, revealing the edge of frustration she rarely allows anyone to see.
“Do you realize the magnitude of what you’re risking?
The influence you could wield? The legacy you could secure?
You’re squandering all of it for…for emotions? ”
I meet her gaze, steady, unwavering. “Power without choice is still captivity. Legacy built on coercion isn’t achievement—it’s chains. I won’t be a cog in someone else’s empire. Not yours. Not anyone’s.”
Her eyes flash, part fury, part disbelief. “You…you’re throwing away brilliance for—”
“For freedom,” I finish, voice firm. “And for the people I care about. You can’t buy that, Katerina. You can’t force it. You can’t control it.”
She steps closer, the space between us charged with tension, but I don’t flinch. Every fiber of me is focused on the keyboard, on the cascading corruption spreading through her system. My defiance is my shield. My autonomy is my weapon.
Before she reaches me, I hit one more weapon that sends her entire system into shutdown. Immediately, security forces begin locking down the compound as system breaches widen.
Katerina’s eyes widen, and for a heartbeat, I see panic in her expression.
Fury coils around her like smoke as she spins on her heel, slamming the lab door behind her with such force the frame rattles.
My pulse jumps. I know that door is a barrier I may not overcome if I don’t move fast. Panic claws at me, sharp and insistent.
The lab is shutting down; if I don’t get out now, I’ll be stuck. I also have to go to the server room, where the main body of my software is. If I can copy and isolate the original algorithm, I’ll take back control.
I race to the door, but it refuses to budge.
Electronic locks hum and click, mocking my desperation.
My fingers pound the frame, heart hammering, mind racing a thousand steps ahead.
Every second counts. Outside, the compound erupts into organized chaos—security forces scrambling, alarms blaring, the facility locking down like a steel trap closing around us.
And in that instant, I realize: I’m alone. Truly alone. If I don’t find a way out now, I won’t just be trapped—I’ll become part of her system, a prisoner in the very world I created.
The moment the door swings open, relief crashes over me like a wave.
Mike stands there—hair mussed, shirt torn, dust streaked across his jaw and hands—but every bit of him is real, solid, alive.
My legs give way, and I stumble into his arms without thinking, clutching him like the world can only exist if he’s here.
He catches me effortlessly, arms wrapping around me like armor, and I feel the tension in my chest start to unravel.
His lips crash into mine, urgent and desperate, tasting of smoke and adrenaline, and for a moment, the alarms, the chaos, the entire compound—all of it—fades into nothing.
It’s just us, tethered together in the storm.
I cling to him, forehead pressed against his chest, feeling the rapid beat of his heart matching my own. “Ellie,” he rasps, voice rough with relief and fury, “I thought I lost you.”
“I’m here,” I manage to whisper, though my voice trembles. “I’m here. Safe…for now.” I suddenly pull away. “Mike, I need to get to the servers. I need to save ARGO. Please.”
Mike frowns. “The compound is shutting down. We have to leave—now.”
“Please,” I plead, grabbing his arm. “I need to. Or I’ll lose everything.”
He runs a hand through his hair, exasperated but unwilling to argue. “Show me the way.”
I take his hand and start running down the corridor, urgency making my legs burn. The alarms scream, lights flash, and the hum of the locking mechanisms grows louder. Every second counts.