The choice
Chapter 67: The Choice
Amara Queen hated when people thought they knew her.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
It happened constantly.
Patients thought they knew her.
Doctors thought they knew her.
Investors thought they knew her.
Lorenzo occasionally thought he knew her.
A dangerous hobby.
Very dangerous.
The betrayal.
The assumptions betrayal.
Undefeated.
Now apparently Daniel.
Evelyn.
And Director Hale.
All believed they knew exactly what she would do.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
The realization irritated her immediately.
Deeply.
Dangerously.
The waiting room remained silent.
Nobody seemed eager to speak first.
Reasonable.
Very reasonable.
Because the atmosphere had become radioactive.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Finally—
Amara adjusted her glasses.
The movement small.
Precise.
Controlled.
The universal sign that someone was about to be intellectually assaulted.
A recurring problem.
Very recurring.
Daniel immediately recognized it.
Of course he did.
The betrayal.
The observant-genius betrayal.
Undefeated.
"You think I'm predictable."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Daniel blinked.
Once.
Slowly.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Then he made a mistake.
A terrible mistake.
The kind of mistake intelligent people made when they became too confident.
He nodded.
Immediately.
The audacity.
The complete audacity.
Undefeated.
Amara smiled.
The wrong smile.
The terrifying smile.
The smile that made surgeons nervous.
The smile that made investors sweat.
The smile that made Lorenzo immediately take half a step backward.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Because Lorenzo knew what came next.
Someone was about to lose an argument.
Badly.
"What did I eat three days ago?"
Silence.
The waiting room froze.
Immediately.
Daniel frowned.
"What."
Amara folded her arms.
Calmly.
Professionally.
Dangerously.
"If people are predictable."
A pause.
"And I am predictable."
Another.
"What did I eat for lunch three days ago?"
Absolute silence.
The room stopped functioning.
Again.
A recurring problem.
Very recurring.
One soldier quietly looked impressed.
Immediately.
Reasonably.
Very reasonably.
Daniel stared.
Then stared harder.
Because suddenly...
He understood the trap.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
The surgeon continued.
"Prediction isn't certainty."
A pause.
"Probability isn't destiny."
Another.
"You don't know me."
Silence.
Daniel didn't answer.
Because unfortunately...
She had a point.
The betrayal.
The logical-argument betrayal.
Undefeated.
Amara took a step forward.
Then another.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Every eye in the room followed her.
Including Daniel's.
Especially Daniel's.
"You spent fifteen years watching a memory."
A pause.
"A twelve-year-old girl."
Another.
"I'm twenty-five now."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
The words landed hard.
Dangerously hard.
Because suddenly...
Daniel wasn't looking at Dr. Amara Queen.
He was looking at the idea of her.
The realization settled over the room.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
For the first time since arriving...
Daniel looked uncertain.
Actually uncertain.
A concerning development.
Very concerning.
Then his phone rang.
Immediately.
The atmosphere changed.
Danger.
Pure danger.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Daniel's expression shifted.
Not much.
Just enough.
Enough for Amara to notice.
Enough for Victoria to notice.
Enough for Lorenzo to immediately hate it.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Daniel looked at the screen.
Then slowly answered.
Silence.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody breathed.
The room watched.
Waiting.
Listening.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Daniel's expression remained neutral.
For exactly six seconds.
Then it changed.
Immediately.
Dangerously.
The color drained from his face.
Actually drained.
A terrifying development.
Very terrifying.
Because this was the man who had walked into a mafia-controlled clinic alone.
The man who had challenged Director Hale.
The man who had hacked half the city.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
And something had just frightened him.
Then the call ended.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Daniel lowered the phone.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Like it might explode.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Victoria already knew.
Of course she did.
The specialist looked sick.
Actually sick.
"No."
The word escaped her lips immediately.
Without hesitation.
Without mercy.
Daniel looked at her.
Then nodded.
Once.
Silently.
The room froze.
Again.
A recurring problem.
Very recurring.
Lorenzo stepped forward.
Dangerously.
"What happened?"
Silence.
Daniel didn't answer immediately.
For the first time...
He looked lost.
Actually lost.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Then he spoke.
Quietly.
Carefully.
Terrifyingly.
"Evelyn's gone."
Absolute silence.
The world stopped.
Immediately.
Because nobody understood.
Not at first.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Then realization hit.
Hard.
Dangerously hard.
Gone.
Not dead.
Not hurt.
Gone.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Daniel looked toward Amara.
Then toward Victoria.
Then toward nobody at all.
Like he was seeing something they couldn't.
A future.
A possibility.
A nightmare.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
When he spoke again...
His voice barely rose above a whisper.
"They took her."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Then his eyes locked onto Amara's.
And for the first time since they'd met...
The confidence disappeared completely.
Because suddenly...
The countdown wasn't theoretical anymore.
The choice wasn't hypothetical anymore.
The game had officially begun.
And somewhere in Chicago...
The person using the model had just made the first move.
End Chapter 67: The Choice Begins