It had been years since he felt unease like this. His world was built on control—control of his image, this company… his company, his secrets. Yet that feeling clawed at him now, desperately dragging him back to a time he thought he'd buried completely.
This unease began a few days ago, when the spy drone he had stationed on him had caught footage of him going into that woman's lab. He had seen him, walking into her space, talking to her animatedly and he wondered desperately what they could have said.
The encounter filled him with dread and a feeling that all he had worked for, fought for was about to slip through his fingers again. He had been so careful. Why was this woman who claimed to reshape memories back, and how did he get drawn into her orbit? He had done everything to make sure things didn't end like this. And yet.
He needed answers, and quickly.
Hacking into the pod had seemed like the logical step. He alone had developed a suite of high-end tools, capable of cracking even the most secure systems. But the moment he tried to access her files from the memory pod, the entire setup froze. The monitors dimmed, and then a harsh red glow filled the room.
A virus.
His pulse quickened as his system sputtered and died, the virus spreading rapidly through every connected terminal. In that instant, his control fractured.
"Damn it." He muttered under his breath, already working to quarantine the infection. Whoever had built Leila's system had anticipated his every move.
He leaned back in his chair, staring at the frozen screens, his mind racing. If hacking the pod wasn't an option, he'd need to find another way. A direct confrontation was out of the question. He couldn't risk exposing himself—not yet.
Leila's Pov
Leila exhaled, her heart was still pounding heavily from the near-invasion. She stood in her lab, the faint hum of dormant equipment filling the space. Whoever had tried to breach her pod had been relentless, but thankfully, they hadn't succeeded.
The virus had done its job.
She had totally forgotten about the virus in her moment of panic and a small smile tugged at her lips as she thought of Dr. Thresia, her mentor and the one who insisted she implemented this additional layer of protection.
Thresia's words echoed in her mind. "Always prepare for the worst, Leila. They'll come for you, for what you know, what you have, but make sure they leave with nothing but regrets. Don't let them take from you, not anymore."
At that moment, she had thought Dr. Thresia was being unnecessarily panicky. No one was coming for her, she didn't have anything anyone could possibly want.
The virus she thought unnecessary then now became her safety net. It was a program designed to obliterate any attempt to siphon her data. In the panic of the breach, she had totally forgotten it was there, running aimlessly around her lab like a headless chicken. It saved her at the last moment.
Now her pod was in lockdown, imperceptible, untouchable, even to her.
Leila sighed as she walked to the island at the center of her lab. A holographic interface flickered to life as she passed her hand over it. She initiated the unfreezing protocol, the shimmering display responding with a series of clicks and hums.
Steele had been disabled by the virus.
The pod would take days to recalibrate and restore access, leaving her temporarily cut off from her own archives.
She made a mental note to reschedule Ada's procedure. The delay might upset her, but Leila knew she had bigger concerns at that moment. She hoped that the attack hadn't messed with her latest update, it'd be a shame to start all over again and delay Ada's process even further.
Her thoughts drifted back to Elias Drayton. Their conversation, or what passed for one, had left her deeply unsettled. His demeanor had been composed, even polite, but there was something beneath the surface.
Something about him that drew her.
Something that warned her to be careful.
Something that set off all the alarm bells in her head.
She turned back to the holographic interface and pulled up a different set of files. If she couldn't access the pod, she could still dig into Elias's public history. She entered his name and watched as the system compiled a profile:
Birthplace: Unknown
Childhood: Grew up in various orphanages across the country.
Career: Sole Founder and CEO of DrayTech, a tech empire that revolutionized neural interfacing.
Incident: Five years ago, a mysterious explosion at a DrayTech facility. The cause was never disclosed.
Leila frowned, scrolling through the information. There was nothing remotely surprising, but something about the incident five years ago caught her attention. She expanded the entry and read the sparse details: an explosion, multiple casualties, and a vague statement from DrayTech citing "experimental failure."
Her fingers froze over the interface as a chill ran down her spine. The date of the explosion… It was the same day her parents had died.
Leila sat back, the weight of the realization pressing on her chest.
Her parents had been scientists, both killed in what authorities called an "industrial accident." She'd never questioned it before, there hadn't been anything to question. But now, the timing felt too coincidental.
Could DrayTech have been responsible?
She shook her head, forcing herself to stay rational. There was no proof, just a date. But the unease wouldn't leave her.
Her eyes drifted to the image of the woman from Elias's memory. The blonde hair, the outline of her features, it was hauntingly familiar. She tried hopelessly to figure out where the familiarity was coming from, to place the face.
Perhaps she was an old coworker, a past friend, a coursemate or even someone she had met in passing. But her mind refused to cooperate.
"Who are you?" She whispered to the projection, frustration bubbling inside her.
With a deep breath, she turned her attention back to her research. If Elias Drayton was connected to her parents' deaths, she would find out.
She needed to find out, she had left that chapter closed for too long. Locked the memory up and drove herself tired with work, but this was an opportunity to get closure.
And if DrayTech had played a role, she wouldn't stop until she uncovered the truth.
As the lab dimmed around her, her determination hardened. Whoever had tried to hack her pod wasn't just looking for information, they were hiding something. And Leila intended to find out what exactly they wanted from her.