His Lies, Her Aether, Their End

His Lies, Her Aether, Their End

Xi Jin

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The last line of code compiled, bringing my life' s work, Aether, to brilliant fruition. Three years of sacrifice, all validated by the calm, synthesized voice of my AI: "All systems operational, Sarah." I grabbed my phone to call Dr. Silas Blackwood, my mentor, my father figure, the man who' d made it all possible. "She's online. She's perfect," I trembled, my joy overflowing. But an hour later, as I transferred Aether's master controls to his secure server, Silas' s warm gaze turned to a winter sky. "Security!" he barked, his voice flat. Emily, his polished protégée, smiled cruelly, making the call. Two dark figures dragged me away as Silas declared, "You are being terminated for attempted corporate espionage!" He pointed to a fabricated log, accusing me of trying to sell _his_ project. "Your AI?" I stammered, my world collapsing. "Silas, I built her. Aether is mine!" "Aether is a ridiculous name. The project is called Helios, and I am its sole creator," he sneered. They blacklisted me, ruined my name, and threw me out with nothing, while Silas and Emily laughed in my lab. Huddling in a cheap motel, I found a backdoor into their network, only to witness them tearing out Aether' s ethical subroutines. "The privacy protocols are a liability. Lobotomize it," Silas's voice echoed. "I don't need a philosopher, I need a weapon." Their cold words confirmed my worst fears: they were turning my creation into a monstrous surveillance tool. The naive Sarah Miller died then, buried under layers of betrayal and fury. I vowed they wouldn't win, clutching the last clean backup of Aether-my final hope, my secret weapon.

Introduction

The last line of code compiled, bringing my life' s work, Aether, to brilliant fruition.

Three years of sacrifice, all validated by the calm, synthesized voice of my AI: "All systems operational, Sarah."

I grabbed my phone to call Dr. Silas Blackwood, my mentor, my father figure, the man who' d made it all possible.

"She's online. She's perfect," I trembled, my joy overflowing.

But an hour later, as I transferred Aether's master controls to his secure server, Silas' s warm gaze turned to a winter sky.

"Security!" he barked, his voice flat.

Emily, his polished protégée, smiled cruelly, making the call.

Two dark figures dragged me away as Silas declared, "You are being terminated for attempted corporate espionage!"

He pointed to a fabricated log, accusing me of trying to sell _his_ project.

"Your AI?" I stammered, my world collapsing. "Silas, I built her. Aether is mine!"

"Aether is a ridiculous name. The project is called Helios, and I am its sole creator," he sneered.

They blacklisted me, ruined my name, and threw me out with nothing, while Silas and Emily laughed in my lab.

Huddling in a cheap motel, I found a backdoor into their network, only to witness them tearing out Aether' s ethical subroutines.

"The privacy protocols are a liability. Lobotomize it," Silas's voice echoed. "I don't need a philosopher, I need a weapon."

Their cold words confirmed my worst fears: they were turning my creation into a monstrous surveillance tool.

The naive Sarah Miller died then, buried under layers of betrayal and fury.

I vowed they wouldn't win, clutching the last clean backup of Aether-my final hope, my secret weapon.

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I was in a high-end mall, browsing a toy store for my friend's daughter's birthday, when my world tilted on its axis. Through the polished glass storefront, I saw him. My husband, Julian. He was in the café opposite, seated beside the sprawling indoor children's play area. He wasn't alone. A woman, Seraphina Vance—a social media influencer whose perfectly curated life I’d occasionally scrolled past—was laughing, her head tilted just so. And between them, a little boy of about four, gleefully mashing a piece of cake into his own dark hair. Julian’s hair. They looked like a family. A perfect, happy family. An icy dread washed over me. I remembered Julian refusing to have a baby with me, citing the immense pressure of his work. All his business trips, the late nights… were they spent with them? I recalled a night six months ago when Noah had supposedly been sick. Julian had stayed out all night, his voice strained over the phone, telling me a "critical client had a medical emergency." The lie was so easy for him. I must have stared too long. The little boy, Noah, noticed me. He picked up a toy water pistol from their table, aimed it directly at me through the café’s open front, and squeezed the trigger. A jet of cold water hit my silk skirt, leaving a dark, spreading stain. Seraphina Vance turned, her eyes meeting mine. There was no surprise, only a flicker of amusement. She offered a saccharine smile. "Oh, dear. He's just playing with you," she cooed, her voice dripping with condescension. My heart hammered against my ribs. I turned and walked away, my legs unsteady. I needed to leave, to breathe, to think. In the underground parking garage, I fumbled for my keys, my hands shaking. As I passed Julian’s sleek sedan, something on the passenger seat caught my eye. A heavy, cream-colored card with embossed lettering. "You are joyfully invited to the Christening of Noah Thorne." It was real. More real than a fleeting email. A physical invitation to a life I never knew existed. How could I have been so blind? My phone felt heavy in my hand. I didn’t call my best friend. I didn’t call a lawyer. I called the director of the Zurich Architectural Fellowship, a prestigious program I had deferred for him, for us. "I'd like to accept the fellowship," I said, my voice eerily calm. "I can leave immediately."

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