Love's Ashes, A Bitter Return

head as the worst of the system shock subsided. In the quiet that followed, my mind,

ears

the digital graveyard of the collapse. Chloe Davis was my right hand, a data analyst so brilliant she could find meaning in pure chaos. We were

chematics for technology we'd only dreamed of and a vision that dwarfed our

council. "Our tech, integrated with your

nd I had to put our own reputations on the line. We faced a vote of no confidence. We liquidated our personal data reserves-the currency

iven, and he seemed to see me, not just as a leader, but as a woman. At the same time, Noah' s quiet intensity drew Chloe in. He was fascinated by her mind, and she, who had spent so lo

the syst

ssive network migration, our defenses spread thin. The virus they used was something we'd never seen before, fast and viciou

atar flickering, being torn apa

through our comms, his voice straine

shield around him. It was a desperate, suicidal move. I was burning myself out to buy him seconds. The pain was excruciating, a white-hot fire consuming my

birthing the chronic digital illness that would haunt me forever. And in the chaos, in the violent

her post to get to me. She ran for the physical med-bay, taking the

captured her. They dragged her into the shadows. What they did to her, the combination of physical brutality an

late, found me unconscious in the command

the cartel. They were meticulous, ruthless. They hunted down every last person respons

digital components from old-world servers to stabilize my failing system. He presented it as a

terfacing directly with her traumatized mind to help her piece herself back together. He took on a significant porti

venging angels who protected us, who cherished us. The past atrocities were reframed, becoming

long time,

-