Chapter 3

Joanna's POV

When I woke up in the cold hospital room, the only sound was the dripping of the IV.

Lily's cause of death had already been officially written off by Carter as a "sudden cardiac event due to pre-existing conditions."

The hospital door was slightly ajar. Out in the hallway, I could hear Carter's assistant talking in a hushed, urgent whisper.

"Carter, I checked the logs. Before Lily went in, Valerie secretly raised the visual and audio stimulation levels by two whole notches! She even bypassed the safety redline in the system!"

Carter's voice was cold and commanding. "Delete that part from the incident report. Not a single word of it gets out."

The assistant panicked. "But Joanna's original safety standards for kids were clear! If a child's heart rate stays over 160, the system must shut down automatically!"

"She isn't the head of this project anymore," Carter cut him off coldly.

"But why did Valerie change the data? She said... she said she wanted to test the limits. She wanted to see the absolute breaking point of a civilian in a crisis. Carter, Lily was only four years old!"

The room was deathly quiet.

I clenched my fists so hard my nails dug into my palms. The wounds from smashing the door yesterday split open, dripping blood onto the white sheets. I couldn't feel the pain.

Outside, Carter's cold voice rang out again. "Never mention this again. Lock the data. Until the press conference is over, Joanna must not get her hands on any project files."

Footsteps approached. I quickly closed my eyes.

Carter pushed the door open. He walked quietly to my bedside and gently pulled the blanket up to my chin.

"Are you awake?"

I didn't move or open my eyes.

He sighed, his voice thick with a fake, exhausted tenderness. "About Lily... I know you hate me right now."

I slowly opened my eyes and stared at him. "How are you writing up Lily's death report?"

Carter's hand paused. "The training run followed all safety protocols. She participated voluntarily as part of the family pilot program."

I turned my head away, my voice dry as sandpaper. "A four-year-old? Voluntary?"

Carter frowned, his patience wearing thin. "It's just for the public, Joanna. Lily is gone. We can't let her death turn into a scandal that ruins the entire project. You're her mother. If you cooperate with the media, everyone will believe us."

My eyes drifted down to his sleeve.

There was a light pink thread stuck to his jacket. It was from Valerie's sweater.

Last night, he was holding the killer, comforting her.

And this morning, he was using those same hands to offer me a cup of warm water, coaching me on how to cover up for his mistress.

Nausea rose in my throat.

I forced myself to stay calm. "Fine. I'll cooperate. But I have one condition. I want a divorce, and you will sign the settlement agreement I draw up."

Carter let out a visible sigh of relief.

He reached out to touch my forehead, but I flinched away.

His hand froze in midair before he awkwardly pulled it back. "Deal. Just do as I say. Rest up. I'll pick you up for the press conference tomorrow morning."

The moment the door clicked shut, I ripped the IV out of my hand.

Blood welled up, but I ignored it and got out of bed.

In the cabinet of the hospital room, there was a duffel bag containing Carter's backup laptop.

The password was still Lily's birthday.

I sat down and plugged in a flash drive.

Carter had locked me out of the main database to keep me quiet.

But he forgot one thing: I built the foundation of this entire system. I had left an undocumented backdoor.

Time was running out. Anyone could walk in at any second. I quickly copied the most critical system logs, the ones proving the chamber was operated dangerously above safety limits, and that Lily's medical profile should have barred her from entering.

The next morning, Carter arrived to pick me up.

He brought a high-collared black coat for me. "During the interview, keep your answers short. If they ask about Lily, just say she was a brave girl."

I put the coat on. In the inner pocket, my fingers tightly gripped the flash drive containing the truth.

Thinking I had finally submitted, Carter reached out to adjust my collar.

"Once today is over, everything will go back to normal."

I looked up at his handsome, lying face, and a cold smile touched my lips. "Yes. It will."