Chapter 1

"You were born with an extreme sensitivity to electromagnetic radiation. Touch a phone and your skin will peel right off. Your heart will stop."

That's what my mom drilled into my head from the time I was a little girl.

To survive, I went twenty years without ever touching electronics. I was locked in a dark room covered in tin foil, like a caveman, spending my days gluing matchboxes and washing bloodstained sheets.

And on the other side of the wall, my brother had the latest gadgets, a top-of-the-line gaming PC, and all the love and money my parents could pour on him.

Until one day, a drone spiraled out of control and slammed straight into me. Its spinning blades sliced my arm, and its glowing indicator light pressed against my skin.

I shut my eyes and waited to die.

But nothing happened — nothing except the gash on my arm.

In that moment, I finally understood. There was no such rare, incurable disease. It was all a lie—a monstrous scam to drain me dry and hand everything to my brother.