The quiet hum of the countryside lab was broken only by the soft whir of mechanical servos and blinking lights along the edge of a sleek, cylindrical shell—Lucia, the AI prototype.
Ren sat alone, hunched over three screens as lines of code and real-time telemetry poured across them. Sweat beaded on his brow as his fingers danced over the keyboard, running diagnostic after diagnostic.
It started with a small anomaly—just a slight delay in response time from Lucia's external memory protocols.
But now… it was clear.
Someone had accessed her.
A silent breach had crept into his system like a ghost.
"Lucia," he said quietly, staring at the screen, "Run full memory audit. Flag all access logs not initiated from local admin."
Lucia's voice, calm and unshaken, replied:"Understood, Ren. Three unauthorized access points detected. Attempted intrusion vector: urban node — near Office Tower Sector 14."
Sector 14. That was... near his and Aoi's workplace.
Ren's blood ran cold. He sat back in his chair, heart thumping in his ears.
"Someone's trying to reverse-engineer you…"
He pulled up the access logs. The pattern wasn't random. The attacker was digging through memory entries—especially anything tagged with "Aoi" or "emotional mapping."
Whoever it was… they weren't just trying to understand Lucia.
They were trying to learn about him and Aoi.
Ren narrowed his eyes, encrypting the logs and locking the prototype behind a new triple-layer firewall. Then, with a grim look, he grabbed his coat and keys.
Meanwhile, at Aoi's office…
The break room was unusually quiet, the soft clinking of cups and distant chatter from a nearby hallway forming a dull background as Aoi poured herself tea.
She had been tired lately. The weight of the wedding, the secrecy of Ren's late-night projects, and that heir—Naruse—constantly hovering around her with that polished smile.
She turned to leave, only to flinch.
Naruse was standing right in the doorway.
"Sorry," he said smoothly, stepping inside. "Didn't mean to startle you."
"You didn't," Aoi said curtly, moving past him.
But he followed. "You know… people talk. Especially after that stunt your husband pulled the other day. Dropping in like some prince."
Aoi's jaw tightened. "Is there a point to this?"
Naruse leaned in slightly, a glint in his eye. "You deserve more than just love, Aoi. You deserve someone who's not keeping secrets."
She froze.
"…What did you say?"
He smiled. "Ren. He's been hiding something, right? Taking trips out of town. Late-night projects. I bet he hasn't told you what he's really building in that lab of his."
Aoi took a step back, her eyes darkening.
"I don't know what game you're playing," she said coldly, "but back off. I'm not interested in your whispers."
Naruse's eyes flickered. "It's not a game, Aoi. I just want you to realize… some people hide things for a reason."
She didn't answer.
But as she walked away, her fists were clenched.
And her heart, despite her trust, started to feel the sharp sting of doubt.
Elsewhere...
Ren stood alone under a gray sky, just outside the parking garage of Aoi's building. His phone buzzed in his hand—Lucia had fully isolated the intrusion's source.
He was sure of it now.
Someone inside the city was trying to manipulate their lives.
And if Naruse was the one watching them…Then Ren had no choice but to fight back.
He looked up at the clouds, voice quiet:
"I won't let anyone take her from me."