Noah’s hands shook as he held the door handle. The boxes in his arms felt heavy. He had spent the last of his money that afternoon on new clothes for Emma. Nothing expensive. Just clean shirts and a soft blue sweater he thought she would like. He had even practiced the words he would say when he gave them to her.Earlier that day Brandon had stopped him in the hallway and laughed at the cheap shopping bags. “Still wasting money on her? Pathetic.” Noah had not answered. He simply walked past. He was used to Brandon’s words by now.The boxes slipped. Clothes and small bags spilled across the floor with a soft crash.Then he heard her voice from inside the house.“Noah is pure trash.”It was Emma. His wife.Noah’s throat went tight. He looked at the new black car parked in the open garage. That car had not been there when he left in the morning. He knew who owned it.Tyler.Noah pushed the door open and stepped inside.His mouth fell open.Emma was kissing Tyler right there in the living

Noah sat on the cold bench at the old bus stop. His legs still hurt from the strength boost. Every step on the way here had felt heavy and sharp. He kept looking both ways. The dark car that followed him earlier was gone, but he did not feel safe.The sky was still dark. Sunrise was many hours away. He had less than eleven hours left on the system clock.He thought about Emma again. Her cold laugh. The way she had looked at him like he was nothing. The pain was still fresh. He rubbed his face with both hands and forced himself to focus. Sitting here feeling sorry for himself would not help.A soft step sounded behind him. Noah turned fast.It was the young maid. The same girl who had lied and said she slept with him. Her eyes were red. She looked scared and tired.“You came,” Noah said.She sat on the far end of the bench. She did not look at him at first.“I only have five minutes,” she whispered. “If they notice I’m gone, I’m finished.”Noah kept his voice low. “Why did you lie abou

Noah walked toward the city center as the sky turned gray. His legs still ached. His clothes were dirty from the factory. The black cap sat low over his eyes. He kept checking every street corner.The system spoke when the first real light touched the buildings.Sunrise reached.System fully bound to host.Basic functions unlocked.Hidden account location confirmed: City Central Bank, window 7.Access code available for thirty minutes only.Noah stopped under a shop awning and read the code twice. He memorized it. Thirty minutes was not long.He reached the bank just as the doors opened. A few early customers stood in line. Noah stayed near the back wall and watched. No dark coats yet. No scarred man. No gravel voice. Still, his shoulders stayed tight.When his turn came he walked to window 7. The teller was a young woman with tired eyes. She looked at his dirty clothes and the old black cap.“Account number and ID, please.”Noah had no real ID. Only the code the system gave him. He s

Noah and Kara found a small closed café two streets away. The owner knew Kara from years ago and let them use the back room without asking questions. It was quiet. One table. Two chairs. A single window covered by a thin curtain.Noah set the blue notebook on the table. His hands were still dirty from the alley. He opened it carefully.Page after page listed names and payments. Most of them meant nothing to him. Then he found a short section near the middle.Child host: Noah. Taken in by Brooks family at age three. Real parents: Daniel and Lena. Both deceased in arranged accident. System seed planted early. Overseer payment route: Hale family accounts.Noah read the lines twice. His real parents had names now. Daniel and Lena. They had not left him. Someone had taken them away so the Brooks family could raise him like a product.He closed his eyes for a second. The clean shirt still felt strange on his skin. The money in his pocket still felt like it belonged to someone else. Even wit

Noah and Kara found an empty parking garage on the edge of the industrial side of the city. It was quiet, dark, and full of old cars that no one used anymore. They sat on the concrete steps near the back wall.Noah took the blue notebook out of the backpack and held it. The frozen account message still sat in his phone like a stone. Four thousand dollars in cash was all he had left. The clean shirt on his back still felt like it belonged to someone else.“Midnight,” Kara said. “That’s six hours.”Noah nodded. “Victor wants the notebook. If I give it to him, he wins. If I don’t, the police report goes out and my face is everywhere.”Kara leaned her head back against the wall. “There’s another way. We could leave the city tonight. Start over somewhere else with what’s left.”Noah looked at her. “Is that what you want?”Kara was quiet for a long time. When she spoke, her voice was soft.“Part of me does. I’m tired of running. I’m tired of looking over my shoulder every hour. But if we le