ELEVATED BY ERROR

Chapter Four: The Promotion Trap

Frank Ashford stood in the lobby of MorganTech Tower, and for the first time in five years, he wasn’t invisible.

The suit they gave him didn’t fit quite right, too sharp, too new, too symbolic. Yesterday, no one held the elevator for him. This morning, the same people who used to look through him now greeted him with forced smiles and sidelong stares.

“Mr. Ashford.”

“Good morning, sir.”

“Welcome aboard.”

They didn’t know whether to shake his hand or check his ID, That was the power of a title, Acting Director of Systems Security. It was printed on the badge that now unlocked everything.

Frank walked toward the elevator and pressed the button. When the doors opened, he was greeted by the sharp scent of disinfectant and cold air-conditioning, nothing had changed. Except him.

Thirty floors up…

Grant Bishop watched from his office, arms folded, his expression unreadable. Beside him, Cassidy Trent leaned against the glass with a tablet in hand. “Why promote him if we plan to burn him?” she asked.

“Because power is intoxicating,” Bishop replied. “Let him taste it. The more he drinks, the more reckless he becomes. And when the board demands a fall guy, he’ll already be halfway to the edge.”

Cassidy frowned. “And Ella Morgan?”

“She’s his weakness. We let her run too free, and she becomes a problem.”

“Should I take care of it?”

Bishop looked away from the glass. “Not yet. Watch them. Both of them. And if either of them reaches the core…”

He tapped the screen on her tablet. It showed a single word:

ASHFALL: PRIMED. “…we trigger the purge.”

Down in Systems Security HQ…

Frank was escorted to a sleek, cold office, a room filled with black monitors, encrypted consoles, and people far more qualified than he looked. A young assistant greeted him with a clipboard and a wary glance.

“Mr. Ashford,” she said, clearing her throat. “You’re scheduled to sit in on the Executive Systems Audit in fifteen minutes.”

“I didn’t request that,” Frank replied.

“No, sir. Mr. Bishop did.”

Frank hid his reaction. That meant one thing: a test. He nodded. “Let’s make them regret it.”

As the assistant left, Frank sat down at the center console and inserted the key drive Ella had given him the night before, The screen shimmered, then pulsed. “Root Key Detected. Would you like to proceed?”

[YES] [NO]

He hesitated. Then clicked YES. Suddenly, the screen split into three restricted files:

Ashfall Protocol

Project IRIS: Core Behavior Model

Subject Profiles – Classified Entities

Frank’s heart pounded, The third file opened on its own.

Subject: Frank Ashford

Classification: Risk Level 5

Status: Containment via Controlled Elevation

Projected Termination Date: August 11th

Frank’s blood ran cold. That’s seven days from now.

Elsewhere…

Ella Morgan was at her father’s memorial archive, flipping through encrypted documents, handwritten notes, voice memos. She found a short audio file titled “Failsafe.”

She hit play.

“If you’re hearing this… they got to me.”

“IRIS isn’t just a tool. It’s learning. And someone, maybe Bishop found a way to make it choose. If IRIS flags a threat, it initiates Ashfall. That means complete system purge. That means murder masked as malfunction.”

“There’s only one person who can stop it now. And if he’s still alive… he won’t even know what he’s standing on.”

“His name is Frank Ashford.”

Ella sat back, stunned, Her father had known. Not just about IRIS, but about Frank.

Back at MorganTech…

Frank walked into the Executive Audit meeting. Ten board members sat in a semicircle, all sharp suits and suspicious glances. In the middle sat Grant Bishop, smiling faintly. “Mr. Ashford,” he greeted. “We appreciate you joining us so quickly.”

Frank nodded. “Would’ve been faster, but I had to change out of my janitor uniform.”

A few chuckles. A few frowns, Bishop leaned forward. “You accessed IRIS. Tell us what you saw.”

Frank studied every face in the room. Then he said: “I saw a system built to predict human behavior and now it's being used to control it. And if that’s the company’s direction, I’d like to know which one of you signed off on it.”

Silence.

Then a voice spoke up from the end of the table. “I did.”

Everyone turned. It was Jonathan Dale, the oldest board member, once a friend of Richard Morgan, He stood slowly. “Because I thought we were defending the company. I didn’t know we’d be targeting our own.”

Bishop’s face tightened, Frank took a risk. “Mr. Dale, do you still have access to the original logs?”

The old man nodded. “Good. Then we’re going to find out who really launched IRIS… and why it’s trying to erase me.”

Outside the conference room…

Cassidy Trent watched the security feed. She didn’t smile. She reached for her phone. “He’s not folding.”

“Then break him.”