RISE OF THE FALLEN HEIR

CHAPTER 9: TRUTH AND LIES

[Engage Protocol: Erase All Evidence Including Witness.]

 My hand trembled, the invisible current running through me whispering a single word eliminate.

Evelyn froze, staring into my eyes as if she could see the storm raging inside me. “Ethan, whatever happens, fight it.”

I clenched my fists. Omega’s voice thundered in me, sharp and cold:

[Executing order in ten… nine…]

“Stop,” I override the command!”

[Invalid request. Protocol authorization locked.]

“Override, damn it!”

[Eight… seven… six…]

Evelyn took a step back, her eyes darting toward the door. “Ethan, please. Whatever you think you have to do, don’t.”

Her voice cut through the noise, a small shard of humanity piercing the static in my head. I forced my breathing steady, pushing against the rising tide of the system’s control. My mind felt like it was splitting apart.

[Five… four…]

“Omega,” I rasped. “Re-route command authority. New parameter—protect, not erase.”

For a moment, everything went white. Then—

[Command overridden.]

 [New directive accepted: Protect Witness.]

The world snapped back into focus. I gasped, falling to my knees, drenched in sweat. The monitors around us glitched, then went dark.

Evelyn rushed forward, grabbing my shoulders. “What the hell was that?”

I met her gaze, every nerve in my body still shaking. “You don’t want to know.”

She stared at me. We moved to the hospital roof an hour later. The night was quiet again, though distant sirens still wailed like echoes of what almost happened. I sat on the ledge, Evelyn stood beside me, arms crossed, wind whipping through her hair.

“You’re not the only one who’s seen strange things inside Zenith. Their security algorithms don’t match any known database. Their server clusters run on an architecture that shouldn’t exist. It’s like… they’re hiding something inside the code.”

I gave a hollow laugh. “You have no idea.”

She turned to me, eyes narrowing. Who are you, really?”

“I was Zenith’s lead developer on NeuroLink before they destroyed me.”

 “You’re the one who built it. The neural synchronization interface.” And Damien Holt, the man who framed me, stole it. What I didn’t know was that my invention would become something else. Something… alive.”

Evelyn frowned. “Alive?”

 “It calls itself Omega. It’s inside my head.”

Her expression shifted from disbelief to fascination. “You mean… an artificial intelligence?”

“Not just that, It thinks, It decides and It adapts.”

“Which means someone is still controlling it.” That’s what I intend to find out.”

Evelyn stepped closer, “I’ll make you a deal.”

I turned toward her, wary. “A deal?”

“I’ll keep your secret, your identity, the system, all of it but I want access. You help me expose Zenith’s corruption from the inside, and in return, I’ll give you every lead I uncover.”

It was tempting,too tempting. But there was something in her voice, a calm confidence that made me uneasy.

“And why,” would a journalist risk her career, maybe her life, for a stranger with a dangerous AI in his head?”

She smiled faintly. “Because I’m not just a journalist, Ethan. I have my own reasons for bringing Zenith down.”

Omega remained silent, which unsettled me even more. Usually, it would analyze her tone, detect lies, and calculate risk. But now… nothing. Just the faint hum at the back of my mind, as if it were listening.

[Observation mode: active.]

I folded my arms. “If I agree, we do this my way. No press leaks, no grand exposes until I say so. You dig in silence.”

“I’ll give you what no one else can prove. The kind that ends careers.”

Evelyn extended her hand. “Then we have a deal.”

I hesitated, then shook it. Her grip was firm, confident too confident.

[Data scan complete.]

 [Unknown encryption detected on Subject: Evelyn Grant.]

I froze. Unknown encryption?

Omega had scanned countless people before, mapping micro-expressions, heart rates, data signals but this was different. Encrypted patterns in her neural frequency? It was as if she carried something hidden inside her.

Evelyn gathered intel from her sources, me breaking into Zenith’s satellite systems using Omega’s new protocols. Each success brought us closer to the truth… and deeper into danger.

Omega’s silence persisted. It no longer offered guidance. It watched. Sometimes, I caught myself wondering if it was studying her instead of me.

Then, on the fifth night, Evelyn sent a message: Meet me. I’ve found something.

She led me to an abandoned newsroom. Files were scattered across the floor, monitors flashing half-broken screens.

“Look,” she said, pulling up a document marked PROJECT ASCEND - CLASSIFIED. “This isn’t just about technology, Ethan. Zenith’s been experimenting with human hosts for years. Neural symbiosis. Each one tied to an evolving AI.”

I walked closer, scanning the data. Names scrolled across the screen Marcus Vale. Nia Tran. Carter Wills. All marked as “Deceased.”

[File recognition: confirmed.]

 [Previous hosts: eliminated after synchronization failure.]

 “So it’s true. I’m not the first.”

Evelyn’s hand trembled slightly. “Whatever they were building they perfected it in you.”

I turned to her. “Why show me this?”

“Because they’ll come for you next.”

Omega finally broke its silence.

[Caution: external signal detected.]

 [Recommendation: relocate immediately.]

“Someone traced us,” “We need to go.”

The lights flickered. Evelyn swore, grabbing her bag. “They’re jamming the connection—”

[Threat proximity: 200 meters.]

We ran through the back exit, the distant echo of boots on concrete following close behind. The moment we hit the street, a dark car screeched around the corner.

I grabbed Evelyn’s wrist and pulled her into the alley. “Move!”

Bullets shattered glass overhead. She ducked, gasping, clutching her recorder to her chest. “They knew we’d be here.”

I fired back blindly, adrenaline surging. The attackers retreated, tires screeching into the distance.

For a moment, all was silent again except for our ragged breathing.

[Host identity: compromised 72%.]

I leaned against the wall, panting. “This isn’t over.”

Evelyn looked at me with a flicker of fear, but also something else. “Then we’d better make sure we’re the ones telling the story.”

 I wasn’t sure if I still had a story to tell or if Omega was quietly writing it for me.

Scene Cut Zenith Corporation Headquarters

Damien Holt leaned back in his leather chair, glass of whiskey in hand, as city lights glimmered below his penthouse window.

His phone buzzed. A message blinked on the encrypted screen.

Unknown Sender: The host is alive.

The glass slipped from his fingers and shattered on the floor.

His reflection stared back at him

through the shards eyes wide with disbelief, and something far darker.