e, and Ethan had retreated into a state of near-catatonic silence. He moved around the house

izza and opened a bottle of wine, a small cel

ra said, taking a large bite of pepperoni pizza. "The fact

was just... private. After Alex died, I didn' t want to be '

crackling of the fireplace I' d turned on. It was in moments l

ionary. He designed the core personality matrix for the companion AI. He wanted to create some

ccident... it destroyed everything. One minute, we were plannin

zed my hand. "And you were

ut I couldn' t bear to be in the spotlight. So I put a board in charge and stepped away. When the first

d him Ethan, the name Alex and I had picked out for our future son. For seven yea

a machine. A very advanced one, but still a machine. And

was still a raw wound. The comfort I had relied on

res of herself looking sad in a generic hotel room, with captions about the cruelty

be so heartless?"

d be ashamed of hers

l and simple: I was the rich, evil stepsis

evening, I was driving home from a late meeting when my car' s engine sputtered and died.

bout to get out and start walking, a sleek black car pulled up behind me. The headlights w

s. I hesitantly rolle

. His voice was deep and

e glare of his headlights, just a silh

od. I' ll ta

t him. I did as he asked. He spent a few minut

he said. "You' re not going anywhere

' t know,"

d my entire world stopped. "You

him. It was Alex. But it couldn' t be. He had a short beard now, and a scar running through his

g? Was this some new, cruel trick?

ow my name?" I whispe

" he said, his expression softening.

gently opened my car door. "Come on. It

and something clean, something real. As he drove, I stared at his profile, at the hands on the steer

e was