Target Acquisition
The message didn't disappear this time.
It stayed on Evelyn's screen like a ticking clock.
Phase III launches in three weeks.
Alexander rerouted the penthouse firewall again, isolating the signal trace.
"It's masked through a quantum tunnel proxy," he muttered. "Military-grade obfuscation."
"So whoever is sending this…" Evelyn said quietly.
"Has access to the same infrastructure Helix does."
Not a whistleblower.
An insider.
Or someone very close to one.
Alexander reopened the Helix master directory.
His fingers moved faster now.
Controlled urgency.
"Phase I was system replication," he said. "Phase II was behavioral modeling."
He paused at a restricted folder.
PHASE III – STRATEGIC INTEGRATION.
Access Level: Tier Six.
His clearance was Tier Five.
He exhaled once.
"They upgraded it."
"Can you override it?" Evelyn asked.
"Not without tripping an internal alert."
Silence.
Then—
Evelyn stepped forward.
"Use my access."
He looked at her sharply.
"You don't have clearance."
"No," she said evenly.
"But Carter Technologies did."
He understood instantly.
"If Helix absorbed your father's IP," she continued, "they may have mirrored internal admin credentials tied to his original system architecture."
"And if that credential is embedded—"
"It might authenticate under legacy protocols."
He stared at her for half a beat.
Then nodded.
"Try."
She pulled up Carter's archived backend key — the one her father used as master developer authorization.
Hands steady.
Heart racing.
She entered it.
The system stalled.
Processing.
Authentication attempt logged.
Alexander's jaw tightened.
"Come on…"
Then—
ACCESS GRANTED.
They both froze.
Phase III folder opened.
And everything inside the room shifted.
The header wasn't technical.
It wasn't legal.
It wasn't structural.
It was strategic.
PROJECT HELIXPHASE III – EXECUTIVE REPLICATION & TRANSFER
Evelyn read it twice.
"Executive… replication?" she whispered.
Alexander scrolled.
Internal documentation populated.
Behavioral mapping algorithms.Voice pattern cloning.Decision-tree simulation modeling.
"It's AI," he said slowly.
"Not just AI."
She saw it now.
"They're building executive duplicates."
He continued reading.
Objective: replicate strategic cognition of key leadership targets to ensure continuity, predict instability, and control succession.
Her pulse dropped.
"Leadership targets?"
Alexander opened the first listed name.
TARGET 01 – JONATHAN REED.
Status: COMPLETE.
Evelyn looked at him slowly.
"They built a behavioral clone of your father."
He nodded once.
"Probably to predict retirement outcomes."
"Or to replace him," she said.
Silence.
Alexander opened the second name.
TARGET 02 – MARGARET REED.
Status: COMPLETE.
His throat tightened.
"They modeled her too."
"Control of legacy power," Evelyn murmured.
Then he scrolled.
The third name appeared.
And the room went quiet.
TARGET 03 – ALEXANDER REED.
Status: 82% COMPLETE.
Evelyn's heart slammed.
"They're replicating you."
Alexander didn't react at first.
He just stared.
Behavioral data charts filled the screen.
Boardroom recordings.Private communications.Psychological stress analysis.
"They've been mapping my decisions," he said quietly.
"Every acquisition. Every vote."
"Every emotional deviation."
Her stomach turned.
"They're predicting you."
"Yes."
"Why?"
Alexander scrolled to the executive summary.
And there it was.
Phase III Objective:
Establish algorithmic executive replacement capable of strategic override if primary executive deviates from Helix objectives.
Evelyn's breath caught.
"Override?" she whispered.
"They built a digital version of me," he said, voice dangerously calm, "that can outvote me."
"How?"
"Board simulation systems. Defense contract bidding algorithms. Strategic forecasting AI."
He looked at her.
"If I oppose Helix… the system can simulate my decision patterns and discredit me."
Her pulse spiked.
"They can fabricate instability."
"Yes."
"Make you appear erratic."
"Or compromised."
The implication landed heavily between them.
Compromised.
By marriage.
By her.
"They're building a reason to remove you," she whispered.
He nodded slowly.
"And replace me with a controllable successor."
"Daniel," she breathed.
Alexander's expression darkened.
"Daniel doesn't need to overthrow me physically."
"He just needs the algorithm to flag you as unstable."
Silence stretched.
Then—
Evelyn scrolled further.
There was a fourth entry.
TARGET 04 – EVELYN CARTER.
Status: DATA COLLECTION ACTIVE.
Her blood went cold.
"They're modeling me too."
Alexander's head snapped toward the screen.
"What?"
She opened the file.
Engagement interviews.Public footage analysis.Financial background audits.Psychological profiling.
"They're studying my reactions," she whispered.
"To what?" he demanded.
She read the predictive scenario line.
Simulated variables: betrayal response, legal retaliation threshold, emotional leverage viability.
Alexander went still.
"They're testing how you'll react when Helix surfaces."
"Yes."
"And whether you're controllable."
Silence filled the penthouse.
Then—
She saw it.
Projected Outcome Matrix.
If Alexander opposes Helix:→ Reputation destabilization protocol→ Engagement scandal exposure→ Financial irregularity leak→ Executive removal vote
If Evelyn escalates legally:→ Character assassination media deployment→ Litigation delay strategy→ Settlement containment
Her hands trembled.
"They anticipated everything."
Alexander's jaw tightened.
"They don't just replicate systems."
"They replicate outcomes."
A slow, terrifying realization formed.
Helix wasn't just copying innovation.
It was designing the future.
And eliminating variables.
"Phase III launches in three weeks," she whispered.
He nodded once.
"That's likely when the override goes live."
"And what triggers it?"
He scrolled to activation criteria.
Executive divergence from Helix strategic path.
He looked at her.
"If I move against them openly…"
"The system activates."
"And I'm removed."
Silence.
Then her phone buzzed again.
New message.
You're both already inside the simulation.
Alexander's expression sharpened.
"They're watching us."
"Yes."
Evelyn swallowed.
"So we stop playing predictably."
He looked at her.
Understanding dawning.
"You want to break the model."
"Yes."
"If they're replicating us based on known patterns…"
"Then we become unpredictable."
His eyes darkened slightly.
"Unpredictable how?"
She held his gaze.
"We stop reacting the way they expect."
A beat.
"They expect distance," she said softly.
"They expect conflict."
"They expect me to distrust you."
His pulse shifted.
"And what do we do instead?"
Her voice lowered.
"We unify publicly."
"Stronger than before."
"And privately?"
Her breath steadied.
"We dismantle Helix from the inside."
Alexander looked at the screen again.
At his name marked 82% complete.
At hers marked active.
Then he made a decision.
"They think they're replicating me," he said quietly.
"They're not."
He closed the Phase III file.
"They're replicating a version of me that doesn't exist anymore."
She studied him.
"What changed?"
His gaze settled on her.
"You did."
Silence fell.
Not romantic.
Not yet.
But real.
Three weeks.
That's all they had before an algorithm decided their fate.
And somewhere inside Reed Dynamics—
A system was learning them.
Predicting them.
Preparing to replace them.
Evelyn's phone buzzed one last time.
Final message.
Phase III primary activation event: Engagement gala.
Her blood ran cold.
"The gala," she whispered.
Alexander's jaw hardened.
"They're planning to trigger it at our own celebration."
The war wasn't just corporate anymore.
It was theatrical.
Public.
And personal.
Three weeks.
Until the algorithm decides who survives.