Aurora glanced at her one last ti, her expression indifferent. "There’s nothing more to talk about."
She turned around. "I’ll leave first."
With that, she walked away, her footsteps steady and unhurried.
Alana stared at her retreating back, her nails digging harshly into her palms as a surge of fury rose within her chest.
"Aurora..." she muttered under her breath, her voice trembling with suppressed rage. "Just you wait... I’ll make you regret this."
Her eyes burned with a venomous glare, dark and twisted.
If Aurora had seen it, she would have only scoffed. ’You can’t do anything to .’
And in truth... Alana really couldn’t. Aurora was far beyond her reach, protected in ways Alana couldn’t even comprehend.
anwhile, after returning, Aurora imdiately began investigating Alana.
There was sothing deeply wrong about her.
Normally, by this point, a person would have broken down completely... confessed, lashed out, or at the very least shown genuine hatred.
But Alana... was too calm. Too controlled.
’It’s as if she isn’t even human...’ Aurora thought, her fingers tapping lightly against the table.
That thought alone was enough for her to form a plan.
The next day, when Alana nervously approached her again, Aurora rely glanced at her before deliberately acting distant, as if she had already lost interest.
She kept her distance, giving Alana no opportunity to act.
Days passed. Alana didn’t try anything again. Not once.
Until three days later
She suddenly appeared near Aurora’s residential area, her body covered in visible injuries, her movents weak, and she was bleeding.
It just so happened that Aurora had co downstairs at that mont after Lily told her, "I’ve prepared a gift for you. Co down."
The mont Aurora stepped outside, her eyes fell on Alana’s trembling figure.
’Right on ti,’ she thought calmly.
The next second, she walked over. "What happened to you?"
Alana lifted her head weakly, her voice trembling. "I... I’m being chased... please... help ..."
Aurora nodded.
Then, without the slightest hesitation, she raised her hand and struck.
A dull thud echoed as Alana’s body went limp instantly.
Aurora caught her effortlessly, her expression completely cold.
"Finally," she murmured under her breath.
She dragged Alana’s unconscious body back toward the residential area, her movents smooth and practiced.
Alana, who had expected Aurora to panic and rush her to the hospital, never imagined this outco.
Because from the very beginning... Aurora had never planned to let her go.
Too many people had already interfered with her life, with her family.
And she was done tolerating it.
When Alana opened her eyes again, her vision blurred for a mont before slowly clearing.
She found herself in an unfamiliar apartnt.
A wave of panic surged through her as she tried to move... only to realize her hands were tightly bound behind the chair, rough ropes digging painfully into her wrists.
Her mouth was stuffed with cloth, suffocating her cries.
She struggled violently, the chair scraping against the floor with a harsh screech.
"Mmmph! Mmph!"
No one ca. Fear began to creep into her chest, cold and suffocating.
’System... help ...!’ she scread inwardly.
Silence. No response. Nothing. Her heart dropped.
anwhile, not far away, Aurora sat calmly, her posture relaxed as she observed everything.
Earlier, during a eting with Lily at a café, Spencer had gathered so information about this so-called "system."
He had gone a step further and had created a special jamr capable of blocking it.
And now... that small device sat quietly beside Aurora, humming faintly.
Alana tried again. ’System! Respond!’
Still nothing. For the first ti, true fear gripped her.
Aurora, on the other hand, was preparing for the next step.
She had already hired a specialist doctor experienced in handling delicate procedures involving the brain.
While Alana had been unconscious, Aurora had arranged for a portable MRI scan.
The results had confird her suspicion. There was a chip.
Embedded deep within a sensitive part of Alana’s brain.
’So I was right...’ Aurora thought, her eyes darkening slightly. ’She’s from the Institute.’
That explained everything: her unnatural calmness, her controlled reactions, and her calculated behavior.
Now, all that remained... was to uncover the truth.
The door creaked open. Aurora stepped inside, followed by the doctor.
The mont Alana saw her, she began struggling violently, her eyes filled with fury and fear.
"Mmph! Mmph!"
Aurora walked closer, her gaze indifferent.
"If you dare touch ..." Alana’s muffled voice ca through the cloth, trembling with rage, "...the Institute will retaliate!"
"The Institute has remained silent only because they didn’t want to harm you," Alana’s voice trembled, yet it carried a sharp edge of desperation, her eyes burning as she struggled against the ropes. "But if you keep this up..."
Aurora suddenly chuckled.
She lifted her hand lazily, silencing Alana mid-rant without even touching her.
"I don’t care," she said coldly, her gaze indifferent, almost bored. "Whether the Institute cos after or not... they’ve never made my life easy anyway."
The words fell like ice.
Alana’s eyes widened in disbelief, her pupils trembling slightly. But that disbelief quickly twisted into horror when her gaze shifted past Aurora
A man in a white coat stood quietly behind her.
A doctor.
"What... what is this?" Alana’s voice cracked, panic finally breaking through her composure. "What’s going on? Why is there a doctor here?"
Aurora tilted her head slightly, her lips curling into a faint smile that didn’t reach her eyes.
"Just a small check-up," she replied lightly. "I was worried about you."
She stepped closer, her shadow falling over Alana.
"You have sothing... in your brain," Aurora continued, her tone soft yet terrifyingly calm. "A bug. I’m planning to remove it."
For a mont, Alana froze completely.
Then... her entire body began to shake violently.
"No... no, you can’t!"
Before she could even finish, a sharp strike landed.
Darkness swallowed her once again.
The operating room was cold.
Aurora stood quietly to the side, her expression calm, almost detached, as she watched everything unfold.
’The Institute...’ she thought silently. ’People who believe they are chosen... superior... untouchable.’
Her eyes darkened slightly.
She didn’t know what Alana had done in the past. She didn’t care.
But one thing was certain... Alana’s intentions toward her had never been innocent.
And that alone... was enough.
Five long hours passed. Finally, the door opened.
The doctor stepped out, holding a small tallic box.
Aurora’s gaze imdiately locked onto it. A faint smile appeared on her lips.
She stepped forward. "How is she?"
The doctor nodded. "She’s stable."
He paused for a mont before adding, "We also noticed sothing unusual. The chip... it was starting to burn."
Aurora’s expression shifted slightly.
"If it had remained in her brain for another year," the doctor continued gravely, "it might have ruptured completely."
Aurora was taken aback. ’Burning...?’
That was new information. Dangerous information.
She took the box slowly. Later that night, Aurora returned ho.
anwhile, Alana... still unconscious... was strapped securely to a hospital bed. Without ceremony, she was transported away... directly to a ntal asylum.
That had been Aurora’s order.
Sitting alone in her dimly lit room, Aurora placed the small chip on her desk.
She stared at it for a long mont. Curious... but cautious.
’Sothing this advanced... won’t be easy to crack,’ she thought.
She decided to contact Spencer and explained everything to him. After she finished speaking Spencer’s calm voice commanded her,
"Place the chip in the CD disk section."
She picked up the chip and inserted it into the laptop.
The mont it connected The screen went completely black.
Aurora’s fingers stiffened.
For a split second, unease flickered through her chest. ’Did soone hack my system?’
Then
A chanical voice echoed from the speakers.
[Congratulations for being selected as a participant in the novel ’Love , CEO.’]
Her face fell instantly.
’So even after being removed... it still functions like this?’
Taking a slow breath, she leaned back slightly, her eyes narrowing at the screen.
"What do I need to do?" she asked flatly. "And what exactly is this ’Love , CEO’ plot?"
The system responded imdiately.
[The male lead is a CEO nad Lucas Waters.]
Aurora’s fingers tightened slightly. ’Lucas ...’
Her eyes turned cold.
’So even after everything... they’re still dragging my family into this.’
[The CEO already has a fiancée nad Jules,] the system continued, its tone emotionless. [However, their relationship is strained. Conflicts have recently arisen regarding childbirth.]
Aurora listened silently, her expression growing darker with each word.
[The CEO desires an heir, but his fiancée refuses. Frustrated, he imrses himself in work... until he encounters an ordinary, unattractive girl who gradually captures his attention.]
Aurora’s lips twitched faintly in disdain.
[At first, he observes her from afar. Eventually, he becos drawn to her charm ...]
Aurora’s gaze turned icy.
’From villain... to side character... to protagonist,’ she thought bitterly. ’What a progression.’
But she didn’t want this. Not for her brother.
Taking a slow breath, she forced a faint smile. "Interesting. So what’s my role?"
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