Chapter 10: First Day at Drake Technologies

The glass and steel monolith of Drake Technologies loomed before me, its reflective surface catching the morning sun and nearly blinding me as I approached. My heart raced, a mixture of excitement and trepidation coursing through my veins. This was it. My first day as Mrs. Ethan Drake, economist extraordinaire and corporate spy.

I adjusted my tailored blazer and took a deep breath. "You've got this, Olivia," I muttered to myself, clutching my briefcase a little tighter. The weight of the quantum USB drive Ethan had given me felt like a ticking time bomb against my thigh.

As I pushed through the revolving doors, the bustling lobby engulfed me. Employees in crisp suits and dresses hurried past, their faces a blur of determination and caffeine-fueled focus. The air hummed with the energy of a company on the cutting edge of technology.

A tall, slender woman with piercing green eyes approached me, her heels clicking rhythmically on the polished floor. "Dr. Chen-Drake?" she asked, her voice cool and professional. "I'm Samantha, Mr. Drake's executive assistant. He's asked me to show you to your office."

I nodded, following her to a private elevator. As the doors closed, I caught a glimpse of my reflection – poised, confident, and utterly terrified. The marriage might be a sham, but the stakes were all too real.

Samantha's voice cut through my thoughts. "Mr. Drake has granted you highest-level clearance. Your office is on the 87th floor, right next to his."

The elevator shot upwards, my stomach lurching with each passing floor. When the doors finally opened, I stepped out into a hallway that screamed luxury and power. Original artwork adorned the walls, and the plush carpet muffled our footsteps.

Samantha led me to a door with a sleek nameplate: "Dr. Olivia Chen-Drake, Chief Economic Advisor." She smiled tightly. "Mr. Drake will join you shortly for your orientation. If you need anything, don't hesitate to call."

With that, she was gone, leaving me alone in my new domain. I slowly circled the spacious office, taking in the floor-to-ceiling windows that offered a breathtaking view of the city. A state-of-the-art computer setup dominated one wall, its screens dark and waiting.

I set my briefcase down on the imposing mahogany desk and ran my fingers along its smooth surface. This was where I'd unravel the economic mysteries that had brought me here, where I'd decode the data that could change the world.

The door opened, and Ethan strode in, his presence immediately filling the room. "Good morning, darling," he said loudly, then lowered his voice as he approached. "The office is secure, but we should assume we're always being watched."

I nodded, playing along. "Good morning, dear. The office is beautiful."

Ethan's eyes darted to the computer. "Let's get you set up, shall we?" He leaned in close, ostensibly to kiss my cheek, and whispered, "The USB drive. Now."

My hand shaking slightly, I retrieved the drive from my pocket and handed it to him. Ethan inserted it into the computer, his fingers flying across the keyboard. Screens came to life, flooding the room with a soft blue glow.

"This will give you access to our financial databases," he explained for the benefit of any listeners. "But be careful. There are layers upon layers of encryption. One wrong move, and you could alert the wrong people."

I raised an eyebrow. "Wrong people?"

Ethan's face was grim. "Let's just say not everyone in this company is thrilled about our marriage or your new position. Trust no one, Olivia. Not even me."

A chill ran down my spine. What had I gotten myself into?

For the next hour, Ethan walked me through the basics of the system, his words carefully chosen to sound like a normal orientation. But beneath the surface, I could sense the urgency in his voice, the hidden meanings in his instructions.

As he was about to leave, a notification popped up on the main screen. Ethan froze, his eyes widening. "That's impossible," he muttered.

"What is it?" I asked, leaning in to see.

"A breach in our quantum encryption protocol. Someone's trying to access the core database." His fingers flew across the keyboard, lines of code streaming past faster than I could follow. "This is bad, Olivia. Really bad."

Alarms began to blare throughout the building. Ethan cursed under his breath. "Listen to me carefully," he said, gripping my shoulders. "In exactly three minutes, I need you to initiate the Lazarus Protocol. The password is 'Schrödinger's Economy.' Can you remember that?"

I nodded, my mouth dry. "Lazarus Protocol. Schrödinger's Economy. But what does it do?"

Ethan was already heading for the door. "It'll buy us time. And hopefully prevent a global economic meltdown." He paused, his hand on the doorknob. "Whatever happens, whatever you see or hear, do not leave this room. Do you understand?"

Before I could respond, he was gone, leaving me alone with the wailing alarms and the ominous countdown on the screen.

Two minutes and thirty seconds.

I paced the office, my mind racing. What was the Lazarus Protocol? How could it prevent a global economic meltdown? And more importantly, who was behind this breach?

Two minutes.

I thought back to the whistleblower's warning, the cryptic messages, the strange visions I'd been having since I shook Ethan's hand. It was all connected, but how?

One minute thirty seconds.

The view outside my window caught my eye. People were running in the streets, pointing up at the building. What could they see that I couldn't?

One minute.

My computer screens flickered, displaying fragments of code and financial data. For a split second, I thought I saw a pattern, a hidden message within the numbers. But it was gone before I could decipher it.

Thirty seconds.

My hand hovered over the keyboard. Was I really going to do this? Initiate a protocol I knew nothing about, potentially affecting the global economy?

Fifteen seconds.

I took a deep breath and positioned my fingers on the keys.

Ten seconds.

The alarms grew louder, more insistent.

Five seconds.

I closed my eyes, steeling myself for whatever was about to happen.

Three. Two. One.

I typed in "Lazarus Protocol" and hit enter. A password prompt appeared.

"Schrödinger's Economy," I whispered as I typed, my heart pounding in my ears.

For a moment, nothing happened. The alarms stopped abruptly, plunging the room into an eerie silence. Then, one by one, the screens went dark.

Suddenly, a new message appeared:

"LAZARUS PROTOCOL INITIATED. QUANTUM ENTANGLEMENT DETECTED. PREPARE FOR DIMENSIONAL SHIFT."

The room began to shimmer, the walls seeming to bend and twist. I gripped the edges of my desk, watching in horror as reality itself seemed to warp around me.

And then, just as quickly as it had begun, everything snapped back to normal. The screens returned to life, displaying a dizzying array of economic data and projections I'd never seen before.

But something was different. The view outside my window had changed. The skyline was altered, buildings that hadn't been there before now dominating the horizon.

As I stood there, trying to comprehend what had just happened, a new message flashed across my screen:

"Welcome to Earth-2, Dr. Chen-Drake. Your true work begins now."

My breath caught in my throat as the implications hit me. What had I done? Where was I? And more importantly, how was I going to get back?

The door to my office burst open, and I spun around, expecting to see Ethan. But the man standing there wasn't my fake husband. He looked like Ethan, but older, battle-worn, with a scar running down his left cheek.

He smiled grimly. "Hello, Olivia. I've been waiting a long time for you to arrive."

As the door slammed shut behind him, I realized that my adventure was only just beginning.