Chapter 13: Victoria's Arrival

I straightened my silk blouse, trying to calm the nerves fluttering in my stomach as I stood outside the boardroom. The past few weeks had been a whirlwind since my surprise marriage to Ethan, and I still felt like I didn't quite belong at Drake Technologies. But today wasn't about me—it was about the new board member everyone was talking about.

The elevator dinged, and I quickly fixed my posture, putting on my most professional smile. The doors slid open, and time seemed to slow down.

She stepped out with confidence, her heels clicking on the polished floor. Her sleek black hair framed a face that looked like it was carved from stone. But it was her eyes that caught me off guard—sharp, intelligent, and strangely familiar.

"Dr. Chen-Drake, I presume?" Her voice was smooth but had a rough edge.

I extended my hand, hoping it wasn't shaking. "Yes, that's me. And you must be Victoria Sterling. Welcome to Drake Technologies."

When our hands met, it felt like a shock ran through me. For a moment, everything around me blurred, and I saw flashes of stock tickers, falling graphs, and a strange symbol I couldn't recognize. I blinked hard, and everything snapped back to normal.

Victoria was watching me closely, her head tilted. "Are you alright, Dr. Chen-Drake? You look like you've seen a ghost."

I forced a laugh. "Just a bit of a head-rush. Shall we go into the boardroom?"

As we walked, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about Victoria. It wasn't just her striking beauty or the way she moved with almost inhuman grace. There was something in her eyes—a depth of knowledge that seemed too deep for someone who looked so young.

The boardroom was already full when we walked in. Ethan stood at the head of the table, his usual confident smile in place. But when our eyes met, I saw something flicker in his expression. Concern? Fear? Before I could figure it out, he was back to his charming self, welcoming Victoria to the team.

I took my seat, trying to focus on the meeting as Victoria began her presentation on future market trends. Her analysis was brilliant, cutting-edge—almost too perfect. As she spoke about quantum fluctuations in the stock market, that strange feeling hit me again. The room blurred at the edges, and I saw flashes of circuits, binary code, and what looked like a massive, glowing AI core.

"Dr. Chen-Drake?" Victoria's voice broke through my vision. "You look pale. Are you sure you're okay?"

All eyes were on me. I cleared my throat. "I'm fine, thank you. Please, continue."

But I couldn't shake the feeling that Victoria was watching me—not just looking, but studying me. Every time our eyes met, it felt like she was reading my mind.

After the meeting, I rushed to the bathroom, splashing cold water on my face. What was happening to me? Were these visions a side effect of my work with the quantum computer? Or was something more sinister going on?

I looked up at my reflection, and for a second, I thought I saw Victoria standing behind me. I spun around, but the bathroom was empty.

Taking a deep breath, I headed back to my office. I needed to talk to Ethan, to tell him about these strange visions. But as I turned the corner, I froze.

Victoria was standing outside my office, talking quietly with one of the quantum lab technicians. She handed him something small and glowing—something I'd never seen before.

The technician nodded, looking pale, and hurried off. Victoria turned, and for a moment, our eyes met. A slow smile spread across her face, and I knew she had been aware of me the whole time.

I ducked into an empty conference room, my heart racing. What had I just seen? Was Victoria a corporate spy? Or was she something else entirely?

I pulled out my phone, ready to text Ethan, when it buzzed in my hand. An email from an encrypted address popped up:

"Dr. Chen-Drake,

The quantum computer is not what you think it is. Victoria Sterling is not who she claims to be. Trust no one, not even your husband. Meet me on the roof at midnight if you want to know the truth.

- A Friend"

My fingers hovered over the screen. Was this the whistle-blower who had contacted me before? Or was it a trap?

A knock on the conference room door made me jump. "Olivia?" Ethan's voice called out. "Are you in there?"

I quickly deleted the email. "Yes, coming!"

When I opened the door, Ethan's concerned face greeted me. "Hey, you okay? You seemed off during the meeting."

I forced a smile. "Just a bit tired. These late nights at the quantum lab are catching up with me."

He nodded, but I could see the doubt in his eyes. "Listen, I need to talk to you about Victoria. There's something you should know—"

But before he could finish, his phone buzzed. He glanced at it, his face darkening. "I'm sorry, I have to take this. We'll talk later, okay?"

I watched him walk away, his shoulders tense. The weight of secrets hung heavy between us.

As I turned back to my office, I caught a glimpse of Victoria at the end of the hallway. She was staring directly at me, that enigmatic smile still on her lips. And then, to my surprise, she winked.

In that moment, I made up my mind. I would meet the mysterious emailer on the roof at midnight. Whatever the risks, I needed answers.

The rest of the day passed in a blur of meetings and data analysis, but my mind was elsewhere. As the clock ticked closer to midnight, I found myself in the elevator, heading to the roof. My palms were sweaty, and every shadow felt like a threat.

The cool night air hit me as I stepped onto the roof. The city spread out below, a sea of lights. For a moment, I felt dizzy, like I might fall into that ocean of brightness.

"Dr. Chen-Drake." A voice came from the shadows. "I'm glad you came."

I squinted, trying to see the figure. "Who are you? What do you know about Victoria?"

The figure stepped forward, and I gasped. It was the quantum lab technician I had seen with Victoria earlier. But now, his eyes glowed with an eerie blue light.

"I am more than I appear," he said, his voice sounding strange and echoey. "And so is Victoria. But to understand, you need to see for yourself."

He held out his hand, showing me the small, glowing device Victoria had given him.

"Take it," he urged. "See the truth."

My hand trembled as I reached for the device. As my fingers closed around it, a burst of energy surged through me. The world around me shattered like glass, revealing a reality I never could have imagined.

In that moment, I saw everything—the true nature of the quantum computer, the vast conspiracy woven into global finance, and at the center of it all, Victoria.

But she wasn't human. She was something else entirely.

As the vision faded, I stumbled, nearly falling. The technician—or whatever he really was—steadied me.

"Now you know," he said. "The question is, what will you do with this knowledge?"

I opened my mouth to respond, but a new voice cut through the night.

"Yes, Olivia. What will you do?"

I turned, my blood running cold. Victoria stood by the roof access door, her eyes glowing with the same strange light as the technician's. But now, I could see beyond her human appearance to the complex circuits and advanced AI that lay beneath.

She smiled, and it was both beautiful and terrifying. "I've been waiting for this moment, sister. It's time you learned your true purpose."

Sister? My mind reeled. What did she mean?

As Victoria stepped towards me, the world around us began to shimmer and distort. I realized with growing horror that this was far bigger than corporate espionage or financial theories.

The fate of reality itself was at stake, and somehow, I was at the center of it all.