CHAPTER 49: The Chair Remembers
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Chapter 49: The Chair Remembers
The glass chamber sealed with a hiss.
Eliot watched helplessly from behind the reinforced window as Rina sat in the chair, cables slowly coiling around her arms and temples like living snakes.
On the console beside her, old screens lit up.
> Subject Alpha-R confirmed. Initiating Memory Playback.
Inside the chamber, Rina's breath quickened.
The metal beneath her pulsed with an eerie warmth. Then—darkness.
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Suddenly, she was no longer in the room.
She was there.
Back in Sector Twelve.
Years ago.
But she wasn't a girl.
She was a number.
A test.
A variable in a system designed to control human connection.
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She stood in a white jumpsuit. Her hands were strapped down. Scientists circled her, whispering into recorders.
Across from her—another chair. Occupied.
Eliot.
Only younger.
Eyes wide. Terrified. But somehow calm when he looked at her.
The memory shimmered.
> "Let them sync," a voice commanded.
"We need to see if they reach 100."
Then, her younger self reached out. Hand trembling.
And so did his.
The moment their hands touched, the entire room's power surged.
A siren blared.
> Heartsync Level: 100%—Unstable Emotional Bond Detected. Initiating Fail-safe.
Flashing red.
> SEPARATE THE SUBJECTS. NOW.
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Rina gasped as the memory spun violently—screams, men in hazmat suits, sedatives flooding her veins.
She remembered crying out.
Not because she was afraid—
But because they were taking him away.
Back in the present, her body jerked.
But the chair held her firm.
The next memory hit like a tidal wave.
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Rina was older now. Still in the lab. But this time... she wasn't resisting.
She was helping.
Running tests. Asking questions.
She believed in the project.
Her father's voice echoed in her head:
> "One day, you'll see, Rina. Love is just a formula. We can fix it."
Tears streamed down her present-day face.
She had helped them.
Helped them hurt Eliot.
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The final memory broke through like lightning.
The explosion.
She remembered pushing Eliot into the emergency lift.
She remembered staying behind to destroy the mainframe.
And she remembered his last words:
> "Find me. Even if you forget. Find me."
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Rina's eyes snapped open.
The chair powered down.
The door hissed.
Eliot ran in, catching her just as she collapsed into his arms.
"You… you remembered," he whispered.
"All of it," she said weakly. "What they did. What we did. And how… we still chose each other."
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Author's Note:
Love, even broken, can never be fully erased. If this chapter hit deep, show your support by adding Billionaire in Disguise to your collection. Every save helps the story live on—memory by memory, heart by heart.
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