Elara's POV - Three Years Ago
"It works! Oh my God, it actually works!"
I'm screaming in the lab at two in the morning, and I don't care who hears me. The Chronos Engine hums in front of me, glowing with blue light, and the numbers on the screen are impossible but real.
I just moved five minutes from one test subject to another.
Five minutes of TIME.
Marcus bursts through the lab door, his hair messy from sleep. "Elara? What's wrong? I heard you screaming—"
"Look!" I grab his hand and drag him to the screen. "It worked! The temporal transfer was successful! Subject A lost five minutes from his future, and Subject B gained them. No side effects, no cellular damage, nothing! This is it, Marcus. This is the cure!"
Marcus stares at the data. His eyes go wide. Then he picks me up and spins me around, both of us laughing like crazy people.
"You're a genius," he says, kissing me. "An absolute genius. Do you know what this means?"
I know exactly what it means.
It means people like my mom won't die young anymore. It means people like Mira won't have to be afraid of temporal disease. It means we can actually save lives instead of just watching people fade away.
"We have to tell Victor," Marcus says, already pulling out his phone. "He needs to see this now."
"It's two AM—"
"Trust me, he'll want to know."
Marcus is right. Twenty minutes later, Dr. Victor Kane walks into my lab wearing a suit like he never sleeps. He's fifty-something, with gray hair and kind eyes, and he's been my mentor since I was a grad student. He believed in me when everyone else said I was crazy for thinking we could transfer time between people.
"Show me," he says simply.
I walk him through everything. The theory. The process. The results. With each word, Victor's smile gets bigger.
"Elara," he says finally, putting his hands on my shoulders like a proud father, "you've just changed the world. Do you understand that? Temporal disease will be curable. Life extension will be available to everyone, not just the rich. You've done something truly remarkable."
My eyes burn with happy tears. This is it. This is the moment I've been working toward since Mom died. Finally, her death means something.
"We'll need to run more tests," Victor continues. "Larger subjects. Human trials. But the foundation is solid. I'm recommending you for immediate promotion to Senior Research Director. At twenty-six, you'll be the youngest in company history."
Marcus hugs me from behind. "That's my girl."
The lab door opens again. Sienna rushes in, still in her pajamas. "I got Marcus's text! Is it true? Did you actually—" She sees the data on the screen and squeals. "Elara! You did it!"
Sienna Cross has been my best friend since freshman year of college. We met in Advanced Physics and bonded over terrible cafeteria coffee and all-nighters. She's the sister I chose, the person who knows all my secrets.
She hugs me so hard I can't breathe. "I'm so proud of you. Your mom would be so proud."
And just like that, I'm crying for real.
The four of us—Victor, Marcus, Sienna, and me—celebrate in the lab. Victor orders expensive champagne delivered. We toast to the future. To saving lives. To changing everything.
"To Dr. Elara Chen," Victor says, raising his glass. "The woman who conquered time."
I should feel happy. I should feel victorious.
So why does Victor's smile make my skin crawl just a little?
The next three weeks are perfect. Too perfect.
I run successful test after successful test. The Chronos Engine performs flawlessly. Marcus is talking about wedding dates. Sienna brings me coffee every morning with encouraging notes. Victor keeps praising my work in front of the entire research team.
I'm living my dream.
Then, on a Tuesday, everything changes.
I'm in the lab analyzing data when I notice something weird. The company database shows temporal transfers I didn't authorize. Someone else has been using the Engine. At night. When I'm not here.
I dig deeper into the files.
What I find makes my blood freeze.
The unauthorized transfers aren't moving five minutes. They're moving years. Decades. And they're not taking from volunteers—they're taking from people in the Borrowed Quarters. Poor people. Sick people. People who have no idea they're being drained.
And the time is being sold to rich clients for millions of dollars.
My hands shake as I scroll through transaction records. Hundreds of them. Maybe thousands. All using MY research. MY machine.
There's a name on the authorization forms: Dr. Victor Kane.
No. No, no, no. Victor wouldn't do this. He's my mentor. He believes in helping people, not exploiting them.
I copy the files onto a flash drive and hide it in my pocket. Then I go straight to Victor's office.
His assistant tries to stop me. "Dr. Kane is in a meeting—"
"I don't care." I push past her and open his door.
Victor is there. So is Marcus. So is Sienna.
All three of them look at me, and something is wrong with their faces. They're not surprised I'm here. They're not confused.
They're waiting.
"Elara," Victor says calmly. "Please, sit down."
"What's going on?" My voice sounds small. "I found files. Unauthorized transfers. You're using the Engine to steal from poor people. Tell me I'm wrong. Please tell me I'm misunderstanding—"
"You're not misunderstanding anything," Victor says. "Sit down. We need to talk about your research."
Those words. The exact words from my outline. But the way he says them isn't fatherly. It's cold. Like I'm a problem he needs to solve.
Marcus won't look at me. Sienna is staring at her hands.
"What's happening?" I ask again. "Why were you using the Engine without telling me?"
Victor sighs like I'm a disappointing child. "Because you're naive, Elara. Brilliant, but naive. You actually thought we'd give away temporal transfers for free? That we'd waste this technology on poor people who contribute nothing to society?"
The room spins. "You said we were helping people—"
"We are helping people. Important people. People who can afford to pay. Your Engine is going to make Chronos Corporation the most powerful company in the world. And you're going to be rich beyond your wildest dreams." Victor smiles. "You should be thanking me."
"Thanking you? You're murdering people! You're stealing their lives!"
"We're optimizing resource distribution," Victor corrects. "Those people in the Borrowed Quarters were going to die young anyway. At least now their time serves a greater purpose."
I look at Marcus. "Tell me you're not part of this. Please."
Marcus finally meets my eyes. "Elara, babe, you have to understand. This is bigger than us. Bigger than your idealism. We can make billions—"
"I don't want billions! I want to save lives!"
"Then you're a fool," Sienna says quietly.
I turn to her, shocked. "What?"
Sienna stands up, and her face is different. Harder. "You're a fool, Elara. You always have been. Walking around with your big dreams and your moral superiority, thinking you're better than everyone else because you want to 'help people.'" She says it like it's a dirty word. "Grow up. The world doesn't work that way."
"Sienna—"
"I'm tired of watching you succeed while I'm just your sidekick," she continues, and there's real venom in her voice now. "Your brilliant assistant. Your loyal friend. Well, guess what? I'm just as smart as you. Smarter, even. I just didn't have a dead mom to use as motivation."
The words hit me like a punch.
"Sienna," Marcus warns, but he doesn't sound upset. He sounds... amused?
"It's true and you know it," Sienna snaps at him. Then back to me: "Victor offered me a choice. Help him, or go down with you. I chose survival. I chose success. And you know what? I don't feel guilty at all."
I can't breathe. Can't think. This isn't real. This is a nightmare.
"Here's what's going to happen," Victor says, standing up. "You're going to sign over all rights to the Chronos Engine. You're going to agree that the research was actually Marcus's project, and you were just an assistant. You're going to resign quietly and never speak about this to anyone."
"And if I don't?"
Victor's smile disappears. "Then we destroy you. We have evidence that you've been conducting illegal experiments on human subjects without consent. We have testimony from your colleagues—" he gestures to Marcus and Sienna "—that you stole Marcus's research and falsified data. We'll make sure you never work in science again. You'll be lucky if you don't go to prison."
"But that's all lies—"
"Prove it," Victor challenges. "Your word against ours. A young, emotional researcher versus three respected scientists with decades of credibility. Who do you think people will believe?"
My legs give out. I sink into the chair.
This can't be happening. These are the people I love. The people I trust.
Marcus crouches in front of me. "Come on, Elara. Just sign the papers. Take the severance package. You'll be fine."
"How much are they paying you to betray me?" I whisper.
His jaw tightens. "It's not betrayal. It's business. You'll understand when you're older."
"I'm three months older than you, Marcus."
"Then you should know better." He stands up. "I'm sorry. I really am. But I can't let your idealism ruin my career. Sienna and I—we're going places. With or without you."
Wait. "Sienna and I?"
Sienna holds up her left hand. There's a ring. An engagement ring.
"Congratulations," she says, not sounding sorry at all. "You're uninvited to the wedding."
The world goes dark at the edges.
They planned this. All of it. My mentor, my boyfriend, my best friend. They planned to steal my research and destroy me.
"Sign the papers, Elara," Victor says, sliding a document across his desk. "Or we go to the board tomorrow and file charges. Your choice."
I look at the paper. At my life's work. At everything I am.
Then I look at the three people I loved, and I don't recognize them anymore.
"I need time to think," I manage to say.
"You have twenty-four hours," Victor says. "Use them wisely."
I stand up on shaking legs and walk to the door. Before I leave, I turn back.
"My mother died in your mines," I say to Victor. "Did you kill her too?"
Victor doesn't answer. But something flickers in his eyes.
Something that looks like guilt.
No. Worse than guilt.
Satisfaction.
"Twenty-four hours," he repeats.
I leave the office. Make it to the elevator. The doors close.
Then I collapse against the wall and throw up.
In my pocket, the flash drive with all the evidence burns like fire.
They think they've won. They think I'll just roll over and let them destroy me.
They're wrong.
But first, I need to figure out who I can trust.
Because clearly, I can't even trust myself to see the monsters standing right in front of me.