Ava's POV
I had three minutes.
Three minutes before they realized I'd slipped out of the compound.
Three minutes before the sedative they gave me was supposed to kick in, before I dumped it into the potted plant when no one was looking.
Three minutes to rewrite everything.
The moonlight was fractured through the dense canopy of trees as I sprinted barefoot down the slope behind the estate, every thorn in the earth a sharp reminder that I was still free. Still alive. Still in control, for now.
My lungs burned, and the cold air stabbed at my throat, but I didn't stop. Not even as I heard the faint click of motion sensors behind me activating one after another.
They knew.
They knew I was gone.
But they didn't know I remembered.
That final whisper from my mother before I "collapsed" hours earlier had triggered everything. "It's not personal, darling. We're just reclaiming our asset."
Her words weren't maternal, they were corporate. Chilling. Strategized.
