Sera's POV
The sounds coming from my bedroom stop me cold in the hallway.
Laughter. A woman's giggle. Marcus's low voice saying something I can't hear.
My heart hammers against my ribs. My hands shake as I grip the grocery bags tighter. There has to be an explanation. Marcus wouldn't—we're getting married in three months. I have the dress picked out. The invitations are already printed.
I push open the bedroom door.
My sister Diana is in my bed. With my fiancé.
They don't even jump apart. Don't scramble for sheets or stutter out excuses. Marcus just looks at me with cold eyes while Diana smiles. Actually smiles.
"Sera," Marcus says flatly, like I'm interrupting something boring. "We need to talk."
The grocery bags slip from my fingers. Apples roll across the floor. I can't breathe. Can't think. This isn't real. This can't be real.
"How long?" My voice sounds strange. Distant.
Diana stretches like a cat in my sheets. MY sheets. "Does it matter? Oh, Sera. You should see your face right now."
"Six months," Marcus says, getting out of bed without an ounce of shame. He pulls on his pants while I stand there frozen. "Maybe seven. I stopped counting."
Seven months. We've been together for two years. That means—
"Why?" The word tears out of me.
"Because Diana is better than you at everything that matters," Marcus says simply, like he's explaining basic math. "She's prettier. More fun. She doesn't spend every night buried in boring research papers."
The research. My AI project. Five years of work. My future.
"Speaking of your research," Marcus continues, and now he's smiling too. That smile makes my stomach drop. "I should thank you. Publishing it under my name got me that position at Techbridge. The money is incredible."
The world tilts sideways.
"You... what?"
"I've been copying your files for months, Sera." He says it so casually, like he's talking about the weather. "All your notes. Your code. Your formulas. I cleaned it up a bit, made it more presentable, and submitted it to the journal last week. It's already published."
"That's impossible. That's MY work. Five years of—"
"Prove it." Marcus's eyes are ice. "You have no evidence. I made sure of that. All your original files? Gone. Overwritten. The only existing research has my name on it."
My legs feel weak. I grab the doorframe to stay standing.
"You can't do this. I'll tell them. I'll show them—"
"Show them what?" Diana sits up now, and there's something ugly in her pretty face. Something that's maybe always been there and I was too stupid to see. "You have nothing, Sera. No proof. No witnesses. Just your word against Marcus's published paper."
"You knew about this?" I look at my baby sister. The girl I protected from bullies in school. Who I helped with homework. Who I loved. "You helped him steal from me?"
"Helped him?" Diana laughs. "Sera, I suggested it. You were always Mom and Dad's favorite. The smart one. The special one. I got so tired of hearing about your potential while I was just the pretty daughter." She spits the word pretty like it's an insult. "Well, guess what? Pretty won. Marcus chose me. Your research is his now. And soon, everyone will know you're nothing special at all."
"I'll fight this. I'll go to the academic board. I'll—"
"We're going to the board tomorrow," Marcus interrupts. "To report you for research misconduct and plagiarism."
The room spins.
"What?"
"You're going to be accused of stealing MY research," Marcus explains patiently. "Diana will testify that you've been unstable. Jealous of our relationship. Desperate to take credit for my work. Your own sister will tell them how worried she is about your mental health."
"Mom and Dad will believe me, not you," Diana adds sweetly. "They always do."
This can't be happening. This is a nightmare. I'll wake up and—
"Get out," Marcus says. "This is my apartment now. My lease. My furniture. Your name isn't on anything—I made sure of that too."
"You planned this." The words barely come out. "All of it. You were using me from the beginning."
"Obviously." Marcus checks his phone, already bored with this conversation. "You were always too trusting, Sera. Too naive. You made it easy."
Diana gets out of bed—wearing my robe, I notice distantly—and walks right up to me. We have the same nose. The same chin. People used to say we looked like twins even though she's two years younger.
"Here's what's going to happen," she says softly, like she's explaining something to a child. "You're going to leave. You're going to stay quiet. Because if you fight us, we'll destroy you. Marcus will ruin your reputation in every academic circle. I'll tell Mom and Dad you tried to seduce him and got violent when he rejected you. You'll lose everything."
"I've already lost everything," I whisper.
"Not yet." Diana's smile is poisonous. "But you will."
She leans in close, and her next words are so quiet only I can hear them: "I win, big sister. I finally win."
Something breaks inside me. Something I didn't know could break.
I turn and walk out. Down the hallway. Past the living room where we planned our wedding. Out the apartment door. I don't take anything. Can't take anything. It all belongs to them now.
The hallway is cold. I'm still wearing my work clothes. My phone buzzes in my pocket.
I pull it out with numb fingers. Email notification.
Subject: Academic Tribunal Hearing - Sera Vance
Date: Tomorrow, 9:00 AM
Charges: Research Misconduct, Plagiarism, Academic Fraud
They've already filed the complaint. Of course they have. They planned everything.
My phone buzzes again. Text message from Mom: Diana told us what you did. How could you? We didn't raise you to be a thief. Don't call us until you're ready to apologize to your sister.
I stand alone in the hallway of what used to be my home. My family believes Diana. The academic board has already scheduled my execution. The man I loved just stole five years of my life.
And somewhere in the world, my research—MY research—is being celebrated with Marcus's name on it.
I sink down against the wall, pulling my knees to my chest. I should cry. But I'm too empty even for tears.
My phone buzzes one more time.
Unknown number.
I almost don't look. Then I do.
MANDATORY GENETIC TESTING - ALL CITIZENS REPORT IMMEDIATELY
AELARIAN EMPIRE DECREE - NON-COMPLIANCE PUNISHABLE BY LAW
TESTING LOCATION: DISTRICT 7 PROCESSING CENTER
APPOINTMENT: TOMORROW 7:00 AM
Aelarians. The aliens that appeared three months ago. The ones who called humans "Inferiors" and took over Earth like it was nothing.
I laugh. It sounds broken even to my own ears.
My tribunal is at nine. My genetic testing is at seven.
The universe has the worst timing.
But maybe... maybe it doesn't matter anymore. What else can they take from me? What's left to lose?
I push myself up. My legs barely hold me.
Tomorrow, I'll face the aliens who think humans are worthless.
Then I'll face the humans who destroyed me.
And somehow, I have to survive both.
The elevator dings behind me. Footsteps approach.
"Sera?" A familiar voice. Diana's voice. "Did you forget something?"
I don't turn around. Don't look at her.
"No," I say quietly. "I finally remembered something."
"What's that?"
I step into the elevator and finally meet my sister's eyes.
"That people who destroy you always underestimate what you'll become after you rise from the ashes."
The elevator doors close on Diana's confused face.
And somewhere deep inside my broken chest, something small and angry starts to burn.