She Tried to Shut Me Down But He Was Running on Me Chapter 03

She Tried to Shut Me Down But He Was Running on Me Chapter 03

At nine the next morning, I was wheeled into the seventh-floor conference suite of the Ford Medical Tower.

No chair waited for me; tight restraints pinned me flat on a rolling exam table.

Executives packed the room. Medical admins, finance officers, compliance inspectors, corporate legal staff, plus unfamiliar Ford conglomerate board directors all sat watching.

Their eyes weighed on me, shifting between suspicious appraisal, revulsion and quiet dread.

Charlotte Wade stood at the head table, my full medical invoices projected across the oversized rear screen.

Towering costs” is a slightly unusual metaphor. “Burned sharp on display” is evocative but could be more integrated with the corporate setting.

Sterile containment pod upkeep.

Replacement parts for cranial neural implants.

Ongoing calibration of the brainwave sync network.

Round-the-clock care personnel payroll.

Real-time air filtration and atmospheric composition surveillance.

Every listed charge equaled lifelong earnings for average civilians.

Charlotte tapped the display with a laser pointer.

“Everyone, these tally Mia’s total charges against the Ford estate across three years.”

“The monthly charges consistently run into the tens of millions.”

“For all that funding, she only occupies a top-floor climate-controlled pod and stares vacantly all day.”

Low chatter rustled through the crowd.

“How is it physically possible for a human to skip sleep entirely?”

“I long suspected the top-level research program hid too many secrets.”

“Numerous expenditures went unreviewed once Mr. Ford’s accident left him incapacitated.”

“Could there be deliberate fraud behind this?”

Each murmur dragged my heart lower.

None grasped the full truth.

No attendee held the security clearance required to learn it.

Charlotte banked entirely on that blind spot.

She planned to let these uninformed officials pass formal judgment over me.

One board member cut into the noise carefully.

“Ms. Wade, Mr. Ford assigned temporary site oversight to you pre-departure, yet the top-floor ward fell under Senior Mr. Ford’s exclusive management. An open public hearing like this feels improper.”

Charlotte tipped her head in a thin smile.

“Advanced age leaves the elder Ford vulnerable to manipulation.”

“As Blaine’s fiancée, I bear responsibility to root out financial hazards threatening the family.”

She turned toward my restrained form.

“I’ll offer you a single chance, Mia.”

“Admit before everyone here you inflated your medical condition, falsified anchor brainwave data, and siphoned Ford capital alongside the neural engineering team.”

My throat split dry and raw.

“I never did…”

My whisper drowned beneath surrounding discussion.

Charlotte strode forward and slapped a formal document onto my torso.

“Sign it.”

I dropped my gaze to the paper: a formal admission of medical fraud.

Pre-written accusations filled every line.

Fabrication of an extremely rare neurological disorder.

Collusion with engineering staff to embezzle clinical funding.

Wrongful long-term occupancy of premium Ford medical facilities under false psychiatric claims.

Voluntary consent to full implant removal and full investigative cooperation.

My fingertips trembled nonstop.

“They cannot remove it…”

Charlotte bent close.

“What stops removal?”

I scraped together every last reserve of strength.

“Blaine will die.”

A beat of silence hung across the suite, then mocking snickers burst out.

“She truly believes she controls Mr. Ford’s survival?”

“This moves past fraud into severe delusional disorder.”

Charlotte savored their reaction, exactly what she had aimed for.

Every honest claim I made twisted into rambling madness in their ears.

A commotion erupted at the doorway.

Guards blocked Dylan Reese outside, the engineer clutching a spare neural control terminal, sweat glistening across his forehead.

“Charlotte, let me inside.”

“Blaine’s consciousness cloud fractured three separate times overnight.”

“The primary network loses all stable connection; Middle East medical crews run maximum emergency resuscitation protocols right now.”

Shock rippled through every seated guest.

Charlotte’s features hardened sharply.

“Who permitted his arrival?”

Dylan locked unblinking eyes on her.

“I’ll state this plainly once more: Mia commits no fraud whatsoever.”

“Her mind functions as the sole fixed anchor for Blaine’s consciousness AI.”

“Drugging her with sleeping pills last night amounts to attempted murder of Blaine Ford.”

The word murder stunned the entire room silent.

Charlotte let out a cool laugh.

“Dylan, do you understand what accusations you spout?”

“I do.” His voice shook with strained resolve.

“I take full legal accountability for every word.”

Charlotte nodded toward the firm’s legal counsel.

“Document this record: Neural engineer Dylan Reese attempts intimidation via false life-or-death threats to cover ongoing medical embezzlement.”

Dylan’s face drained to ashen gray.

“You’ve lost your mind entirely.”

Ignoring his outburst, Charlotte returned to the head table and swept her gaze over attendees.

“Given such heavy dispute, we resolve matters with direct physical examination.”

My heart plummeted.

Charlotte spoke slowly and clearly.

“A neural implant sits embedded at Mia’s nape.”

“Engineer Dylan swears this single chip keeps Blaine Ford alive.”

“I intend to verify firsthand how an implant inside an orphan’s skull sustains the entire Ford heir’s existence.”

She addressed the assembled medical crew.

“Prepare for implant extraction.”

Dead stillness fell across the conference room.

The hastily summoned attending surgeon paled instantly.

“Ms. Wade, this procedure violates standard clinical protocol.”

“Sedatives linger in her system; her brainwave patterns remain drastically unstable, unsuitable for any invasive operation.”

Charlotte shot him an icy retort.

“Are you a licensed physician, or her accomplice?”

The doctor clamped his mouth shut without further protest.

Charlotte tapped her administrative authorization pad.

“I hold full temporary Ford facility governance rights.”

“Any staff refusing orders faces immediate suspension.”

Cold dread seeped into every inch of my body, not from impending surgical pain, but certain knowledge: forced extraction would erase Blaine’s consciousness permanently.

I shook my head frantically, binding straps cutting raw grooves into my wrists.

“Please don’t… I beg you.”

Charlotte stepped beside the exam bed and leaned down to stare into my eyes.

“Now you beg for mercy?”

Her fingertip traced the cooling patch on my nape with a deceptive gentleness, every syllable dripping with venom.

“Mia, you claim you cannot fall asleep naturally.”

“Once we pull this implant free, I’ll grant you the uninterrupted sleep you’ve never known.”