They Removed the Fake Chip but the Real System Came for Me Chapter 02

They Removed the Fake Chip but the Real System Came for Me Chapter 02

Dominic’s face darkened like I’d said something unforgivable.

“Iv’s always been fragile. She’s not like you. She can’t handle that kind of pain. And she’s a foster kid, she’s already sensitive. How would it look if I let her think I was playing favorites?”

“I’m being fair. From now on, you treat Ivy the way we do, and you’ll always be Elena Ashford. Simple as that.”

Blood rose in my throat. I clenched my jaw and swallowed every word I wanted to say.

“Elena, you know my body was ruined when I saved Dominic and Julian. I can’t have kids. Are you seriously throwing that in my face right now?”

Ivy’s eyes went red, her voice shaky. “I know I’m just the foster kid. I know I don’t really belong in this family. But you don’t have to humiliate me. If I’m that miserable to be around, I can just go kill myself.”

She took one step toward the window and clutched her chest, collapsing.

Dominic’s face went pale. He lunged to catch her.

Julian pulled medication from his pocket like he’d done it a thousand times and pressed it to her lips. The two of them flanked her like she was something precious that might shatter.

Then Dominic whipped around, fury blazing.

“Elena Ashford! Are you happy now? You won’t stop until she’s dead, will you?”

“Kneel. Apologize to Ivy.”

Ivy lifted her head and raised an eyebrow at me.

I knew what she wanted. She wanted me to lose control the way I always did—screaming, crying, fighting Dominic with bloodshot eyes.

This time, I just turned and walked away on my wrecked body.

A second later, the bodyguard’s hands slammed down on my shoulders. My knees cracked against the floor, bones ringing.

Dominic and Julian flinched. Just for a moment. Then they hardened.

“Happy now?” I looked up at them, face blank. No surprise there.

They’d always loved dragging me out for punishment whenever Ivy needed to feel better.

“Drop the act. This is what happens when you don’t fall in line.”

Dominic’s face looked worse than before I’d knelt. He grabbed my wrist and yanked me upward. “Get outside and kneel!”

That’s when the ALS hit.

My limbs went dead. I’d barely been pulled up before my whole body tipped sideways.

My right eye cracked against the corner of the table. Warm liquid ran down my face. The world went red.

“Elena!” Julian’s expression shifted. His arms opened toward me on instinct.

Ivy screamed. “Oh my God… all that blood, I can’t… I’m getting dizzy, I can’t breathe…”

Julian froze.

Then he turned and scooped Ivy into his arms without a second’s hesitation.

“Where’s the doctor? Get someone in here to check on her now.”

Dominic seized my arm. “Elena, you know she can’t handle the sight of blood. Why did you do that on purpose just to freak her out?”

“Is it really that hard to believe I might actually be sick?” My voice dripped with self-mockery.

Blood dripped from my eye onto the floor, red dots scattering, and Dominic looked straight through it.

“Don’t be ridiculous. We gave you the best medical team money can buy. Top-tier delivery care, top-tier postpartum recovery. There’s no way you’re sick.”

He didn’t remember.

Every time I went into labor, Ivy would have a depressive episode and threaten to kill herself.

Dominic and Julian would immediately pull my medical team away.

By then I’d be ten centimeters dilated, drenched in sweat, begging them not to leave, begging them to let me deliver first.

They’d tear my hands off them. “Stop being dramatic. The baby’s not coming out anytime soon anyway.”

I’d end up at whatever back-alley clinic was closest to the house.

The worst time, the bleeding wouldn’t stop. I slipped out of consciousness and almost died on that tiny bed.

The fake voice told me Dominic and Julian’s cruelty score went up twenty points.

And I’d actually felt grateful.

Grateful that even though I nearly died, as long as they lived, my suffering meant something.

As for postpartum care, I never got a single session. Not one.

“Get up. Look at you. A Sinclair, on the floor like that. Pathetic.”

Dominic stood with his hands in his pockets, watching my arms shake.

I pushed my upper body off the ground. My legs buckled. I crashed back down.

In the corner, one of the housekeepers snorted.

The laughter hit my ears like needles.

Dominic glared at her, then looked back at me with disgust. “You done humiliating yourself? Get to your room. Now.” He was already turning toward Ivy’s room.

A short hallway. I crawled it blind.

Almost there. I could leave soon.