Chapter 6
Mara recovered faster than Victor.
That was one reason Ethan had once admired her.
She could turn panic into performance in a breath.
She straightened, laughed, and brushed her hair back.
“Ethan, don’t be dramatic.”
Victor glanced at the smartwatch.
Too late.
A faint active glow caught the edge of the screen.
His smile weakened.
“What is that?”
Ethan’s fingers closed around the pen.
“A watch.”
Mara scoffed.
“He’s trying to scare us.”
Victor did not answer.
That told Ethan more than a confession.
Victor understood systems. He knew Ethan never wore technology he had not modified. He knew a founder in a hospital bed could still be dangerous if he controlled the right device.
Mara rolled her eyes and looked directly at Victor.
“He can’t even stand.”
The sentence hung there.
Cruel.
Useful.
Ethan felt the old humiliation try to rise.
The helplessness.
The weeks of being moved from bed to chair.
The way doctors spoke around him.
The way Mara squeezed his hand when cameras visited, then let go once the door closed.
But Ethan had been standing in therapy for nine days.
Three steps at first.
Then seven.
Then across the private rehab room with both rails.
He had hidden progress because Victor watched weakness like an investor watches markets.
Now the hiding was over.
Ethan removed the blanket.
Locked the wheelchair brakes.
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And planted his feet on the floor.
Read the full story 👉 Mara mocked the one part of Ethan’s recovery he had deliberately kept secret from both of them.
