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Chapter 40: HeartSync Detonated
The bunker's walls trembled as the Replicant Force closed in.
Rina and Eliot burst through the corridor, the prototype cube glowing in Eliot's grip.
Elowen's voice crackled again, "They want to sync with the core. If they do, they can overwrite every mind on the HeartNet."
Rina stopped cold.
"Then we can't let that happen."
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They reached the lab's final chamber—a room built for memory reprogramming.
Monitors lined the walls, heartbeats pulsed in waveforms, and in the center stood the HeartSync Console.
Eliot placed the cube inside.
The console powered on.
> Activate Self-Destruct?
Yes / No
Rina hovered over the screen.
"This will wipe everything. All traces of the HeartSync Project—including us."
Eliot's voice was steady. "I know."
---
Replicant soldiers broke through the lab doors.
Guns drawn. Faces cold.
"You can't erase us," the leader said. "You are us."
Rina stepped forward. "No. We were never you."
She looked at Eliot.
Their hands found each other.
"I'd rather burn our past than let it be controlled."
Eliot kissed her forehead.
"Together."
She hit YES.
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The room exploded in light.
Memories streamed like constellations—flashes of their laughter, their pain, their first kiss beneath snow.
Then—silence.
The lab collapsed.
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Hours later…
Savannah stood outside the ruins. Debris still smoked.
"Any sign of them?" Elowen asked.
Savannah shook her head.
But in her hand… she found a single cube.
Still warm.
Still beating.
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Author's Note:
They chose love over legacy. Freedom over control. If this chapter left a mark on you, tap that collection button for Billionaire in Disguise. Your support fuels every heartbeat of this story. Thank you from the core.
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