Crystal glasses clinked as New York's elite gathered at the Metropolitan Museum. The Genesis Foundation's annual gala sparkled with wealth and whispered ambitions."Your mother certainly knows how to make an entrance," Sebastian murmured as Victoria Drake descended the grand staircase.Eleanor gripped her champagne flute. "She's not my mother.""No?" Victoria's voice carried across the marble floor. "Finally admitting the truth, darling?"Cameras flashed. Phones raised. The crowd hushed."This isn't the time," Eleanor warned."When is it ever?" Victoria glided closer. "Shall we wait another thirty years?"Alex appeared at Eleanor's side. "Victoria.""Ah, the dutiful husband," Victoria smiled. "Tell me, did you know you married a prototype?"Gasps rippled through the crowd."Mother," Sebastian stepped forward. "Perhaps we should-""Should what?" Victoria's eyes gleamed. "Keep hiding what Eleanor really is? What she was designed to be?"Luna watched from the sidelines as reporters press

"Smile for the cameras, darling," Sebastian whispered, his hand possessively on Luna's waist as they entered the Tech Innovation Summit."This is just for show," Luna reminded him, forcing a laugh for the photographers."Is it?" Sebastian's fingers traced patterns on her skin. "Your genetic resonance suggests otherwise."Across the room, Eleanor watched them, her grip tightening on her champagne flute. "He's playing with her.""Like he plays with everyone," Alex stood close, maintaining their image of marital solidarity."Mr. and Mrs. Drake!" reporters called out. "How do you respond to Victoria Drake's new partnership?""Speak of the devil," Eleanor muttered as Victoria swept in, accompanied by Marcus Chen, the tech mogul whose quantum computing empire rivaled Drake Industries."Eleanor, darling," Victoria air-kissed her cheek. "Have you met Marcus properly?""A pleasure," Marcus's dark eyes assessed Eleanor. "Your mother speaks highly of your... unique qualities.""Victoria speaks m

Luna's hands trembled over her lab console as Sebastian materialized behind her."You haven't slept," he observed."Can't. The quantum signatures are still unstable after Eleanor's..." Luna's voice cracked."Extraction?" Sebastian moved closer. "Or explosion?""Both." Luna pulled up the data streams. "The architects didn't expect her to fight back.""Neither did Mother," Sebastian's hand covered hers on the console. "Or me."Luna tried to pull away. "Don't.""Don't what? Care?""Pretend to care," Luna corrected. "This was all for show, remember?"Sebastian's form flickered. "Was it?"Across the facility, Eleanor sat in the quantum chamber, her reformed body still adjusting."The readings are stronger," Alex studied the monitors."So is the pain," Eleanor admitted.Alex reached for her hand through the quantum field. "I'm sorry. About everything.""Even marrying me?""Especially that," Alex smiled sadly. "You deserved better than a business arrangement."Eleanor's fingers intertwined w

"They're calling it Project Ascension," Victoria's hologram dominated the emergency board meeting. "Chen-Marcus Technologies just announced human-quantum integration without genetic modification.""That's impossible," Luna slammed her tablet down. "The quantum stability requires genetic anchoring."Sebastian materialized beside her. "Unless they found another way.""They didn't find it," Marcus Chen's face appeared on all screens. "We built it."Alex stood. "How did you get into this channel?""The same way we got into your market share," Marcus smiled. "Superior technology."Eleanor's form flickered with anger. "What do you want?""To offer you a choice," Victoria joined Marcus's transmission. "All of you."Sebastian moved closer to Luna. "What kind of choice?""The kind that saves humanity," Marcus replied. "Without genetic manipulation.""Without playing God," Victoria added.Luna pulled up Chen-Marcus's announcement:PROJECT ASCENSION FEATURES:- QUANTUM INTEGRATION WITHOUT DNA MO

"The quantum override is killing her," Sebastian's hands flew across the holographic controls. "Mother, stop this!"Victoria's image shimmered with cold authority. "Sometimes sacrifices are necessary.""She's your daughter!" Luna monitored Eleanor's failing signatures."She's an investment," Victoria corrected. "One that's no longer viable."Eleanor's form flickered violently on the quantum platform. "Alex...""I'm here," he reached for her destabilizing matrix."Don't touch her!" Sebastian warned. "The quantum feedback could kill you both."Luna's screens flashed urgent warnings:QUANTUM DEGRADATION: CRITICALGENETIC INTEGRITY: 15%CORPORATE OVERRIDE: ACTIVESURVIVAL WINDOW: CLOSING"There has to be a way," Alex's voice cracked.Sebastian's hologram fully materialized. "There is. But you won't like it.""What are you plotting now?" Victoria demanded."The truth," Sebastian projected new data. "About Project Genesis. About what you really created."Luna studied the readings. "This can