Chapter 1

On the eve of my boyfriend Ethan’s groundbreaking AI model launch, my own parents locked me in the basement.

Right outside the door, my dad was giving an interview to the tech media. His voice was dripping with pride and excitement. "Yes, absolutely! The core logic behind this revolutionary AI was entirely inspired by my younger daughter, Lily. She and Ethan are the true intellectual soulmates here!"

Through the heavy wooden door, my mother’s voice came cold and sharp. "Lily is just starting her influencer career. She needs this 'genius tech girl' persona to secure her spot on that reality show. Ethan already agreed to play along. You’re staying down here until the launch event is over."

"You’re just a backend developer, Chloe. What do you need all that fame for anyway? Help your sister build her brand. Once she’s famous, she’ll look out for you."

I stared at my phone screen. On the live stream, my boyfriend was holding my sister’s hand, walking onto the brightly lit stage under a shower of camera flashes. He looked at her with pure devotion, lifting her up onto a pedestal that didn't belong to her.

I quietly tapped the timer on my smartwatch.

What they didn't know was that inside the core code Ethan had stolen from me, I had buried a lethal logic bomb.

The moment the system connected to real-time, live data, the entire framework would completely collapse. They wouldn't just face millions in lawsuits—they’d be looking at massive commercial fraud charges.

"Hey Chloe, are you watching the live stream?"

Lily’s voice leaked through my phone speaker, nearly drowned out by waves of applause and camera shutters.

I leaned against the cold concrete wall of the basement, glancing down at my wrist. The timer read 51:32.

"Ethan just called me his most precious inspiration. The entire crowd gave us a standing ovation. Did you hear that?"

On screen, she was wearing a beautiful white silk dress.

I bought that dress for myself last month as a birthday gift. It had been sitting in the back of my closet, and I hadn't even had the chance to wear it once.

"Chloe? Why aren’t you saying anything?"

"That dress is mine."

There was a brief silence on the other end.

"Oh, this? Mom told me to just grab whatever. Besides, your frame is a bit too athletic anyway. White makes you look bulky. It fits me perfectly."

She chuckled, completely unbothered. "Anyway, I have to go. The Q&A session is about to start. Oh, by the way," she lowered her voice, sounding smug. "Ethan said after the launch, he’s taking me to meet his dad. And he’s buying me a condo in the city."

"A condo?"

"As a thank-you gift for giving him 'inspiration,' of course. Don’t be so bitter, Chloe. It’s not like I forced him to give it to me. See ya! I’ll bring you some leftover cake."

The call clicked shut.

The live stream cut back to the main stage. Ethan was using a laser pointer to explain the system architecture.

Those modules, those algorithm branches—I had spent countless sleepless nights hunched over my keyboard, typing them out line by line.

But the person standing on that stage was not me.

Heavy footsteps echoed from the stairs. The basement door creaked open slightly, and a cup of cheap instant ramen was shoved through the gap.

"Eat something. Don’t act like a stubborn child on an empty stomach."

"When are you letting me out, Mom?"

"As soon as the launch event ends. It’s only a few hours. Is it really worth throwing a tantrum over?"

"He stole my code. Do you even understand that?"

My mom finally pushed the door fully open and stepped inside, looking down at me from the steps.

"Don’t make a scene. I'm going to tell you something, and I need you to stay calm."

I looked up.

"Ethan had his tech team wipe all the development logs on the server. Every single author tag has been changed to Lily's name."

My fingers tightened instinctively.

"Commit history, emails, project documentation—everything. It’s all gone, Chloe. Even if you run out there right now and scream to the world that you built it, nobody will believe you."

She stated this so casually, as if she were just telling me what we were having for dinner.

"Mom," I whispered. "Do you have any idea what you're doing?"

"We are doing what is best for this family. Your sister is signing a contract for a major tech reality show next month. Her brand is 'The Tech Genius.' This launch is her stepping stone. If you ruin this, you ruin everything for the family."

"Does 'the family' include me?"

She frowned, looking genuinely annoyed by my question.

"You’re a backend coder. What do you need the spotlight for? Lily has the charisma, she has the followers. She can actually monetize this. And you? What are you going to do? Spend your entire life hiding in a lab writing code?"

"She doesn't even know basic Python syntax."

"That’s none of your business. Ethan will handle the technical side. Lily just needs to be the face of the project."

The face.

Clearly, Lily was thrilled with this arrangement.

My mom locked the door again, throwing one last sentence over her shoulder.

"Don’t be stupid, Chloe. Once the launch is over, Ethan is wire-transferring you two hundred thousand dollars as compensation. Only fools say no to free money."