Chapter 189

"He's going to be okay." Fiona handed over a steaming cup of coffee, but Stella didn't even look at it. Her gaze stayed glued to the shut door—like her eyes just couldn't tear away. "You're lying." Her voice was rough, strained, almost like it wasn't even hers. "You saw those wounds... all that blood." Fiona let out a quiet sigh, setting the coffee down on the seat beside her. "The med pod's top-of-the-line. It's handled way worse." "What?" Stella snapped her head toward Fiona. "Why the hell was there punishment at the end? That part wasn't supposed to be in the trial, was it?" Fiona's face turned serious, and she gently pulled Stella to sit down with her on the bench. "No, it wasn't. The actual goal of the third stage was the opposite—instead of attacking the projection, the key was to not hurt the fake version of you. Charles had already made the right call." "The system's programmed to show whoever he loves most. And that was you." Stella's whole body started shaking uncontrollably.