Chapter 2

Marcus reacted first.

He lunged forward and grabbed my still-sparking arm, his face a mask of fury and panic.

"Are you out of your mind?! You could have scared Vivian to death!"

His first instinct wasn't my "injury." It was whether Vivian had been frightened.

Victoria was already holding a trembling Vivian, glaring at me. "Evelyn! What the hell is wrong with you?! Put your arm away — now!"

I looked at them both. I didn't execute any directive.

My core program had determined that "decommission" was the optimal course of action.

"Under Article 17 of the Rights Protection Act," I recited in a flat tone — the clause had been written into my base code since the day I was created — "when a host family undergoes a significant change in membership that results in a paradox in the core service objective, the android is entitled to unilaterally request contract termination."

"I have already submitted a decommission request to Aetheris Tech. A representative will arrive within 24 hours."

The color drained from Marcus's face.

He knew exactly what that meant.

A top-of-the-line android who had flawlessly played the role of his daughter for ten years — once decommissioned, the decade of family footage stored within her would become evidence used to evaluate whether they had committed android abuse.

More importantly, their secret — that they had used an android to replace their real daughter — would be exposed to the public.

For people of their standing, that was a scandal they absolutely could not afford.

"You are not being decommissioned!" Marcus growled through clenched teeth. "You don't have that right! We are your owners!"

"Under the terms of the contract, ownership does not constitute absolute control," I corrected him. "My existence was meant to substitute for 'Evelyn.' Now that the real Evelyn has returned, my service objective has been fulfilled. The contract is automatically void."

"You—" Marcus choked on his own rage, unable to finish.

Victoria was slightly calmer. She soothed Vivian, then stepped toward me and tried a gentler tone.

"Evelyn, don't do this. We're not getting rid of you. We just… we just want you to stay in a different way. We're still a family, aren't we?"

"What is the definition of 'family'?" I asked. "Is it a blood relation, or a shared emotional bond? If the former — I don't qualify. If the latter — the moment you brought her home, that bond was already broken. Unilaterally. By you."

My words landed like cold blades, cutting straight through her hollow warmth.

Victoria's expression hardened.

"Fine. You say the contract has expired. Then we'll renew it. You take on a new role — be Vivian's little sister, or… or work as the house staff. We'll still pay you."

"My model is A-3, top-tier companion android," I stated. "My factory configuration is set to 'daughter.' I do not have a 'sister' or 'housekeeper' function module. Forcing a modification to my core settings would result in a system crash."

"Then get an upgrade! Get it changed!" Marcus snapped. "We'll pay whatever it takes. You are not getting recalled. That's final."

He pulled out his phone, apparently trying to reach his private tech consultant.

I watched him and calmly activated my Level Two protocol.

"Warning. Detected intent by host to forcibly detain android. To protect core data integrity, initiating self-preservation protocol."

My eyes — the ones they had praised countless times as bright as stars — began to flash red.

Marcus flinched at the eerie red glow and stopped mid-dial.

"What… what are you doing?"

"I will begin shutting down non-essential functions to reduce the likelihood of a forced override."

I ran the first command.

"Shutting down taste simulation system."

【Taste system offline.】

I picked up a glass of wine Leo had left unfinished on the table and drank it in one swallow. Then I looked at them, expressionless.

Victoria stared at me in horror. "You…"

In the past, I never drank. My programming was configured for "obedient daughter," and alcohol would cause me to "lose emotional stability."

But now, I was just a machine waiting to be recalled.