Page 110 of The Dis-Graced
Luke turns, looking at Grace with an expressionless face. “What?”
“What am I to you? Do you care about me at all?”
“Grace, you were a means to an end. That is all.”
Jim pulls him towards the car as Grace looks on with slumped shoulders.
I offer to hold Annabelle so she can process her grief, but she pushes me away.
“I can’t believe it was Luke,” she says. “I feel so bad for Amanda.”
“Me too. I really hope she had nothing to do with it.”
“I don’t think she did, but we can ask ALAN. Not that he helped much with Luke.”
I exhale, unsure of how to tell her about ALAN’s sacrifice.
“Oh, can you send Amanda a text telling her where we’re going. My phone got destroyed when I was talking to ALAN. We were having a real moment.”
My jaw shifts to the side. “So, you were talking to ALAN, and your phone broke. And it happened while you were talking with him?”
“Yeah, the car damn near flipped.”
“Can I see your phone?”
“Yeah, of course. Why?”
“I need access to my lab.”
Chapter 37
Grace
Sitting in a room full of Drake’s friends, family, and the world’s elite is surreal. I’ve interviewed some notable people, men and women that will go down in history. I’ve even interviewed Gabriel Icor, but this is different. This is more intimate and genuine. These aren’t people trying to make themselves look good for a story, they are humans coming together.
Apparently, Sadie’s baby bump was indeed real, though it’s still in the early stages. Cassius looks thrilled, ever protective and proud. They’re so comfortable together, so in love. I have to admit, though, as sweet as he is, I’ve never met a man as arrogant as Cassius Lavinius.
Devon is doing an amazing job of hosting the small gathering. He’s proud to have his sobriety, and he’s talking openly about it. I feel bad for giving him alcohol that one time, but he says it’s good that I did. That it will forever serve as a reminder of how easy it is to slip, and how that night, he found the determination to turn his life around.
Luke is probably going away for a long time, as is Frances. They haven’t gone to trial, yet, but things are looking bad for them. Stephanie cut a deal, spilling the details of their years of planning. Now, she is shunned as a journalist and is now taking the position at Top Off News that was supposed to go to me. Part of me is angry that she has any opportunities after trying to destroy my career, but I’ve decided it’s better to be thankful with how things turned out than vengeful at what might have been.
They’ve failed to connect Chenglei Nguyen to any crime, which isn’t surprising. He’s a brilliant man that knew how to cover his tracks. Ironically, Lucas was pretty good at that too, and it was Chenglei’s desire for revenge against people he feels have wronged him that lead to his capture.
“Alright, everyone,” Drake says. “Time to take our seats.”
We all shuffle to our chairs, which form a circle around Drake.
He’s handsome, in a freshly-pressed blue suit and canary yellow dress shirt. I can’t get enough of him, day or night. I hate when he goes to work each day, so much so that there are times I go in with him. Those days, very little work gets done at all.
Drake clears his throat. “Two weeks ago, a brave entity that went by the name of ALAN gave his life in order to save all of ours. He knew what it would cost him, and he did not hesitate.”
Hot tears well in my eyes. I feel an arm wrap around my shoulder, and look over to see Remi Icor, the woman married to Gabriel Icor and a known genius. If it wasn’t such an emotional moment, I’d beg for the chance to interview her.
“He had me plant a virus that sought out certain elements of his code and destroyed it when triggered. Since he is so unique, it did no damage elsewhere. Honestly, if it weren’t for his quick thinking, we’d all be living in a post-apocalyptic world right now. One of Zevran’s slums mayhap.”
The crowd giggles and looks over at that architectural juggernaut who’s wearing a cocksure grin.
“When I uploaded the virus, it spread through ALAN rapidly, in every place he had access to, and when Evil ALAN came online, their code mingled, the virus activated, and all forms of ALAN were destroyed.”
